Monday’s “First Call” shows an interesting twist to the Pittsburgh Steelers draft. We preview the injury situation with the New York Rangers as they prepare to play the Penguins.

The Ravens still need to know what’s going on at wide receiver. And we preview the Pirates’ next series in Detroit.

Other way around

For those who thought that the Steelers should’ve tried to trade back in the first round before selecting Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, things may actually have gone in the other direction.

After his team’s first-round draft choice Thursday, Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said that the organization was considering trading back to the Steelers’ 20th spot in the first round.

“Honestly, we had an opportunity at 15 to actually move back even a little bit further to 20, and we just felt if we did that, we were probably going to lose a decent amount of players. So, in the end we just felt like it made the most sense just to pick at 15,” Caserio said after choosing Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green as the club’s second pick in the first round.

Presumably, that trade would have been for the Steelers to move up to get Pickett. Or it could’ve been an attempt to get Kyle Hamilton if Baltimore went in a different direction.

So, for the crowd that already thinks that the Steelers should have traded back before taking Pickett, imagine if that deal happened and the Steelers moved up to get Pickett.

Only to see no other QBs go off the board until the third round.

Ravin’ about the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens got rave reviews about the 2022 draft class, especially the first four picks.

In the first round, Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame) was widely deemed the best safety in the class. Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa) was perceived by most to be the best center. Michigan pass rusher David Ojabo was expected to be a top 15 pick before rupturing his Achilles tendon at his pro day. He could prove to be a second-round steal once healthy. And Travis Jones (UConn) was believed by some to be perhaps the second-best nose tackle on the board after Georgia’s Jordan David.

But the franchise didn’t draft a receiver at all in its 11 picks. They did manage two tight ends and a punter, though.

This despite the fact that the franchise traded away receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on Thursday night.

“It wasn’t for a lack of effort,” Ravens G.M. Eric DeCosta said of failed attempts to land a receiver. “I wouldn’t say it was a great receiver class in general, compared to some of the years. There were very good players at the top. … There were some receivers that we liked; we tried to take a couple guys at different points. But, again, one of the phenomenons that we’ve seen is that those receivers get picked really, really early now. Similar to corner, they just fly off the board — in some cases, maybe a round to a round and a half earlier than you’d expect.”

The team’s top returning wide receiver is Rashod Bateman with 46 catches, 515 yards and one touchdown.

On the other side

In Pittsburgh, we all know Tristan Jarry and Jason Zucker are on the shelf for the time being with injuries.

That’s bad news heading into the first round of the playoffs against the New York Rangers. But New York isn’t exactly 100% healthy either.

Leading scorer Artemi Panarin and linemate Andrew Copp both left in the second period of a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

But both were back on the ice Sunday and should be in line to skate Tuesday at home vs. the Penguins.

Via ESPN.com, “Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said after the loss that he didn’t believe either injury was serious, and that both players could have returned. But given the situation, with the playoffs on the horizon, the club wanted to be ‘cautious.’ Gallant followed through with that strategy and sat both players in the regular season’s final two games.”

Woah, Tigers

The Pirates have an off-day Monday. Then they start a two-game series in Detroit on Tuesday.

The Tigers are struggling badly. At 7-14, they are last in the American League Central. In fact, their .333 winning percentage is the worst in the entire American League. The Tigers have lost seven of 10. And their 67 runs scored is the second fewest in the A.L. behind only the Kansas City Royals.

Meanwhile, the 9-13 Pirates have dropped six of 10 on the road so far this year. They have a minus-41 run differential. Only the Cincinnati Reds are worse at minus-65. The Pirates have scored 80 runs, third lowest in the N.L. Only the Reds (67) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (73) have fewer.

So, it should be an electric series before facing the Cincinnati Reds. They have a 3-19 record, the worst in Major League Baseball.

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