5 biggest regrets of the 2020 offseason for the Steelers

Not adding a SS option outside of Edmunds

The Steelers have turned their secondary around in recent years, although most of that investment has been via trades and free agents. The only Steelers draft pick to be starting is Terrell Edmunds, a former first-round pick from 2018. While Edmunds hasn’t been a bust, he has been a disappointment as a first-round pick. His struggles in coverage have made him an intriguing LB type, but the further from the line of scrimmage he plays, the worse he does for the defense.

Unfortunately, the Steelers have no option on the defense to push him. Even with the recent addition of Curtis Riley, Edmunds has no one pushing him for playing time. The goal this offseason wasn’t to replace Edmunds, but to at least give him someone to push him in base defense and perhaps allow Edmunds to play closer to the line of scrimmage in sub-packages.

This was the job of a veteran, and there were a lot of budget options that would have made sense for the Steelers. Karl Joseph, Jayron Kearse, and Damarious Randall all signed contracts below 2.5 million per season. Any of the three would be potential starters at SS and could provide depth to both safety spots. Edmunds would both be pushed and have the luxury of moving down closer to the line of scrimmage. Making a move like this could have really locked down the secondary for this season.