With training camp still a few weeks away for most NFL teams, the offseason has turned into a time for second-guessing old decisions. CBS Sports’ Zach Pereles jumped into that lane with a 2024 NFL Draft redraft, and the result did Pittsburgh no favors.
The Steelers wound up on the short end of the exercise, especially when it came to two of their biggest rookie additions: tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier. Pereles had Frazier going much earlier than he did in real life, slotting him to the Vikings at No. 17 overall instead of where Pittsburgh actually landed him at No.
- That left Fautanu as the obvious choice at No. 20 for the Steelers - at least in theory.
Instead, Pereles sent Pittsburgh in a different direction.
Rome Odunze ended up as the Steelers’ pick in the redraft, which is a curious call given what Fautanu is expected to become. Odunze is a talented receiver, no question, but the choice to take him over a tackle who looks like a future franchise piece is tough to square. Fautanu’s rookie year was wiped out by a knee injury, but even with that in mind, passing on him for a wideout who still hasn’t cracked 750 yards feels like a stretch.
Odunze’s production through 29 career games sits at 1,395 receiving yards, nine touchdowns and 98 catches. That’s useful No. 2 receiver territory, but it’s not the kind of output Chicago was hoping for when it took him ninth overall. And if he had landed in Pittsburgh instead, the quarterback situation there likely wouldn’t have helped him much anyway.
Pereles didn’t let Fautanu fall far, though. In this redraft, he lasted until No. 28, where the Chiefs took him. That slide looks odd when you consider that other players with major injuries, like 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, and players at less valuable positions, such as Texans safety Calen Bullock and Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, came off the board earlier.
For the Steelers, the bigger takeaway is simple: the real 2024 draft looks a lot better than this hypothetical one.
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