The off-season for the Pittsburgh Steelers is now off and running. Although the free agency market has yet to begin, it is never too early to start looking towards the NFL Draft in April. With so many Steelers key contributors set to hit the open market and big shoes to fill at quarterback, there is a multitude of different ways General Manager Kevin Colbert and Head Coach Mike Tomlin could approach this year’s draft. We’ve already seen some different “way-too-early” mock drafts, but I’m coming into this with a bit of a different approach to it. Looking back to last year, it was a common consensus that the running back position was top priority in the draft. Of course, there were big names along the offensive line who were available for the Steelers, but they decided to select Najee Harris with the first pick. But looking at this year, there is no common priority position all of Steeler Nation agrees on. So, I wanted to share what should be the Steelers’ top four priority positions going into draft season.
Before we dive in, I want to share a spoiler alert; you won’t find the quarterback position on this list. Of course a quarterback is towards the top of the shopping list for the Steelers, but seeing the level of talent the 2022 quarterback draft class features, they’ll need to address that need through free agency. I simply can’t see them pulling the trigger on Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Matt Corral, or any other rookie quarterback with the continued offensive line woes and key needs on defense. The Steelers may draft a quarterback, but don’t expect it to be a marquee name early on in the draft.
So, with that said…
[incontent2]
PRIORITY NUMBER 1: Offensive line
There is no doubt the Steelers need to bolster the offensive line, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. Last year’s selection of Harris helps make this pick even higher than it was last year, in helping the new quarterback’s life (whoever that may be) easier. The Steelers’ 2022 draft class may look similar to last year’s with multiple offensive linemen selected. For this year, the Steelers will have a lot of the bigger names available to them, in addition to a few diamonds in the rough. For the first round (at this moment the 20th overall selection), I could see them calling the obvious Tyler Linderbaum (C) out of Iowa or Kenyon Green (OG) from Texas A&M to help repair the inside of the offensive line. For the outside tackle positions, they could land a decent prospect in the later rounds with the likes of Thayer Munford from Ohio State, Rasheed Walker from Penn State, or even Luke Goedeke out of Central Michigan. With a new starting quarterback, the first step for success is a strong offensive line. The Steelers should be drinking from the “offensive linemen Kool-Aid” early and often in this year’s draft.
PRIORITY NUMBER 2: Inside Linebacker
Going into this past season, the Steelers’ linebacker corps wasn’t a large worry. Tomlin felt comfortable with Devin Bush’s return from injury, new addition Joe Schobert while being backed by Robert Spillane, Ulysees Gilbert III, Marcus Allen, and Buddy Johnson. As the season transpired, Bush didn’t exactly look like himself, the depth players couldn’t step up, and Minkah Fitzpatrick had to spend more time in the box to help stop the run. The Steelers are going to need to do in the draft what they typically do, in drafting an inside linebacker. Because I have this as their second priority, we’d be looking at day 2 prospects who will be available. This includes Quay Walker from Georgia, Christian Harris from Alabama, or Chad Muma from Wyoming. The Steelers are going to need to reload in the middle of the defense and get the help TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith need in rounding out the linebacker group. Colbert and Tomlin will have good talent on defense available to them on the second day and they’ll need to take full advantage of that.
[incontent3]
PRIORITY NUMBER 3: Cornerback
The Steelers’ secondary has always been a pain point. They have yet to solidify a core group of players, as they tend to rely on free agency to address the secondary concerns. But in 2022, they are going to need to call on a young cornerback to help plan for the future. Joe Haden may not be returning to Pittsburgh and Ahkello Witherspoon is set to become a free agent. Both players may or may not be in Pittsburgh in 2022 so Cam Sutton is the only cornerback we can fully expect to resume his role. So, who is going to be available after the second round? First would be Coby Bryant from Cincinnati. If he isn’t there, I’d be looking at Tariq Castro-Fields from Penn State, Trent McDuffie from Washington, Mykael Wright from Oregon, or Derion Kendrick from Georgia. The Steelers will be looking at cornerbacks who can play outside, specifically on the left side of the field, and those names could do just that. I am a bit suspect of the Steelers needing to draft a cornerback after the Artie Burns experiment, but I think this year’s draft class has good depth at defensive backs to help minimize any "bust" potential.
PRIORITY NUMBER 4: Wide Receiver
There is a very good chance the Steelers’ receiving corps is going to look a lot different than the last couple of years. JuJu Smith-Schuster is set to hit the open market again, along with James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud. With the Steelers most likely spending the bulk of their cap space on a quarterback in free agency, they’ll be pretty restricted in selecting a talented receiver in the later rounds. Lucky for the Steelers, Colbert has done well in this arena. But taking this a step further, it is going to be the slot position that will need the attention. We can safely assume Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool will stay on the outside, so the Steelers will be looking for a gritty, reliable receiver who can make catches in traffic and is an effective route runner. A few names we should be looking at are Pittsburgh-native Skyy Moore from Western Michigan, Khalil Shakir from Boise State, and Calvin Turner from Hawaii. To fit within Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada’s offense, the receivers need to do more than just catch, and all three of those prospects would fit well in Pittsburgh.
What are your top priorities for the draft? Do you think they’ll select a quarterback in the first round? Let us know in the comments!
#SteelerNation
