Steelers rank in the middle of the NFL when it comes to 2022 draft capital

The 2022 NFL draft is only a few weeks away. While some teams are loaded up with picks in order to transform their team for the 2022 season and beyond, others have a long wait until they finally get to submit a card to announce their newest member of the franchise.

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL draft, they are about where one would expect them to be when it comes to the amount of draft capital. Holding on to their original picks for the first three rounds, the Steelers don’t have another one of their scheduled picks until Round 7 but have been able to fill-in additional selections quite nicely with their various moves.

With a fourth-round compensatory pick, the Steelers don’t have a selection in the fifth round yet again in 2022. The Steelers did not have a fifth-round pick in last year‘s draft but traded into the round for Isaiahh Loudermilk at the expense of their 2022 fourth-round pick. The Steelers fifth-round pick this year went to the New York Jets when they acquired Avery Williamson at the trade deadline in 2020. In the same trade, the Steelers acquired the Jets seventh-round pick for the season and now have two selections in the final round. To finish out their draft moves, the Steelers do not have their original sixth-round pick as they used it to trade for linebacker Joe Schobert last preseason, but received a sixth-round pick in return when they traded Melvin Ingram during the 2021 season.

So with their seven selections in the 2022 NFL draft, where do the Steelers compare the other NFL teams in terms of draft capital?

On Monday, ESPN’s Field Yates shared a pick value chart determined by team for 2022. Yates’ chart was used using the pick value chart developed by Rich Hill of SB Nations’ Pats Pulpit.

Although the rankings are listed, counting down the chart the Pittsburgh Steelers are 17th of 32 teams when it comes to their current draft capital for 2022. Despite having seven selections, there are a few teams, such as the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers, with fewer picks that end up with more draft capital than the Steelers. This is due to their picks being higher than where the Steelers are scheduled to select. On the flip-side, the Steelers have more draft capital than some of the teams with more selections in this year‘s draft based on still having all their selections in the first three rounds.

So what are the values for the Steeler selections according to Rich Hill’s trade value chart? With the values given for each pick at drafttek.com, the amount for each selection the Steelers are scheduled to make is as follows:

Round 1, Pick 20: 269
Round 2, Pick 52: 109
Round 3, Pick 84: 51
Round 4, Pick 138: 17
Round 6, Pick 208: 4
Round 7, Pick 225: 3
Round 7, Pick 241: 2

Having the 20th pick in each round as a starting point has the Steelers behind other teams when it comes to calculating their draft capital. But the fact the Steelers still have one pick in every round except for the fifth, and an additional pick in the seventh round, they do have some capital should they want to make a move. If the Steelers are interested in moving up in the first round, it would take some of their draft capital for 2023 if they want to move more than 10 positions unless they are willing to part with most of their 2022 selections. Or, in what is more often the case for the Steelers, they could hold firm and simply make their seven selections.

When comparing the Steelers draft capital of the other teams in the AFC North, they do have some room to work if they wish, but not nearly as much if other teams are wanting to make a move. With the Baltimore Ravens having the most draft capital in the division, they are more in line to maneuver in this year‘s draft if they so choose. But with both the Bengals and Browns coming in on the lower end of draft capital this year, the Steelers are not in the worst shape in the division.

So what is your assessment of the value of the Steelers draft capital using the Rich Hill point system? Should the Steelers be looking to use their capital to trade up at any point, or are they better served in order to gain more picks by trading down? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.