Pittsburgh Steelers' second-day NFL Draft wish-list includes center, cornerback, receiver

The Steelers were in search of a versatile offensive lineman with the 20th pick of the NFL Draft. They got their guy in Troy Fautanu, the former Washington Husky who slipped a bit during the first round.

So when day two starts in Detroit, what do the Steelers do with picks 51, 84 and 98? There’s still a need for a center. And the priority wish list also includes a wide receiver and a cornerback.

The good news is that there are a ton of defensive players available for Friday’s second round. That’s mainly due to the run on offensive guys in the first round. They outnumbered their defensive counterparts 23-9. Conversely, there was a run on offensive linemen in the first round, so there may not be many left by pick 51. Same for wide receivers. There were seven in the first round.

The Steelers had eyes on Duke’s Graham Barton, who could play all five offensive line positions, for the 20th pick. They figured he could settle in at center. But then Fantanu slipped to them. There still are two highly-rated centers available in Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier. But if the Steelers want them, they may need to trade up. Coming into the draft, they were borderline first rounders.

As for receivers, there are a handful of top names who slipped into the second round. They include Adonai Mitchell from Texas, Michigan’s Roman Wilson, Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley and Ladd McConkey of Georgia.

Steelers also will sift through draft names for a cornerback

The Steelers also focused on cornerbacks leading up to the draft. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the team brought in Iowa’s Cooper DeJean of Iowa for a visit. He’s still on the draft board. So are Rutger’s Max Melton and Kentucky’s Andru Phillips, who came to Steelers headquarters earlier this month. That’s the same for Pitt’s M.J. Devonshire, West Virginia’s Beanie Bishop and Penn State’s Daequan Hardy.

Meanwhile, the Steelers received top grades from NFL.com for their selection of Fautanu. The site gave Pittsburgh an A. The reason?

“Fautanu’s stock may have dropped a bit due to a reported knee issue. But the Steelers smartly found value in the stud lineman, who joins last year’s first-rounder, Broderick Jones, up front to protect new quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.”