4 worst case scenarios for Steelers in 2023 NFL Draft

The Steelers have made some strides to better the roster this offseason, but they still need to nail their top pick in the class. Both the offense and defense need some impact talent, and their first pick will likely have the most impact in year one. Missing on a top pick in general is bad, but this is a roster that can’t afford to whiff this year.

This is a new regime, and that means there may be some changes coming for this team during the draft process. The Steelers will have a new board and a willingness, seemingly, to alter plans with a trade more often than not. Despite all of this newness, here are the four worst-case scenarios for what the team could do with their top pick.

4. Steelers shouldn’t make a huge trade up

In general, I am fine with the Steelers making a move up to secure a prospect that they deem worth the trade. Everyone has PTSD from the Devin Bush deal, but securing a player that you genuinely like, even at the cost of some extra draft picks, is worth it.

The issue is, there are quite a few possible first-round picks that make sense for the Steelers. The top two tackles are both in play, and Peter Skoronski may help push the tackle group down, so there is a chance a top name is still around at 17. Add in the top cornerbacks being in play, and there are roughly four names that stick out as top targets for the team.

They don’t need to land a specific player in the first round, so making a massive trade-up isn’t logical. It will be costly, probably a second-round pick at least, and they should have some other options that make a trade-up less needed. I’m fine moving up a little bit (more on that soon), but a huge trade-up shouldn’t be needed this year.