The 2016 season is unfortunately over, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are now embarking upon their latest offseason journey, heading back to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, formerly known and still referred to as the ‘South Side’ facility of Heinz Field. While the postseason is now behind us, there is plenty left to discuss.
And there are plenty of questions left unanswered as well. The offseason is just really the beginning phase of the answer-seeking process, which is lasts all the way through the Super Bowl for teams fortunate enough to reach that far.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring the developments in the offseason as they develop, and beyond, looking for the answers as we look to evaluate the makeup of the Steelers as they try to navigate their way back to the Super Bowl, after reaching the AFC Championship game last season for the first time in more than half a decade.
Question: Which if any offensive players in this draft would you not be able to pass on if available in the first round?
While the Steelers’ primary needs, by the opinion of the majority, rest firmly on the defensive side of the ball—and generally speaking this is regarded as a quality draft for the team’s specific defensive needs, namely pass rushers and coverage players—there are still some holes on the offensive side of the ball, and corresponding talent in the draft.
It seems virtually a foregone conclusion that Pittsburgh is going to draft either an outside linebacker, a cornerback, or a coverage safety in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft just over a week away—but what if that is not what happens, based on the way that the draft breaks?
For one thing, it’s already looking as though the team won’t have a definitive answer on Martavis Bryant by draft time, which could minutely skew how they view the wide receiver position relative to their draft arsenal. And if they decide to trade out of the second round for additional picks, as Alex Kozora suggested they could, that would provide additional fuel to supplement their defensive needs.
So the question is, should they unexpectedly fall to the Steelers all the way at the 30th overall spot, what offensive players, at any position, would you be unable to pass up on over any defensive player that will realistically be on the board?
There are some, though not many, who are actually looking at a quarterback here. Mitchell Trubisky and Deshaun Watson, or Patrick Mahomes: they’re there. Do you take one of them? What about wide receivers? Mike Williams falls. John Ross, with 4.22 speed, is there. Do you bite?
Tight end might be the biggest vulnerability, and for some reason OJ Howard or David Njoku don’t get taken in the first 29 picks. They have Le’Veon Bell, but he’s on a franchise tag, and Leonard Fournette has fallen somehow. Yea or nay?
