Mel Kiper Jr. Grades The Steelers Draft 31st Which Means They Probably Hit A Home Run

It's draft grade season and time for every fan / fan account is going to get up in arms until next week's schedule release when we can all get pissed off about what our team's beat reporter predicts in May what their record will be come January of '22. 

The NFL cycle of life. 

I like Mel. Think he's entertaining. But if I had to guess I'd say he was so low on the Steelers draft because they simply drafted a running back in the first round and waited until the 3rd to address the offensive line. 

Just like everyone else on the internet. 

This is what you get paid the big bucks for, Mel? The Steelers 2021 draft is simple if you stop and think about it to go beyond the "YOU SHOULD NEVER DRAFT A RB IN THE 1ST ROUND" 'modern' way of thinking. Really. 

1 - 24: RB Najee Harris. They didn't have enough capital to move up, not many good options to move back, and they didn't want to overdraft a guy who should be selected 51 (Sam Cosmi) at 24. Take the best player available at a position of need (in case you forgot the Steelers employed Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland Jr. as their running backs before Najee Harris was chosen). 

2 - 55: TE Pat Freiermuth. Two guys you loved (Jenkins and Dickerson) were off the board upfront. Who was there that you did love and is also a position of need? (Vance McDonald retired / Ebron only one year left on the deal + can't block if his life depended on it) so you go get a guy they called "Baby Gronk" at Penn State to hopefully do more than solidify an important Steelers position for the next 10 years. 

3 - 87: C Kendrick Green. Versatile, athletic, nasty, wrestling background. Reminded them a lot of Maurkice Pouncey (who worked out OK). 

The top three and even four with the selection of LT Dan Moore in the fourth round makes a ton of sense beyond the surface level of all surface level thinking of you're wrong if you draft a running back in the first round. And on top of that people are forgetting that the Steelers still have Chuks Okarafor and Zach Banner returning from a knee injury that kept him out last season. 

Now, I'm not saying they're the "answers", but for what it's worth, the Steelers must feel pretty high / good about those two to give them even more reason not to select a lineman in the first two picks. It seems as though Mel searched "Steelers draft" on Twitter, saw all the rage about not solidifying the offensive line, and slapped that grade on there. 

Either way, "draft grades" like this always seem to find their way back to Freezing Cold Takes in a handful of years so fret not Steelers fans, I think we're in good shape.