The Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning to set up their 2020 draft board but in all likelihood, they won’t make a single pick on the first day of the draft. It is well known that the black and gold traded away their first-round pick this year for Minkah Fitzpatrick, a trade that was well worth it.
With that said though, the question certainly arises as to what the Steelers will do in round two when they first get to make their selection, number 49th overall.
You’ll hear arguments coming from all over the board. One I hear a lot is that they need to draft a running back in this spot. That is just wrong. I agree that they may need to draft a running back and I’ve been very vocal about my displeasure with James Conner this past season but I like Benny Snell. I think Snell can be the number one back and Conner, if healthy, can be a change of pace guy. I also believe that Jaylen Samuels has a place on this team. There is no way a running back should be taken here. Running backs can be found all over the draft and I’d save that position for later.
Another popular sentiment is that the team should take a quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger’s eventual replacement. Well, while I agree that Big Ben’s successor is not currently on this roster, unless Tua Tagovailoa is miraculous falling 48 spots, quarterback is not the answer here.
Assuming Ben comes back healthy, the window of opportunity is still alive for another two years, especially if the defense can repeat what they did this past season. They can sit on Mason Rudolph as a backup and sign a veteran and deal with Ben’s replacement in 2021.
There’s a case to be made for wide receiver but I again would wait til round four or even later to do that. I think JuJu Smith-Schuster will bounce back and Diontae Johnson looks like another star Steeler receiver in the making. With the expected continued growth of James Washington, I think they can hold off on this pick.
I would highly listen to taking a defensive tackle here since it seems to be pretty apparent Javon Hargrave will leave in free agency. If the Steelers make this pick, I won’t be upset, they can use another stud to plug the middle and finding Hargraves’ replacement isn’t a bad idea and one they can probably do in round two if they so choose. Yet, that’s not my top choice here.
My top choice is for this team to go with an offensive lineman. Ahh, yes, the most unheralded position in football, behind punter perhaps. It was apparent this past season that the offensive line is getting older and slower and are not the same unit they have been in the past. Add another year on to that and you can see a unit in decline.
It’s time this team takes another guard, center or tackle in this spot. It doesn’t matter which one, best available here must go to the Steelers. They need to begin rebuilding the line for the immediate future and the chance at one more run with Big Ben but also to have a guy for the next franchise quarterback to be protected by when he’s brought in to the fold in 2021 or 2022.
To me, this is the absolute way to go and there are some good options for this team to take here.