It’s officially my favorite time of year: draft season.
Even though it has been airing on television since 1980, the NFL Draft felt like it was still gaining momentum in the mainstream during the mid-2000s.
The first draft I ever watched was in 2004.
Back then, there were no podcasts or YouTube creators to follow for year-round draft coverage. Mel Kiper doing seasonal spots on ESPN was most fans’ only exposure to this kind of coverage. ESPN wouldn’t hire Todd McShay to be Kiper’s foil until 2006, which is the same year the NFL Network provided an alternative live broadcast of the draft to ESPN’s. The league-owned tv channel wouldn’t launch a dedicated draft program until 2007, when Path to the Draft debuted, hosted by future NFL GM Mike Mayock. Daniel Jeremiah wouldn’t come on to the scene until 2012. And in 2004, there certainly hadn’t yet been a cult classic movie released with a plot centered — loosely, very loosely — around the draft.
I remember my parents’ confusion as to why I would want to spend so much time sitting in front of the TV waiting for names to be read aloud in 10-minute intervals. Truthfully, I don’t fully recall what made me tune in that year. I had already counted myself a football fan by then — I was 12 — but I had never felt compelled to watch the draft before. I don’t remember having any real curiosity about Eli Manning, the eventual first pick of that draft, at the time. If anything, I had a heavy skepticism of him merely because of his relation to Peyton Manning, a player whom, at the time, I enjoyed rooting against.
Still, it was dramatic watching that particular draft night play out. The Manning family hadn’t been subtle in the lead-up to the draft, using the media to make it clear they did not envision a future where Eli would play in San Diego. That the Chargers drafted him anyway was a stunning development; I guess you just had to be there.
Lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Manning family’s apparent disdain for the Chargers organization — and Manning’s eventual trade to the Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers — was the Steelers’ selection of a young quarterback out of Miami (of Ohio!) named Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th pick.
I had zero knowledge about who the Steelers had chosen that night, and it drove a burning curiosity through me. For starters, as a resident of the West Coast, I had never heard of a Miami existing in Ohio, though I had heard of “The U.” They were kind of hard to miss after all; six Miami Hurricanes were drafted in the first round that year alone. As the broadcast continued, I was transfixed by all the personal stories of each player selected, especially by the third day when players from schools I had never heard of — schools like Delta State, Nicholls State, and Northwestern Oklahoma State — started coming off the board.
This, I decided, was peak sports television.
After Roethlisberger went on to have one of the most successful rookie seasons of all time, I was right back at my television set for the 2005 Draft. You know, the one with Aaron Rodgers dramatic fall? If I wasn’t already hooked by then, I certainly have been since.
All this preamble is to say: I’m a draft nerd. I’ve followed along with each draft class as a fan for 22 years now. And, as of 2024, when I was hired to write for Behind the Steel Curtain, I’ve had an audience to discuss and share my passion with. You.
With the 2026 draft cycle officially in full swing, that means it’s time for my favorite thing to write all year: my NFL Draft Gem series.
For those of you who are reading me for the first time, the premise of my Gem Series is pretty simple. Each year, I focus on highlighting players who aren’t expected to be among the top-32 picks. I love the first round as much as the next fan, but the legacy media outlets you’re familiar with already do a pretty good job of covering these players ad nauseam. Rather, I hope to give some shine to the players who don’t get that same level of spotlight, but who are just as likely to wind up as starters and valuable role players for NFL teams. While I don’t have any hard rules set in stone about which players I select, I try to avoid players who are:
- Frequently appearing in first-round mocks
- Considered to be one of the three best at their position
- Have already had a draft profile published on BTSC
I also think it’s important to reflect on previous years, which is why my first article in the Gems series is all about reviewing my process. It might seem a little self-indulgent, but I truly think football is a sport where you can never run out of things to learn. It’s my hope that by reviewing my previous Gem selections, I can not only hold myself accountable to you, the readers, but to also continue to refine my scouting process and learn from previous mistakes and successes. While the nature of this exercise makes it nearly impossible to expect a 100% hit rate, it is my goal to identify as many useful NFL players for you as I can.
In previous years, I have focused solely on the positions I think are positions of need for the Steelers. That explains why you’ll find some positions have been explored twice, while others only once, and some — like linebacker and tight end — I have yet to cover. Starting this year, I plan to cover every position group — with the exception of quarterback and special teams units.
But that’s enough introduction. Let’s review some hits and misses from the past two drafts. Today we’ll start with the offense. Later this week, we’ll take a look at the defense.
