For all the good he did while he was the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kevin Colbert’s 2022 NFL draft class and its failings will always tarnish his legacy. Here is what the 2022 draft haul amounted to.
First round – QB Kenny Pickett
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Second round – WR George Pickens
Third round – DT Demarvin Leal
Fourth round – WR Calvin Austin III
Sixth round – TE/FB Connor Heyward
Seventh round – LB Mark Robinson
Seventh round – QB Chris Oladokun
Heading into 2025, Pickett and Pickens are both long gone, and unless Austin has a breakout campaign, there won’t be a single impact player from this draft on the team. Pickett was a bust from the beginning and the risk/reward of Pickens was enticing enough to take the chance but it didn’t work at all.
Using a little hindsight and a little common sense, here’s how we wish the draft had played out.
First round – C Tyler Linderbaum
The Steelers needed a starting center after the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey and Linderbaum was an elite prospect.
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Second round – WR Alec Pierce
Pierce led the NFL with 22.3 yards per catch in 2024 and is set see a big bump in targets this season.
Third round – DT Demarvin Leal
We leave Leal here because the options at defensive tackle here.
Fourth round – WR Khalil Shakir
Shakir was far and away a better prospect coming out of college over Calvin Austi III.
Sixth round – TE/FB Connor Heyward
For the sake of nepotism, we leave Heyward here as the pick depite his lack of production.
Seventh round – RB Isaiah Pacheco
We loved Pacheco coming out of college and he’s proven to be as good in the NFL as his film.
Seventh round – QB Skylar Thompson
Thompson is currently on the Steelers and while he’s not a starter, he’s just as worthy of this pick as any quarterback. We also didn’t take the easy way out and put Brock Purdy here despite having a fifth-round grade on him pre-draft.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Redrafting the Steelers picks in the 2022 NFL draft