First Call: Increase in Steelers post-draft perception. Odell Beckham Jr. talking big.

For Tuesday’s “First Call,” ESPN ranks the Steelers after the draft. Odell Beckham Jr. is talking big in Cleveland. Larry Fitzgerald is helping out in Arizona. And the NFL is scaling back its overseas schedule.

Now that the NFL Draft has come and gone, ESPN.com decided to re-rank teams across the NFL.

That’s compared to where all these franchises were after the dust settled on free agency.

ESPN.com has the Steelers at 14th, up one spot from their pre-draft ranking. That’s not too surprising, really, given the lack of earth-shattering picks made by the Steelers in the draft.

This is actually more of a compliment than what you may assume at first glance, given that the Steelers didn’t have a first-round pick and none of their draft choices are expected to be starters.

Brooke Pryor called second-round choice Chase Claypool (WR/Notre Dame) “Martavis Bryant 2.0.” I assume that’s meant positively in terms of his ability and not negatively in terms of his attitude and propensity to get suspended.

As Pryor intimates, the vast majority of any optimism surrounding the team is based on the belief that Ben Roethlisberger’s arm is in great shape after surgery last year. And, even if it isn’t, Mason Rudolph will do much better in his place this year than he did in 2019.

By the way, ESPN has the Steelers as the sixth best team in the AFC behind Kansas City, Baltimore, Tennessee, Buffalo and Indianapolis. So, under the new seven-team format, that would get them into the playoffs, just ahead of the seventh-seeded New England Patriots.

Elsewhere in “First Call”

Penguins star Sidney Crosby got a great deal of attention for his recent contribution to help those in need. And rightfully so. He donated 100,000 meals to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Let’s give a little love to former Pitt Panther Larry Fitzgerald, too.

The Arizona Cardinals wide receiver teamed up with one of his favorite restaurants — Ocean 44 — to deliver some meals to first responders, nurses, and doctors.

Trevor Plouffe played eight seasons in the Major Leagues. Now he’s doing a podcast called “Talkin’ Baseball.” And he put out some huge news about the potential start of MLB in 2020.

Want some good baseball news??

I just heard from multiple sources that on June 10th, Spring Training 2 will start. July 1st will be Opening Day and all teams will be playing at their home ballparks.

We’ll be discussing it in full on the next @TalkinBaseball_

— Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe) May 4, 2020

But shortly thereafter, long-time MLB writer and scout Keith Law threw some cold water on that news.

There's no proposed date for the MLB season to start. That rumor running around today is false. Sorry.

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) May 4, 2020

We’ll see which report proves true.

Given the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL is going to play all of its games domestically. No overseas affairs in 2020. That’s a wise move.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. underwent surgery back on Jan. 21. The hope was to fix hip and groin injuries that impacted him throughout 2019, his first year in Northeast Ohio.

Now, via his YouTube channel, Beckham Jr. is vowing to be “bigger, stronger, faster.” And he’s saying that 2020 will be “one of (his) best seasons.”

That’s great. Because Beckham Jr. had his worst season — for a full 16-game campaign — in terms of yards, catches and touchdowns.