Ranking the Steelers’ draft needs
Pop Quiz: Rank the Steelers’ top needs in the upcoming NFL Draft.
I tend to disagree with the conventional wisdom on things like this. For example, NFL Network says that cornerback is among the Steelers’ top needs. I disagree with that.
The Steelers still have Ike Taylor, so one cornerback spot is covered. They lost William Gay in free agency, and they cut Bryant McFadden. But Keenan Lewis is now a seasoned veteran who should be ready to step up. They’ve also got two rookies from last year, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, who both made their mark and who appear to be to take an even bigger role. So while I’d definitely take LSU’s Morris Claiborne if he happened to drop to pick #24 (he won’t), I just don’t understand why so many people list cornerback as one of the Steelers’ top needs.
In my opinion the Steelers top needs are as follows:
#1 – Guard
The Steelers started two undrafted free agents at guard last year. Don’t get me wrong, I like Ramon Foster and Doug Legursky. But the reality is that each of them could be upgraded fairly easily. Chris Kemoeatu was released. Trai Essex is an unrestricted free agent. And even Ramon Foster is a restricted free agent. So the Steelers basically have a bare cupboard at guard. I’ve often suggested that Willie Colon could play guard, but the Steelers have never shown any interest in moving him.
Even if the Steelers sign Ramon Foster and Trai Essex to new contracts, neither of them is a threat to ever make the Pro Bowl. If you want to know why the Steelers couldn’t run the ball last year, look no further than their guards. Guard is probably the weakest position on the entire team.
#2 – Nose tackle
Nose tackle is the most important position in a 3-4 defense. And Casey Hampton is aging in dog years. Hampton was once among the best nose tackles in the NFL. But he hasn’t been dominant for the past 3 years. Moreover, Hampton suffered an ACL injury at the end of the 2011 season. That’s a difficult injury for any player to recover from. But it’s particularly difficult for a 340 pound player who will be 35 years old next season.
Steve McLendon performed admirably when he was called upon last year. But the reality is that he’s too small to be a full-time starter at nose tackle.
#3 – Offensive tackle
The Steelers could be in great shape at offensive tackle, or they could be in terrible shape. Marcus Gilbert is scheduled to move to left tackle, but he’s unproven at the position. Willie Colon is scheduled to return, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for the past two seasons. So both starting positions are question marks. Jonathan Scott is a backup at best. And the Steelers have the potential to bring back Max Starks if he recovers from his injury. So if everything goes well, the Steelers will be sound at the position. But if Gilbert is unsuccessful at left tackle, Colon gets hurt again, and Max Starks doesn’t recover from injury (or the Steelers just don’t bring him back), then the Steelers are screwed.
#4 – Safety
Nobody ever lists safety as a need for the Steelers. But as I explained in my position-by-position review, it’s one of the team’s greatest needs. Both Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark are over 30 years old. Moreover, Troy has only remained healthy for an entire season twice in last 6 years. Do you think that he’s likely to get injured more or less as he gets older?
Ryan Mundy is the team’s only viable backup. Will Allen is a special teams player, and Damon Cromartie-Smith is a practice squad player. The Steelers need to start preparing for the future, and there’s no better time than the present to do that.
#5 – Inside linebacker
James Farrior is no longer with the team. Stevenson Sylvester is listed as his replacement on the Steelers’ depth chart. But the reality is that Sylvester has mainly been a special teams player during his 2 seasons with the Steelers. Nobody knows how he’ll do as a starter. Larry Foote is a dependable backup, but at this point in his career, I really don’t want to see him starting.
#6 – Kicker
That’s right, kicker. Shaun Suisham had the lowest field goal percentage of any starter in the NFL last year. He’s automatic on PAT’s and on FG’s inside of 30 yards or less. But when they get longer than that, he’s questionable. Since the kicker is usually the highest scorer on an NFL team, is this really a position where we can afford to have the worst in the NFL?
#7 – Punter
No, I haven’t been smoking crack. But I genuinely think that both kicker and punter are more important needs than cornerback. Dan Sepulveda is done. He gets hurt too often, and the Steelers aren’t going to give him another chance.
Jeremy Kapinos was picked up off the junk pile, and he served admirably. But he’s in the bottom third of NFL punters. With all of those 7th round picks the Steelers have, they should be able to get someone who can punt better than Kapinos.
#8 – Cornerback
That’s right, I think cornerback is a less pressing need than kicker and punter. I still don’t understand why NFL Network thinks it’s one of our top needs. I have a lot of confidence in Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown. Others may not. But that’s really the crux of the argument. Do you believe in Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen, and Curtis Brown, or don’t you?
#9 – Defensive end
Sure the Steelers have taken 2 defensive ends in the first round over the past 3 drafts. But the reality is that Brett Keisel isn’t getting any younger, and the team doesn’t have a lot of depth at the position.
#10 – Outside linebacker
The Steelers have two of the best in the game in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. And Jason Worilds is a capable (but not dominant) backup. Chris Carter is unproven, but Lawrence Timmons can move to the outside in an emergency. So it’s not a vital need, but you can never have too many linebackers in a 3-4 defense.
