Steelers cannot pigeonhole themselves into drafting a safety early

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a massive need at the safety position, but here’s why they cannot pigeonhole themselves into drafting one early. 

For the most part, the Steelers have had a very solid approach in free agency. While they didn’t exactly steal the show by snatching up a lot of household names, they signed some quality players at big positions of need.

By doing so, they covered their bases… for the most part at least. Sadly, Pittsburgh’s money is running relatively thin and they still have a few big areas of need that haven’t been addressed. One of those is the strong safety position.

Terrell Edmunds hit the free-agent market early in the offseason, and while he has yet to sign with another club, he has also yet to return to the Steelers. With just days counting down until the 2022 NFL Draft, this is a situation that must be addressed prior to Pittsburgh being on the clock.

Steelers must address safety prior to NFL Draft

One of the biggest mistakes that NFL teams make far too often in April is pigeonholing themselves into selecting a particular position early in the NFL Draft. When you avoid the ‘best player available’ approach and draft solely on need, this is a strategy that rarely seems to yield favorable results.

The 2022 safety class isn’t necessarily bad. There are a few quality players who deserve consideration early in the draft this year.

The first of which is Notre Dame standout, Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton was considered one of the best prospects in the entire class. However, with poor testing at the NFL Combine and his Pro Day as well as the devaluing of the safety position in today’s NFL, it’s possible that Hamilton slips a bit on draft day.

In the second round, there are some quality prospects like Jaquan Brisker, Lewis Cine, and Jalen Pitre. However, by ignoring the safety position prior to the NFL Draft, the Steelers are gambling on the chips falling their way.

If Pittsburgh does not re-sign Edmunds or find another alternative starting-caliber safety in free agency prior to the draft, they will likely be forced to reach for the position somewhere in the first two rounds this year. While they might end up with a quality football player, it’s possible that all of the names mentioned above could be off the board prior to their second-round pick, and Pittsburgh may be forced to reach for a player they have a lower grade on.

In addition, the safety position has become much like the running back position is to an offense. In today’s quick-passing league, it’s hard for safeties to get involved in plays often, and there doesn’t seem to be a correlation between the best safeties in the league and best defenses in the NFL right now.

Knowing the Steelers are already going to have to fork up very good money to Minkah Fitzpatrick, I hate the idea of spending elite draft capital on a safety who — like Edmunds — may not make it past his first contract.

In my opinion, the best move the Steelers could now make prior to the NFL Draft is re-signing Edmunds. While he may be unspectacular, he should come at a relatively cheap price and he would save Pittsburgh from spending high capital on a safety who may not be ready to start from the gate anyway.

With most of their bases covered, the Steelers just need to find a way to bring in a veteran safety prior to the start of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh can ill afford to pigeonhole themselves into drafting a safety simply because they failed to fill a big need.