Running back
2025 class selections: Kyle Monangai, R.J. Harvey, Damien Martinez, Jarquez Hunter, Jordan James
FCS deep sleeper: Lan Larison
While last year was the first time I included running backs in this series, my years of playing dynasty fantasy football have prepared me to have an opinion about incoming rookies at the position. Last year was one of the deepest running back classes in quite some time, which was highlighted by BTSC writing draft profiles for 10 different backs. With my self-imposed rules, that also meant 10 fewer backs to choose from. That I still found a couple of gems that hit is a testament to just how deep the class was.
When I armchair scout the running back position, there are a few different traits I watch for. There are all kinds of different body types and play styles, but I’m always looking to gauge a player’s burst, contact balance, vision, and change-of-direction ability. If a running back excels in at least two of those traits — and has reliable ball security — they have a decent shot at sticking to an NFL roster. If they have three, they might even carve out a role.
Biggest hit: Kyle Monangai
Excluding my deep sleeper pick of the undrafted Larison, Monangai was the player on my list with the least draft investment (pick 233). Yet he was arguably the best performer of this bunch, generating more rushing and scrimmage yards than R.J. Harvey, who was drafted five rounds sooner and received more snaps this year.
Here’s what I had to say at the time: “(Monangai) has our lowest RAS (Relative Athletic Score) of any of the backs I’ve selected, but his tape was too fun to knock him off my list. Monangai ran a relatively slow 40-time (4.60), but he looks much faster in-game… he projects as a rotational back who could serve as a team’s closer; the thunder to a speedier running mate’s lightning.”
Monangai is a perfect example of why I look for burst over longspeed. His 4.60-second 40-yard dash hinted that he might lack the top-gear we associate with running backs who create explosive plays, but his tape had explosive runs against Ohio State, Michigan, and Miami. Monangai was able to force more missed tackles than you’d expect, in large part due to his vision, ability to bounce off contact, and then quickly reaccelerate while changing direction.
Biggest miss: Damien Martinez
To be honest, I’m still puzzled by this one. Martinez rushed for 3,173 yards in three college seasons and was just 21 years old this past season. As a bigger back, I didn’t find his 4.51-second 40-yard dash to be all that concerning, especially with 43 runs of 15 yards or longer on his college resume, and he had the second-highest Relative Athletic Score of my selections. I had Martinez as a third-round pick, but he fell all the way to the final round. He was unable to make a crowded running back room with the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks. He joined the Packers’ practice squad in December and has since signed a futures/reserve contract. I’m not ready to give up on him just yet, but historically this season doesn’t bode well for his prospects.
Hunter and James didn’t play much either, but I’m not too worried considering where they landed. The Rams and Niners have a history of selecting mid-round running backs and withholding playing time from them during their rookie season. Case in point, Rams current starter Kyren Williams only had 35 carries as a rookie before becoming the starter in 2023. Hunter started to get special teams snaps towards the end of the season, and James got carries in the playoffs for San Francisco.
Wide receiver
2025 class selections: Tory Horton, Chimere Dike, Kyle Williams, Jalen Royals, Tai Felton, Daniel Jackson
2024 class selections: Ricky Pearsall, Jalen McMillan, Roman Wilson, Bub Means, Cornelius Johnson
Wide receiver has been a mixed bag through two years. In my defense, BTSC wrote seven receiver profiles in both 2024 and 2025, and eight of my 11 selections were taken in Rounds 3-5, meaning my radar for which receiver will get drafted in these mid-to-late rounds is pretty tuned. Only one of my selections went undrafted, and only one — Ricky Pearsall — snuck up into the first round.
The results, though, have mostly been disappointing, at least in the short term. Four players — Horton, Pearsall, McMillan, and Means — have missed significant time with injury. Pearsall has looked promising when healthy. Horton raced out to five quick touchdowns before being shut down at the season midpoint. McMillan had a promising rookie season but was kept out with injury this year until Week 15. Means only played in seven games before an ankle injury ended his rookie season, and another ankle injury ended his 2025 season in August.
Others played heavily in special teams, but have yet to crack the starting lineup at receiver. For players like Royals and Felton, the receiver room was crowded to break into. Williams went to a coach who seemed reluctant to trust him and fellow rookie TreVeyon Henderson with big roles, but they still found ways to contribute on a Super Bowl roster. And then there is Wilson, who seemingly couldn’t get out of Tomlin or Rodgers’ dog house, even though he seemed to get open in his limited reps.
