The Pittsburgh Steelers had several members of their 2024 draft class miss significant time last season as rookies, while others immediately stepped into prominent roles. Guys like OT Troy Fautanu and WR Roman Wilson hardly saw the field at all in their rookie seasons. At the same time, C Zach Frazier and G Mason McCormick both earned starting spots along the offensive line, and LB Payton Wilson has a starting spot locked in to begin the 2025 campaign.
After S Ryan Watts medically retired from football this offseason, Pittsburgh is still left with six players from their original draft class. We will be ranking those players in terms of who to expect the biggest sophomore leaps from in 2025, as all six players look to build off their respective rookie seasons.
NO. 6: DL LOGAN LEE
DL Logan Lee is the easy choice to put at the bottom of this list as he has the least clear path to playing time, and is likely to be considered more of a fringe player on the roster than a breakout candidate. Lee was drafted in the sixth round last year and didn’t see any action as a rookie. While that could mean that he has plenty of room to improve in his sophomore season, Pittsburgh did draft Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black who project to be above Lee on the depth chart as well as has Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, DeMarvin Leal, and Daniel Ekuale notably on the depth chart.
Pittsburgh hasn’t wasted any time adding depth at the defensive line, and unless Lee proves he is one of their top six guys, he could get cut from the roster in training camp and get relegated to the team’s practice squad. We have the full preseason to see if Lee can prove he’s one of the top guys upfront, but as of now, the odds are stacked against him.
NO. 5: G MASON MCCORMICK
This ranking is no slight to G Mason McCormick, who started 14 games as a rookie last season after getting drafted in the fourth round out of South Dakota State. Instead, it’s recognizing the feat of that accomplishment and how it may be difficult to expect a much greater leap in Year 2 from McCormick, who is a steady player at guard but may lack that high-end ceiling at the position.
McCormick has plenty of room to improve as a player, boasting a 57.7 overall grade by Pro Football Focus. Still, he stepped in admirably when G James Daniels went down to injury, playing 936 snaps when many projected him to be a backup for his entire rookie season behind Daniels and Isaac Seumalo. He should take a step forward with a full offseason under his belt, but the magnitude of that step forward should be tempered based on the impact he had as a rookie.
NO. 4: C ZACH FRAZIER
What was said about McCormick can also be applied to Zach Frazier, who could very well rank first overall on this list when it comes to the best overall players from the 2024 Draft class. Frazier lived up to the billing and the expectations placed on him as a rookie last season, showing Pittsburgh that he can be their franchise center. He started 15 games and played 976 offensive snaps, earning a 76.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked him sixth out of 64 centers in the league last year according to their grading system.
Frazier comes into 2025 as probably the best overall offensive lineman on Pittsburgh’s roster, but expecting him to make an even bigger jump in his second season relative to what he managed to do as a rookie may be wishful thinking. We can expect to see some improvement from him as he has a full season under his belt, but unless Frazier takes home First Team All-Pro honors (which would be awesome, by the way), it’s hard to put him much higher on this list.
NO. 3: LB PAYTON WILSON
LB Payton Wilson was an intriguing name to rank as the former third round pick came in last season and contributed heavily on Pittsburgh’s defense, starting four games and played 492 defensive snaps with another 301 on special teams, making 78 total tackles (49 solo), three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown), two pass deflections, and an interception.
Still, Wilson looks primed to be stepping into a full-time starting position opposite Patrick Queen on defense, with Malik Harrison and Cole Holcomb possibly getting sprinkled in, leading to likely more snaps and opportunities for Wilson to take a big step forward in 2025. His speed and pursuit were notable last season, as well as his skill set in coverage, ranking sixth in coverage grade according to PFF. Should the opportunities be there, it’s not hard to see Wilson hit the 100-tackle mark in his second season, with likely more splash plays to come as well.
NO. 2: WR ROMAN WILSON
It’s easy to put previously injured players at the top of this list. Still, in the case of WR Roman Wilson and OT Troy Fautanu, both find themselves in a position to take on starting roles at very pivotal positions for the offense. In the case of Wilson, the former third-round pick out of Michigan had his season end before it ever really began, suffering a hamstring injury in training camp, which lingered into the regular season, dealing with ailments that held him to just five offensive snaps as a rookie.
Currently, the WR depth chart is wide open behind DK Metcalf as Pittsburgh has Calvin Austin III penciled in as their current WR, with Robert Woods, Scottie Miller, and Ben Skowronek rounding things out. After trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, the WR2 job is wide open entering training camp, and Pittsburgh is counting on Wilson to make a Year 2 jump this season, as he has looked good in team activities thus far. The Steelers lost out on their talented route runner last season, but now fully healthy in 2025, there is a good chance that Wilson can hit the ground running.
NO. 1: OT TROY FAUTANU
Much like the case with Roman Wilson, there is only an arrow pointing upward for OT Troy Fautanu. The former first-round pick out of Washington was highly-touted coming out of college for his athleticism and movement skills as well as his play demeanor in the trenches, making Pittsburgh ecstatic that he fell to them on draft night. Sadly, after a strong Week 2 showing in his lone start of the year, Fautanu suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice prior to Week 3, cutting his 2024 season short after playing just 55 snaps.
Heading into Year 2, Fautanu is projected to start at right tackle opposite Broderick Jones. With no other quality starting options behind him, Fautanu is the clear starter Pittsburgh is running with for the 2025 campaign. He showed glimpses of promise against the Denver Broncos. Still, now he has the opportunity to be the clear-cut guy for the entire season, placing a lot of pressure on him to perform, but also the opportunity to easily deserve the top spot on this list if he shows he can be the player Pittsburgh thought he could when they drafted him.
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