Why it’s difficult for the Steelers to draft defensive players to fit their scheme

In my previous three articles, we discussed the reasons for the Steelers decade long Super Bowl victory drought. In part two, we talked about the offensive and defensive schemes the Steelers have employed since our last Super Bowl victory. Let’s explore the fore mentioned a little bit more in-depth and look at why it has seemingly been difficult for the Steelers to find players in the draft who fit their defensive scheme.

Before we go any further, let’s begin this discussion with this statement: We will discuss the players whom the Steelers have drafted since Coach Tomlin has been the head coach (HC) in terms of whether or not those players have been a good scheme fit; we will not discuss free agent signings.

Let’s first pose this question: Has the difficulty in finding players to fit the scheme on defense something else entirely? Could the fact that most college teams run something other than a 3-4 defense be a factor in the Steelers seeming inability to draft playmakers on defense?

To level set this conversation, we will discuss the significant defensive draft picks under Coach Tomlin’s tenure.  We will also delve superficially into the defensive schemes run by the college teams from which said draft picks were selected, in an effort to determine if those players were good scheme fits or if we selected those players hoping they would fit into the scheme.

Before we commence with our discussion, you may be wondering why I chose to focus on the defensive side of the ball for the Steelers. Well honestly, the answer is fairly straightforward. With the exception of the QB position, every position on the offensive side of the ball is translatable to the NFL, in my opinion.

I will say this about the QB position: Unless an NFL team decides to run the “read option” or the “run and shoot” if you need to draft a QB, you should probably steer clear of drafting a QB who has never taken a snap under center. With that said, that skill can be taught and learned through repetition. Fortunately for the Steelers, we have not been faced with that dilemma since Coach Tomlin has been the HC.

Let’s get back on track with our discussion.