Biggest hit: Chimere Dike
Dike stands out easily in this collection of receivers. His Pro Bowl turn as a kick and punt returner makes up most of his Year 1 production (1,968 yards), but he also flashed at times on a mostly inept Tennessee offense. Dike has great burst and a high top-gear (4.34-second 40, 94th percentile), but he isn’t somebody at this stage who forces many missed tackles. The Titan’s offense often used him in a similar role to Jayden Reed for the Packers: heavy slot usage (68% of his WR snaps), occasional jet sweeps, a sprinkle of backfield snaps.
Surprisingly, for a player who thrived as a kick and punt returner, Dike isn’t someone who forces a lot of missed tackles (2) or add a ton of yards after the catch. That’s why it felt like the Titans had miscast him some with how they were using him. Dike averaged 6.5 YAC (36th among WR) on targets behing the line of scrimmage, and 3.8 YAC (29th) on receptions of nine-or-less air yards. He was an OK player with this usage, but did it warrant accounting for 64.4 of his targets? Make Dike an intermediate target, and that’s where he thrives, especially on crossing routes. It’ll be interesting to see what the Titans new OC Brian Daboll does with him in Year 2.
Biggest miss: Daniel Jackson
If we’re still holding out a sliver of hope for Wilson and the receivers that dealt with injuries, that makes Jackson and Johnson my biggest misses. In my evaluation of Johnson, I knew he was a Day 3 guy, and was betting on his size and athleticism unlocking at the NFL level after being in a run-dominant system at Michigan. That hasn’t come to fruition has he has bounced around practice squads, currently with the Ravens.
That means Jackson is my biggest miss thus far, especially as he was the only one to go undrafted. I still love Jackson’s tape, but he didn’t run any combine drills beyond the 3-cone (he finished with the 79th percentile), and he measuered in the 31st-percentile or lower in height, weght, wingspan, arm length, and hand size. He scored a touchdown in the final preseason game for Houston, but was cut from a crowed WR room, and to my knowledge has not signed on to a practice squad. The combination of having concerns about your athleticism, lack of size, and a meager college production profile — Jackson dominated Minnesota’s receiving production, they just ran a ton and regularly had shoddy quarterback play — was all to much for Jackson to overcome and should have been a big red flag despite how much I loved his college tape. I had him projected as a Round 5 or later pick, so it wasn’t a devastating miss, mostly I’m just disappointed he didn’t seem to get a real crack at it.
Tackles & Interior Linemen
2024 OT class selections: Kingsley Suamataia, Caedan Wallace, Kiran Amegadjie, Tylan Grable, Frank Krum
2024 IOL selections: Tanor Bortolini, Jacob Monk, Sataoa Laumea, Christian Haynes, Hunter Nourzad
The 2026 draft will be my first class with reliable access to All-22 tape of offenses, so I’m hoping to improve greatly in my evaluations of lineman. Last year, had I covered these positions, I’m not sure how my overall hit rate would have looked like, but second-rounder Aireontae Ersery and fourth-round Jalen Travis were a couple of my favorite tackles that would have qualified.
Up unitl now, I’ve mostly looked for guys who had long arms and an RAS over 9.0 with the exception of Wallace. I’ve paired that with any All-22 or highlight clips I could find, which some players it was easier done for than others. That all of these players have taken NFL snaps, and all of them except Laumea — who signed a futures/reserve deal with the Steelers in January — have stayed on active rosters is a pretty decent showing considering those limitations. Plus, several, like my Amegadijie and Krum — my only undrafted player —were considered developmental projects.
Krum even had a fun moment in the playoffs.
Moving forward, size plays into the RAS number, but agility is area I think deserves extra weight from me. If they look stiff on the move, they can struggle at the next level. Some of these prospects skipped agilities, yet still had high RAS score. Now with All-22, I’m optimistic we can better assess how these prospects move and execute as blockers.
Biggest hit: Tanor Bortolini still needs to work on his anchor in pass protection, but he was a big part of the Colt’s strong rushing attack in 2025 as the starting center.
Biggest miss: Sataoa Laumea, Christian Haynes or Caedan Wallace
Laumea was drafted by the Seahawks but is now on a reserves contract with the Steelers. The only player not to stick with the team that drafted him, despite Seattle having some questionable play out of starting guard Anthony Bradford says a alot about both Laumea and Christian Haynes, who was also drafted by Seattle. Wallace couldn’t crack into a weak Patriots offensive line. New England drafted Will Campbell fourth overall and brought in reliable if unspetacular veteran Morgan Moses, so it makes sense that he sat in his second year, but it’s hard to project future starts for him either.
