I liked the Steelers’ first draft pick — until they made their second pick.

After the Steelers made their third pick, I felt OK again.

Picking Alabama’s Najee Harris at No. 24 made perfect sense. He was the best running back in the draft. Harris will make more immediate impact than the fifth-best tackle or the best center, especially given the egregious injury history of ‘Bama’s Landon Dickerson.

When the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger agreed that he would play quarterback in 2021, it defined their draft priorities. Make picks that can plug and play. Try to win now.

Harris fits the description.

Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth does not.

Freiermuth is a fine talent, and more of a complete tight end than Eric Ebron. Freiermuth might get considerable playing time as a rookie.

But Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey was available. He plugs and plays.

I’m not sure that’s the case with Kendrick Green, the center/guard from Illinois. The Steelers’ third-round selection is nasty in close quarters — much like Kevin Dotson, last year’s fourth-round pick who started four games and may already be the team’s most reliable lineman.

But if Green doesn’t start the year at center, it won’t take long. The Steelers like B.J. Finney as a backup, but no better. That was proven during his first stint in Pittsburgh from 2016-19.

Say Green replaces Pouncey at center. Chuks Okorafor flips from right to left tackle to replace Alejandro Villanueva. Zach Banner plays right tackle.

The offensive line wasn’t very good in 2020. Will it be any better in 2021? (Remember that injuries had made Pouncey a shadow of what he was. Green could conceivably be an upgrade.)

Getting Harris was a necessity. He could make the most out of a mediocre line. Roethlisberger (probably) won’t audible out of as many running plays. If Benny Snell starts, the Steelers have zero chance to improve their running game.

As Chris Adamski of this parish tweeted, “Up until about 15 years ago, Harris would have been a top 5-10 pick. The Steelers are taking advantage of a market inefficiency that’s trended so far in one direction that the bubble is bursting.”

Hey, that’s good writin’, Dickie. Guy has a way with 280 characters.

With Freiermuth, the Steelers can more confidently use two-tight end sets. But if they do, it makes less sense to have four starting-caliber wide receivers. Selecting Freiermuth emphasizes that there was little reason to bring back JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Last year, the Steelers drafted Chase Claypool because Smith-Schuster was very likely to leave via free agency after the season. But he got no big offers. So, the Steelers did Smith-Schuster a favor and brought him back. They shouldn’t have.

Once the Steelers took Claypool (instead of running back J.K. Dobbins, who went to Baltimore instead), Smith-Schuster was surplus to requirements at any price.

Teams need to let their drafts add up. Sometimes, the Steelers don’t.

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