Steelers may have interest in taking a defensive back early in the 2020 NFL Draft

The Steeles secondary played well in 2019, but here’s why it appears that Pittsburgh may have interest in a defensive back early in the NFL Draft.

Ever since Pittsburgh’s season ended in disappointment back in December, fans and analysts alike have been sharing their predictions about which positions the Steelers will look for early in the 2020 NFL Draft. Offense is clearly a need and tight ends, wide receivers, and running backs have frequently been mocked to Pittsburgh in the second round.

However, there has also been a lot of speculation about Bud Dupree’s future, while Javon Hargrave is packing his bags at this point. From the defensive line to the offensive line to edge defender, I’ve seen just about everything mocked to the Steelers. I’ve even seen a cornerback mocked the Steelers in the second round.

While I initially laughed at the notion, there is some evidence to suggest that drafting a defensive back may not be out of the realm of possibility. Walter Football tracks each team’s NFL Combine meetings every year. Though they reportedly met with just 12 players this year, 4 of them were defensive backs.

This is a remarkably high number – especially considering that many fans don’t view defensive back as a need for the Steelers. In comparison to 4 players from the secondary, Pittsburgh met with just 2 running backs, 2 edge defenders, 2 offensive linemen, 1 wide receiver, and 1 tight end.

While meeting with four defensive backs may seem coincidental, it’s the quality of these secondary players that has me intrigued. According to Pro Football Focus’s big board, Cameron Dantzler and Jaylon Johnson are both top 30 players in this year’s draft.

The Steelers don’t make their first selection until pick 49 overall – meaning that if they wanted to take one of these two defensive backs they met with, they would have to do so early in the draft.

Combine visits aren’t the best predictor for who the Steelers are going to draft, and Pro Day visits and dinner meetings with players have both proven to be solid predictors. However, it’s hard to ignore the evidence from their Combine visits completely.

Perhaps the Steelers are just doing their due diligence in case a talented defensive back falls to them in the draft, or maybe we are reading too much into this. Either way, it’s worth noting that Pittsburgh met with more secondary players than any other position at the Combine. We will continue to monitor their potential interests as we draw closer to the NFL Draft.