There was little doubt of what the primary needs were of the Pittsburgh Steelers when it came to the 2023 NFL draft. Unfortunately, when it comes to offensive tackle and cornerback, two of the team’s four most significant needs, history doesn’t bode well.
Nevertheless, the Steelers tempted fate and drafted OT Broderick Jones at No. 14 overall and CB Joey Porter Jr. at No. 32 overall.
Historically speaking, using a first-round pick on an offensive tackle is practically unheard of for Pittsburgh. In fact, prior to 2023, the last time the Steelers drafted a tackle in the first round was 1996. That was Jamain Stephens, and he turned out to be a bust. If we extend it to the second round, there’s Mike Adams — drafted in the second round in 2012 — and he was also a bust.
The last successful offensive tackle the Steelers drafted in the first two rounds was Marcus Gilbert at No. 63 overall in 2011.
Cornerback hasn’t gone much better. The Steelers broke a nearly 20-year drought of using a first-round pick on a cornerback when selecting Artie Burns in 2016 and — who could have guessed it — he was a bust. Cameron Sutton was the last cornerback the Steelers drafted and developed, and he was a third-round pick in 2017. Before him? Ike Taylor in the fourth round, all the way back in 2003.
Will this year be the year the Steelers shake off two negative trends from the NFL draft?
