With the new league year upon us, the Steelers are in a critical spot as a team that is rebuilding. They seemingly have their guy in Kenny Pickett on a rookie deal, so now is the time to build a competitive roster around him to get this franchise back on track. That starts once free agency opens and runs through the time the next season actually begins in the Fall.
This is an offseason the Steelers can’t mess up. Assuming Pickett is the guy long-term, the window to build a competitive roster ends once Pickett gets his next deal. The salary cap will be shallow once again, so aggressive moves won’t be realistic. If the team wants to get back on the right track though, here are five vital steps they need to follow to avoid an offseason disaster.
Steelers shouldn’t be moving up in the draft
The Steelers have a shockingly large supply of draft picks in the early rounds of the upcoming draft. Due to the Chase Claypool trade, this team has essentially two first-round picks and their original second and third-rounders to boot. While that kind of capital could make a move up viable, this team shouldn’t really be that interested.
There are so many needs on this roster that having more picks will be far more beneficial than one specific player. Sure, moving up a few spots and giving up a second-round pick is feasible, but this roster is so void of talent that having as many cracks at players in the draft is needed.
If the team does decide to move around, moving back is the more logical option. This draft is viewed as a deeper one but is lacking star power outside of the top few picks. Getting a few extra picks in a move-down could be beneficial for this roster. That said, trading up in the draft really needs to be avoided this year given the number of roster needs.