The Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Draft Class has now been freshly minted, introduced on the South Side with Jersey numbers to follow.
So now its time to grade the draft class…
…The Steelers 2020 Draft Class that is. You read that right. Chuck Noll insisted that you needed to wait 5 years to evaluate a Draft class. That seems like eons today, but if it was good enough for Chuck Noll it is good enough for me.
Alex Highsmith sacks Aaron Rodgers. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
First Round – N/A, Traded Away
The ink on the physician’s diagnosis of Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury was hardly dry when Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin shocked the NFL by channeling their inner Buddy Parker and trading their first round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft for Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick made an immediate impact, raising the secondary to levels not seen since the days of Troy Polamalu and before him, Rod Woodson. Minkah’s stats haven’t been as strong for the last two years, but this was good use of a first round pick.
Alas, it gets no grade because Fitzpatrick wasn’t part of the Steelers 2020 NFL Draft Class.
Second Round – Chase Claypool, The Rookie Flasher
Let this one be a lesson to you: Draft evaluations made in following February are about as accurate as April batting averages.
Rookie Chase Claypool scores the first of four touchdowns vs the Eagles. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh infamously passed on Jalen Hurts and J.K. Dobbins to pick Chase Claypool and in February 2021 the move looked like a stroke of pure genius on the part of Kevin Colbert. Claypool exploded for a phenomenal rookie year, catching 62 passes for 873 yards. He scored a video game-like 4 touchdowns in his 4th game, as the Steelers defeated the Eagles while Hurts sat on the bench.
In his second year, his playing time jumped, but his production slipped. By year three, Omar Khan was shipping him off to Chicago for a second-round pick. He caught 14 pass for the Bears, who shipped him to Miami, where his NFL career ended after 9 games. Grade: Disappointment
Third Round – Alex Highsmith, The Book End
The Steelers defense depends on getting pressure from both outside linebackers. The Steelers drafted Alex Highsmith knowing they had Bud Dupree on a one-year rental. Highsmith took over the starting role in his second year, and by his third season he was racking up 14.5 sacks.
His production has dipped since then, in part due to injuries, but he’s clearly proven to be the viable bookend that the Steelers need opposite T.J. Watt. Grade: Over Performer
Fourth Round — Anthony McFarland Jr., The Truant Running Back
The Steelers drafted Anthony McFarland after only two years at the University of Maryland. And during his first two years, McFarland looked every bit like a player who probably should have stayed in school.
Anthony McFarland lays claim to an active roster spot. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com
By 2022 the presence of Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and Benny Snell forced him to the practice squad, but McFarland saw action in the Steelers win over the Colts. The Steelers resigned McFarland, and he looked to make a go of it as a returner and perhaps as a backup running back, until injuries derailed his season, and ultimately his career. Grade: Bust.
Fourth Round – Kevin Dotson, The One that Got Away
Unlike most fourth-round picks, there was a buzz around Kevin Dotson almost as soon as the Steelers drafted him out of Louisiana. He started 4 games as a rookie, 9 in his second year and 17 in his third year.
Kevin Dotson as a rookie. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com
But one of Andy Weidl’s first moves upon arriving in Pittsburgh was to begin stocking the roster with Dotson’s replacement. The Steelers traded Dotson to the Rams, who moved him to the right side, and Dotson has gotten rave reviews since. Grade: Farm Team
Sixth Round — Antoine Brooks Jr., Another Nameless Terrapain
Antoine Brooks was one of several players from the University of Maryland that the Steelers drafted at the end of the Colbert era. Brooks’ tenure amounted to 10 special teams snaps and 29 snaps with the defense via practice squad elevation. He was cut the next summer and played on special teams for the Rams. Grade: Bust
Seventh Round – Carlos Davis, Bloodlines Aren’t Everything
The Steelers took Carlos Davis in the second round was notable mainly because he is Khalil Davis‘ brother. And Mike Tomlin loves bloodlines. But, as Devin Bush Jr. hadn’t yet begun to prove (the kid has a great rookie year), bloodlines aren’t everything.
Davis played 12 games for the Steelers. During in the 2021 season, when the Steelers defensive line was so bad that they signed Montravius Adams in a bit of practice squad poaching and started him the next week, yet Davis could only find the field for 50 snaps.
Overall Grade for the Steelers 2020 Draft Class
One Disappointment, 2 Busts, a Farm Teamer, and one Over Performer. That’s pretty grim. IF you count Minkah Fitzpatrick and the fact that Chase Claypool turned into Joey Porter Jr. the overall grade would be higher.
But every draft must be evaluated the players you picked. Alex Highsmith keep this group from being a total failure, but no matter how you slice it, the Steelers 2020 Draft was not Kevin Colbert’s finest hour. Grade: D
