Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Draft: Top players on the draft board
The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking towards the 2018 NFL Draft.
So, with the 2018 NFL Draft coming along, The Pittsburgh Steelers hold a very high draft pick, and not too many holes to fill on a team that showed utter dominance throughout the 2017 season. But, just as any team, there are players to be drafted. There are a few guys that stick off the page with me, and here’s my top four potential Pittsburgh Steelers draft choices for the 2018 Draft, starting with the least likely.
Safety Mike Mitchell is allegedly one of the Steelers potential “cap cuts”, so safety could be a draft option. The name that comes to mind when I hear safety in a Steeler uniform is Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick had a stellar year with the Alabama Crimson Tide, posting 60 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception, along side a national championship trophy. The reason I have named him least likely is because he is slated to be a top ten pick. If Minkah lasts until the final picks, though, look for Pittsburgh to make a run at the young playmaker.
Another word going around is that Big Ben may not be around too much longer, and the Steelers will look to find his replacement in this draft. I believe that replacement pick could be Mason Rudolph.
Rudolph is a bigger bodied quarterback, standing at 6’5, and weighing 230 pounds. Rudolph’s season was above average, hurling the ball for 4,904 yards and 37 touchdowns. This style of Quarterback could easily translate into the Steelers offense and replacing Ben would be, at first take, simpler than it seemed.
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He is my second most likely take because even though Ben will retire within the next few years, Joshua Dobbs is still learning the ropes, and potentially could still earn the job. Last but not least, I believe there is a tie for most likely to be drafted.
Say the Steelers want to sure up their secondary, and would like to add a stellar corner with big play ability, why not add Iowa’s Josh Jackson. The 6’1, 192 pound corner bolstered 48 tackles, and 8 interceptions this season alone.
Josh is a great option because he played against great Big Ten talent, and showed rather well against each team, and his measurables stack up well with most corners in the league. But what if the pick is a linebacker?
Pittsburgh’s biggest defensive hole this year took place after Ryan Shazier was injured late in the year, and could not return come playoff time. The Steelers may look to fix this issue by drafting another young, fast linebacker to sure up that core.
So, this pick could end up being Rashaan Evans from Alabama. Like Fitzpatrick, Evans put up monster numbers during his final tenure with the Crimson Tide, showing out for 74 tackles and a monstrous 6 sacks.
This type of playmaking ability would help Pittsburgh no matter if Ryan is healthy or not. I believe any of these picks would help this team tremendously and could make a huge difference in the 2018 season.