The 2024 NFL draft is less than two weeks away. By the end of the month, there will be new members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the anticipation of the 2024 season will continue to grow.

As is often the case leading up to the draft, the speculation of how things will play out is running amok. Should the Steelers trade up? Is it more important for the Steelers to trade down and gain more draft capital? What if the players the Steelers really want would be overdrafted in the first round but won’t make it to pick 51? The speculation will continue until all the selections have been made for 2024.

In 2023, the Steelers had a player they wanted so they moved up a few spots in order to draft Broderick Jones in the first round. Rather than sit back and see how things fell, they went up and got their guy.

If moving up in the first round is it outside of the realm of possibility for 2024, there’s a lot of speculation based on the Steelers needs some think they should be a candidate to trade back. With center being the most glaring hole on the Steelers roster, there are many believe the Steelers should trade back three, five, eight, or even 12 places and pick up more draft capital and draft a player in a more appropriate draft position.

But is that really worth it?

Should the Steelers try to maneuver to draft a player “where they are expected to go” instead of where they pick?

That’s an issue that I’m hearing right now with several players at different positions when it comes to the Steelers draft. Some feel the best player for the Steelers would be overdrafted at pick 20 but yet the player will likely not make it to pick 51.

For me, I believe if the Steelers have a player they really want, they should make the selection rather than worry about drafting them where they were expected to go.

If the Steelers take this philosophy, chances are they’re not going to receive very good grades on their draft. Last year the Steelers had excellent grades for the 2023 draft class based on the players they got when they selected them. But does it really matter when they were selected? What matters is that the players produce.

Drafting a player because the team values them to take them at that selection needs to be the Steelers philosophy. I don’t care what other Steelers fans think of players value is worth, what the “draft experts” believe, what other teams think. If the Steelers know that it’s their guy, they need to make him their guy.

A perfect example of this draft philosophy is the 2023 Detroit Lions. The Lions didn’t get terrible grades for their drafting as they were generally in the ‘B’ range, but part of that is because they got a pretty good value pick late in the second round in safety Brian Branch. But with the Lions first three draft picks, they were all “overdrafted“ according to most of the draft specialists. Detroit selected running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick who is ranked 29th overall by NFL Mock Draft Database. Their next pick at selection 18 they took linebacker Jack Campbell who was ranked 42nd overall. With the third pick of the second round, the Lions selected tight and Sam LaPorta who is ranked 59th. All three of these picks many considered to be a reach, with Campbell being the biggest reach of them all.

But how did it work out for the Lions? All three selections along with Brian Branch made the NFL All-Rookie Team for 2024. Gibbs and LaPorta were both selected to the Pro Bowl. It didn’t matter if they got the proper value when they selected these players, the Lions got players that helped them win.

I don’t care if the Steelers get a very good grade following their draft. They had a higher grade than Detroit last year but the Lions rookie class had more accolades than the Steelers. I want the Steelers to get the players they believe are going to help them win both now and in the long term.

If the Steelers are at the 20th pick and the offensive tackles they were considering or off the board, there’s not a really good choice at cornerback or wide receiver, and they know they are wanting to draft a center who likely won’t make it to their next election who they really like, they need to draft him. I don’t care if he wasn’t supposed to go until the beginning of the second round. The Steelers don’t have a pick there. And sometimes it’s not possible to pull off a trade to move into the right position. If the Steelers don’t have eight players that they would feel comfortable drafting when they are on the clock, they should NOT move back eight places. Pick your guy there and screw ”draft value.”

I’m sure Steelers fans will be in an uproar if the analysts on which ever channel they are watching the draft don’t swoon over the Steelers choice, especially if they say they should have been drafted later. But a lot can happen between pick 20 and pick 51. The Steelers aren’t drafting to make their fans happy about the draft value. If the guy you want is there and you have the chance to draft him, the Steelers need to pull the trigger.