That’s how I’d rank the Steelers’ needs. What do you readers think? How would you rank the needs? I’d love to hear which positions you think are more or less important than I do. So go ahead, tell me how you’d rank the positions in terms of how great the need is. I look forward to reading your rankings.
Moron none of this is correct beyond #1. Yes Pittsburgh needs a cb if they didnt they wouldnt have lost to tim tebow in the playoffs.
1Okay, I see that someone let the 2-year olds into the room.
Kam, rather than name calling, why don’t you tell us what you think are the top needs? You see, our community isn’t like those Steelers message boards that you probably hang out in. We don’t call one another names. Instead, we give intelligent arguments to support our points.
It’s okay to disagree with me. We often disagree around here. But at least tell me what you think the “right” answer is. That’s what adults do.
But thanks for visiting.
2BTW Kam, do you realize that the Steelers have drafted 5 cornerbacks in the past 3 drafts. They selected 2 last year. And I believe that both of them will be ready to contribute this year. Do you want them to draft 2 more?
Contrarily, we haven’t drafted a nose tackle since 2002.
Also, Ike Taylor did get beat by Tim Tebow on that last play. But every cornerback gets beat (and frankly, I think Ryan Mundy was more responsible than Ike). Besides that game, wasn’t Ike our best cornerback last year? So are you willing to cut him based on one game? Big Ben has lost a few games for us too. Do you think we should cut him and draft a new QB?
3Overall, about right. I might quibble here and there on placement (I would put ILB over S and maybe DT over G) but there is a case to made for each.
The only thing I saw missing, which I would put somewhere between 6-8, is WR. Yes, we have some excellent young WR’s – but only 3 of them – and Sanders can’t stay healthy and Wallace might be gone next year.
If Cotchery is resigned that significantly lessens the immediate need but I still see the Steelers spending a 4-6th round pick on a developmental WR.
4John,
Great point about WR. I’m taking the optimistic view, and assuming that nobody will sign Mike Wallace and the Steelers will ink him to a long-term deal, Emmanuel Sanders will remain healthy, and Jericho Cotchery will return. But if any of those don’t happen, then we’ll definitely need another WR.
Just like with offensive tackle, I took the optimistic view in most of my rankings. But if you take the pessimistic view, then many of my rankings would change. For example, you could assume that none of the young cornerbacks will be viable, Willie Colon will get hurt again, Stevenson Sylvester won’t be an adequate starter, Emmanuel Sanders will have more foot problems, and Marcus Gilbert will be a bust at LT. If any of those things happened, then I’d have to change my rankings drastically.
5Oops!!!!! I just realized that I have an important position that I left out of my rankings.
I’m not 100% certain that Rashard Mendenhall is going to recover from his injury and be the same running back that he’s been in the past. Isaac Redman is a nice power back, but he doesn’t have breakaway speed. John Clay is unproven. Baron Batch is unproven. Mewelde Moore probably won’t be re-signed. And Jonathan Dwyer seems unmotivated (despite having a lot of potential).
When I wrote the article, I was being optimistic and assuming that Redman, Dwyer, and Batch would all prove to be good players, and that Mendenhall would recover fully. But if you take the pessimistic view, and assume that Dwyer and Batch DON’T succeed, and that Mendy is never the same again, then you may want to draft a running back for insurance purposes.
Assuming that we’re taking the pessimistic view, then I’d rank running back behind kicker, but ahead of punter as a team need.
But if I continue to view it more optimistically, then I’d leave things as I have them. My thoughts waiver daily between optimism and pessimism about our running backs.
6I agree with this wholeheartedly. OG & NT are by far the biggest needs. Based on his history I don’t think we can count on Colon. That makes OT a huge need also. I couldn’t bear watching Scott get blown up on every play anymore! And is Kam a ringer? He’s funny!
7It’s not very glamourous to wish for an offensive guard. I personally would not be too upset with Hightower. After all linebackers are what the Steelers are all about. But your point is valid and I happen to agree with it.
Does anyone think Pouncey was a bad pick a few years ago? If they draft a guy who ends up being the next Alan Faneca then no one will be complaining. Pouncey, and Gilbert with a big up and coming guy sandwiched between them could lead to an improvement on the bottom line… POINTS SCORED.
Corner in the first? Why go there when we have Cortez and Brown to find out about? Brown was a real ball hawk at Texas; isn”t that exactly what we want. He was fearless on special teams so we know he can hit. I am looking forward to continued improvement from Lewis, I like our chances if we can solve the line and at least add depth and promise at the Nose. I do hope Haley sees the value in Redman but that is another subject.
8Jeff & J.R.,
That’s exactly the problem. Guard is not a “sexy” position. But it’s an IMPORTANT position, and a vital need for the Steelers.
Too many fans take the easy path by saying we need a “shutdown cornerback” (yeah, how many of those come out every year?), or a “sack machine” at OLB. Those positions are sexy, but they don’t help us to score from within the red zone, and they don’t help to keep Big Ben alive. A guard (or two) would do both.
