Pittsburgh Steelers: Early positional needs for the draft
The Pittsburgh Steelers are halfway through 2017 and before you know it, someone will be hoisting a Lombardi Trophy. It is never too early to start talking NFL Draft.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a string of great drafts since 2014. The last four drafts have produced 32 picks, in which 20 are still with the team and 9 are starters.
The recent draft success has helped rebuild an otherwise older defense. The youth movement in Pittsburgh is in large part due to the impending departure of Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers need a youth infusion to gel and mesh together to usher in a new era in Pittsburgh without Big Ben. That time is coming sooner than later as much as that hurts to say.
Pittsburgh will look to have another great draft in 2018. They have a few holes that they still need to address next draft and I believe the draft should have the talent at positions they need.
First the Steelers need to target a safety to pair with Sean Davis. With Mike Mitchell aging, it is time to get another young guy to form a talented duo. They can cut him as a cap casualty or let a safety learn behind him in the final year of his deal in 2018.
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There are a few safeties in this draft that could fit the bill of a Steeler safety. They need someone who is good in coverage but also can come down in the box and support the run.
With the Steelers leading the league in missed tackles, per Steelers Depot, they need to target a guy with good fundamental tackling skills. The defense needs to continue to get better to help support the next young QB the Steelers have step in.
The Steelers should also target another young corner early. Artie Burns‘ development has been steady and he looks to be everything Pittsburgh needed in a corner.
However, the Steelers need to find a long-term young corner to pair with Burns to complete their secondary rebuild. They have two young guys in Cameron Sutton and Brian Allen but here is why they need another.
The Joe Haden signing is great but, the problem is he is not getting any younger. The Steelers need to feed into their youth movement mentality once more.
Cameron Sutton was taken last season and has looked every bit the part of an NFL corner in some capacity. Because of his size, Sutton is better suited for slot duties early on and possibly his entire career.
Brian Allen is a tall and physical corner with outside potential. He is a project player as he switched to corner from receiver just two years ago.
Both of these guys will contribute in some way going forward. However, I believe that Pittsburgh can stand to draft a corner early to learn from Haden and pair with Burns.
The Steelers third priority should be at the tight end position. With Jesse James and Vance McDonald failing to take a stranglehold as the number one guy, the team could target a potential franchise tight end.
Heath Miller is still fresh in the minds of Steelers fans and having a tight end like that for the next QB to have for security would go a long way in aiding the development of the next Steeler QB.
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There will be many more draft articles as the season wages on and eventually transitions to the offseason. Before you know it the draft will be here again and we can all only hope the first round ends with, “And with the 32nd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select…”