Blake Freeland Just Gave The Pittsburgh Steelers 37 Reasons To Draft Him

Freeland is 6 foot 8 inches tall and weighs 302 pounds. He proved he may be one of the best pure athletes at offensive tackles that we have ever seen. It doesn’t mean he will be a great pro, but he was a four-year starter at BYU, captain of the team, and a Third Team AP All-American. His protection kept Zach Wilson clean and contributed to him being the second pick in the NFL Draft in 2021. That is some serious production at tackle. 

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The best part about Freeland is like Jones, he was projected as a fourth-round pick before the combine. The BYU tackle's performance should vault him up the draft board, but it is conceivable that he will be available with the Steelers’ third-round pick. It is much easier to put 15 to 25 pounds on his lean frame and retain his athleticism than drafting a player who may have to shed a little weight. The Steelers could still get a franchise left tackle while addressing defensive needs and maybe adding a weapon by waiting a little later to address the offensive line.

Depending on how you view the current state of the roster, it is either a good thing that they have the flexibility to flow with how the draft unfolds or it is a bad thing that the offensive line, cornerback, defensive line, linebacker, and even the wide receivers need key additions. Pittsburgh’s strategy in free agency will give fans an idea of where they are going, but the frugal Steelers aren’t likely to fill multiple holes with their projected cap space.

The BYU product gives the Steelers a lot of options if Weidl, Khan, and Tomlin have a high grade on him. The Steelers have only picked seven Pac-12 players in the first three rounds this century. It is not a hotbed for the scouting department, but they did find David DeCastro, Marvel Smith, Keenan Lewis, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and a pretty good safety named Troy Polamalu. They don't go out west often in the draft, but when they do, it usually pans out. 

Five out of seven is a pretty good conversion rate and the last two offensive linemen from the Pac-12 worked out nicely for the black and gold. Freeland may have jumped right onto the Steelers’ radar with his 37-inch vertical and could be the first BYU player since Brett Keisel to start in Pittsburgh.