5 biggest needs Steelers must address in the 2021 NFL Draft

4. Tight end

Vance McDonald wasn’t all that good in 2020, but his retirement does leave a big void at the tight end position. While Eric Ebron is still under contract, he can’t block worth a lick and the Steelers need to find another guy who can at least step into the TE2 role. Zach Gentry has pretty much been a bust to this point, and anything they get out of him moving forward will probably more than I expect.

There are a few notable tight ends who could hit the market this offseason like Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, but both players will be well out of Pittsburgh’s price range in free agency. While they could bring in a player for the veteran minimum (and probably will), this doesn’t exactly help improve the position.

There are several quality tight ends the Steelers could address this year, and a player like Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth would make a ton of sense as their next ‘Y’ tight end. Unfortunately, he could be off the board in that dreaded range between Pittsburgh’s first and second-round picks. Still, this is clearly a position that must be addressed, and it will be interesting to see how early the Steelers will be willing to do so in the NFL Draft.