Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 NFL Draft Grades

Grade: B

The Pittsburgh Steelers by default used their 2020 NFL Draft first-rounder a year early by trading for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. And while that trade proved to be a pivotal part of locking down Pittsburgh’s secondary in 2019, the safety position is still far from set.

2018 first-rounder Terrell Edmunds hasn’t proven himself to be worth that first-round pick from two years ago. Mike Hilton has been better, but still isn’t a defensive back that could be considered indispensable on the roster, allowing an 84.8 passer rating in 2019 according to Sports Reference.

Neither Edmunds or Hilton should be cut or let go, but having options in the secondary always helps. And if a sixth-rounder can develop in-house and allow the team to save a top pick in future drafts, all the better.

Antoine Brooks Jr. seems to fit that mold in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has speed and experience playing slot cornerback duties at Maryland to be a versatile defender in the defense’s secondary. Watching his film, Brooks looks to be pretty effective as a blitzer, with 237 career tackles and 27.5 tackles for a loss according to Sports Reference. With his ability to be a quality run-defender as well, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to be preparing for unique offenses like the one run by Lamar Jackson.

It is unclear what his best position would be in the NFL. At 220-pounds, he is pretty big for free safety and his 4.64 40-yard time from the Combine reiterates that much. He is built more like a linebacker in the NFL, possibly seeing the field in dime and nickel packages, focusing on the middle of the field. But if a slot receiver chooses to run a deep route, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense would need another defender further deep to cover him.

Giving a grade to a sixth-rounder is tough since at this point in the draft general managers are taking low-risk gambles on positions of need and players with some NFL traits. Brooks falls into this category since he is more than likely a developmental player in the NFL. His tackling is solid and he is a physical safety. But Colbert may plan to move Brooks to linebacker duties once with the team.

Regardless of where Brooks ends up on the field, Colbert recognized the safety position was still a need in the 2020 NFL Draft. While Fitzpatrick will dominate the unit in 2020, drafting a developmental player who has solid traits in the sixth-round shows Colbert has a good idea of the weaknesses of this defense and is drafting accordingly. Therefore, this pick gets a B, even though Brooks will likely have to switch positions or fix parts of his game to be useful in the NFL.

If he develops and can build on the traits he already has then great. If not, all the Pittsburgh Steelers lost was a sixth-rounder. Good draft strategy from Colbert here.