3 players the Pittsburgh Steelers may regret passing on in 2022 NFL Draft

Player no. 1 the Pittsburgh Steelers will regret passing on: Malik Willis, QB

I’m sure Pittsburgh Steelers fans are happy with the top three picks this team ultimately ended up with in the 2022 NFL Draft.

• Kenny Pickett, QB
• George Pickens, WR
• DeMarvin Leal, DL

However, things could have been quite different. Instead of those three players, the Steelers could have come away from this year’s draft with all of:

• Trent McDuffie, CB
• Skyy Moore, WR
• Malik Willis, QB

The talk leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft seemed to all be centered around Malik Willis for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The internet and Twitterverse had laughed about how much it appeared Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin liked Willis.

If Tomlin showing so much love for Willis in the pre-draft process, even just non-verbally, was all a ploy to mask their interest in Kenny Pickett, then Tomlin deserves an Oscar for his performance.

Or, it’s possible that after a ton of discussion with everyone in the draft room, the Steelers just collectively decided that Pickett was the safer selection — which he might be — and Tomlin was overruled.

Who knows? We probably never will.

If given the choice between these two potential draft classes, I would personally choose the latter if I were the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Getting Malik Willis in round three would have been a total steal for them and would have given them a relatively risk-free dart throw at the position as compared to a first-round pick, who will have the pressure of a first-rounder to prove himself worthy of “franchise QB” status rather quickly.

The Steelers will have to live with their decision if Willis ends up hitting for the Titans and Pickett isn’t able to live up to his first-round hype.