Steelers/NFL category, Page 70

Steelers fans are getting exactly what they wanted so far in the 2024 NFL Draft. In the ramp-up to this selection weekend, I posted a social media poll asking what position the Steelers should address in the first round on Thursday. After 1,000 votes, 47.4% of respondents wanted a center...

He was the 98th player selected overall. Five prospects classified as inside linebackers were taken before him. But the Pittsburgh Steelers can make a reasonable claim they took the best defensive player in the draft. After all, Payton Wilson has the hardware to prove it. An inside linebacker from NC...

Payton Wilson Third-round pick, No. 98 overall ILB, N.C. State 6-4, 233 Stats: Capped injury-marred career at N.C. State by starting 23 games over final two seasons. He ranked fifth nationally with 138 tackles in 2023. Totaled 17.5 tackles for loss and had six sacks and three interceptions. Hometown: Hillsborough,...

Roman Wilson Third-round pick, No. 84 overall WR, Michigan 5-foot-11, 185 pounds Stats: Tied for ninth in the nationally with 12 receiving touchdowns last season and led Michigan in receptions (48) and receiving yards (789). Over four college seasons had 107 receptions for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns. Hometown: Maui,...

Continuing a run of offensive players in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson with their first pick of the third round Friday night, the No. 84 overall selection. Wilson joined tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier as the team’s top three picks. The...

Zach Frazier Second-round pick, No. 51 overall C, West Virginia 6-foot-3, 313 pounds Stats: Started 37 games at center in his final three seasons with the Mountaineers Hometown: Fairmont, W.Va. Tidbits: Spent three seasons at a team captain at West Virginia. … Started 46 of 47 games, including nine at...

Less than four hours after being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, Troy Fautanu was seated in Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport awaiting a red-eye flight to Pittsburgh. Accompanied by his mother, father and sister, Fautanu had a layover in Detroit before continuing the final leg...

The Pittsburgh Steelers got a player they wanted in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, selecting Washington tackle Troy Fautanu. Good pick? Bad pick? Who knows? Franchise-changing pick? Not this year and not likely. The Steelers need a four- or five-win season if they want to draft that...

Friday’s “First Call” has a firm retort from new Pittsburgh Steelers draft choice Troy Fautanu about some doubts surrounding his game. We have a health update on Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. Another Bengal is unhappy in Cincinnati. The Pirates are heading west. And an ex-Pirate is getting ready for...

Rain or shine, it’s a good weekend to get out and about. Here are some things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend. August Wilson Birthday Celebration Block Party Legendary Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson will be celebrated with a birthday block party this Saturday. Held at the August Wilson House, 1727...

There is a lot to like about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 first-round draft pick, Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. “He has unusually long arms. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen play the position,” former pro and college scout Matt Williamson told us during our draft preview series....

After months of build-up, scrutiny, speculation and anticipation, just before midnight Thursday evening, the first round of the 2024 NFL draft ended. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ first round ended roughly 90 minutes prior. That began a span of roughly 21½ hours — give or take — in which they could plan...

Troy Fautanu First-round pick, No. 20 overall Offensive tackle, Washington 6-foot-4, 317 pounds Stats: Washington last season ranked 13th in the country in scoring offense and total offense and No. 2 nationally in passing yards per game. Hometown: Henderson, Nev. Tidbits: Was the left tackle for all 15 games for...

After ignoring tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft for more than two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers lately have made it a trendy position on their board. For the second time in as many years, the Steelers selected a tackle with their top pick. Holding the No. 20...

Thursday’s “First Call” features Ben Roethlisberger’s suggestion for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Day 1 of the NFL Draft. We try to connect some dots between Alex Highsmith’s contract restructure and what that means for the Steelers on the wide receiver trade front. A potential second-round draftee talks about why one...

At the time of this post, the Steelers haven’t made their first-round pick in the NFL Draft. So no one in Pittsburgh can be angry about that. Yet. Check back here next week. However, we do have Pitt fans prickly about Kenny Pickett, Penguins fans piping up about missing the...

Apparently, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin feels properly hydrated heading into the start of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. “We’ve been very active in free agency,” Tomlin said Monday. “That makes you really comfortable as we lean in on draft weekend. We’ve addressed a lot of needs, and you...

For the first time in NFL history, quarterbacks could be drafted with the first four picks. Six could be selected in the first round. Wide receivers could be taken at a historical rate, too. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently had as many 12 listed among his top 50 overall...

It makes perfect sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers to take a center early in the NFL Draft. Simply put, they do not have a viable candidate on the roster despite what general manager Omar Khan and coach Mike Tomlin continue to say about their internal options. Khan keeps dropping the name...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are clearing some salary cap space ahead of the NFL Draft. The contract of outside linebacker Alex Highsmith has been restructured, converting most of his $10.733 million salary into a signing bonus, NFL Network reported Wednesday. Highsmith is in the first year of a four-year, $68 million...

The NFL Draft is anything but an exact science, and the hype surrounding it is a myth. Mike Tomlin bleats about the Pittsburgh Steelers being “prepared,” but every team is equally prepared. Every team has the same resources, information and video. The only difference is how talent available to be...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have seven overall picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, starting with the 20th overall in the first round. Here are the team’s picks: • Round 1, selection 20 overall • Round 2, selection 51 • Round 3, selection 84 • Round 3, selection 98 (from Philadelphia via...

After replacing Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen, the Pittsburgh Steelers are unlikely to draft a quarterback of consequence in this weekend’s NFL Draft. However, this doesn’t mean the Steelers are immune from the impact of the quarterback draft market over...

How about a redux at one of the sport’s most important positions — a spot that’s prominent among the in-the-trenches group along the line of scrimmage that team management is known to covet? Likewise, how about another type of sequel? Call it, “National-Champion Dawg, 2.0.” When it comes to the...