Steelers' draft class all but confirms the end of veterans' tenure in Pittsburgh

Part of what makes the NFL so great is the urgency.

Every game, press conference, and offseason event feels big, because, well…They are.

A game built on parody and chemistry, team building is a fine process of managing veterans with newcomers.

But for some of those veterans or even players only a few years into their career, that influx of talent spells trouble.

These three Steelers find themselves in that situation:

View the original article to see embedded media.

Player #1: Dan Moore Jr.

Pittsburgh made it clear that tackle was a priority when they took Troy Fautanu with their first pick in the draft. Having second-year starter Broderick Jones on the right and Fautanu slated to takeover at left tackle, Moore's usefulness may have run its course in Pittsburgh.

He doesn't have the positional versatility to play guard or kick over to the right side, and while he's no star, some teams probably believe he can be a starter, meaning he's unlikely to want to stay as a swing tackle or sixth man in the rotation.

So while Moore will surely find work in the league, the selection of Fautanu suggests it will be in a different location fairly soon.

Player #2: Calvin Austin III

Not only did Pittsburgh acquire two free agents in Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins who have similar skillsets to Austin, but the team also drafted Roman Wilson in the third round.

Beyond that, a restructure of Alex Highsmith's contract to free up close to $20m in cap space along with the words of GM Omar Khan suggest the Steelers moves at WR may be far from over.

That would leave Austin as a viable return man, except the team signed one of the best returners in NFL history last month via Cordarrelle Patterson after the league instituted the new kickoff rule.

That means Austin is going to half to have a big camp if he wants to stick in Pittsburgh.

Player #3: LB Mark Robinson

The Steelers have two carryovers and solid starters from 2023 via Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts to go along with prize-free agent Patrick Queen, and third round draft pick Payton Wilson.

Seeing as Robinson has struggled to develop in pass coverage, he will need to make more than a few plays on the ball this preseason if he wants to be apart of the LB corps in 2024.