But I knew that you guys would understand. Now if we could only get Kam to see the light.
9I agree with you and john 98.5% percent lol. I guess the deciding factor for me is this. When will casey hampton be back and will he be 100%?If chris hoke hadnt retired I would be perfectly fine with him starting and making nose tackle number 2 priority but without a solid nose the 3-4 collapses. I think it would be possible to run this offensive line one more year like you said if colon stays healthy gilbert works out at LT and maybe starks is resigned and foster and legursky at guards but with no nose tackle the defense will go down hill fast. Has anyone heard anything about the recovery of starks mendy and hampton and when they are projected to be back. Also I like isaac redman with the firepower at wide receiver(if everyone comes back) do you really need a break away burner back. If a back can average 4.5 yards a carry that would set this offense up perfectly. Put a solid/better line together and redman and the others can be affective enough to let ben and the passing game carry this team.
10The Steelers have plenty of talent at the positions that gets the talking heads all excited. We need some youth at the “less interesting” positions. Fortunately, the Steelers don’t really listen to media pressure and take their own favorite guys. Hey, it isn’t often the Steelers let us down on draft day.
I would love it if he get a good enough OT to move Colon inside. We may need one anyways, as I can barely remember the last time I saw Colon on the field in the regular season. OG is more likely, though.
I pretty much agree with the rest of the analysis. I doubt we go punter, aside from a camp body. Kapinos isn’t going to destroy teams in the field position battle, but he’s no Mitch Berger either. Remember those 14 yard punts that would bounce off of the opposing returner’s helmet and be recovered by the Steelers? Just as planned, I’m sure. Suisham needs to be replaced though. He isn’t awful, but should be easily upgraded.
I think we can all agree on ILB and NT being a need. The Steelers always grab a OLB, too. Can’t have too many pass rushers. S is a need, too, as Clark and Polamalu won’t last forever. CB isn’t as huge a need as it used to be, but we’ll probably see at least one picked for depth purposes. Passing league and all that…
WR may be a need in the future, but we’ll probably pass on them this year, unless the Steelers see someone as a major steal. We’ll probably see an RB pick up in the mid-late rounds as well.
11TDriver,
Great points. And you’re absolutely right. It’s easy to make the argument that NT is more important than guard. It just depends on whether Casey can come back or not.
But the reality is that the steelers are going to take the best player available. So all of this is going to become moot if Luke Kuechly, Trent Richardson, or Mark Barron happen to be available with the 24th pick. So I guess I should have made it more clear that regardless of which needs we think are most important, the Steelers are NOT going to draft based on need.
12Dan,
13Good points. But I certainly hope that you’re wrong about Willie Colon.
Our quibbling over what we think is the major need position is fun but irrelevant. The Steelers have their own way of evaluating & selecting talent. See the attached link to a 2 part story by the son of a former Steeler coach:
14http://thesidelineview.com/columns/draft/steelers-project-part-1-steeler-way
As you move forward in this series and focus on players whom the Steelers might select, consider some of the prospect selection criteria (according to the author) in this article: Fit to Steeler system; athleticism; & character. Quote from article, “Steelers look for great players not just those that fit a need.” This opens some doors and closes others regarding these prospects. Should make for good discussion in the upcoming weeks.
Last year we bounced around the thought of a contest for predicting the most accurate Steeler draft–? Why not-EVERYBODY these days has a mock draft!
@John #21
Great read. I’ve always felt that the Steelers balance need vs. value better than anyone else.
15John,
That was a good article. However, I think that most Steelers fans already know that the Steelers follow a best player available philosophy (i.e. They don’t draft for need), they factor in character a lot more than most teams, and they pick “Steeler type” players.
For example, despite being a Hall-of-Famer and one of the greatest shutdown cornerbacks to ever play the game, the Steelers probably would have had Deion Sanders ranked pretty low on their draft board. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have drafted him. Sanders had character questions coming out of college. But much more importantly, he didn’t like to tackle, and in the current Steelers scheme, cornerbacks MUST be good at providing run support. Tackling is critical. So the Steelers like cornerbacks who are more physical than what some teams prefer.
So while Deion was a great football player, he wouldn’t have made a great Pittsburgh Steeler.
BTW, I don’t think it’s irrelevant to rank the Steelers’ needs. I know that they don’t draft based on need, but it gives us something fun to talk about while nothing is actually happening with the Steelers (we all know that they’re not going to be very active in free agency).
I do like your idea of a Steelers draft contest. You suggested it last year, but the other readers didn’t get behind the idea, so I passed on it. But I think it may be a good thing to try this year. So I’ll do a post about it in a few days outlining the rules.
Here’s what I’m thinking. Please let me know what you guys think of these ideas, and I’ll change the rules based on your feedback.
1 – Do a complete mock draft for the first round (including all teams, not just the Steelers).
2 – Pick who you think the Steelers will pick in rounds 2-7 (So it will be a Steelers-only mock draft, not a complete mock draft, for rounds 2-7).
3 – Pick all 10 players who you think the Steelers will pick. Remember, the Steelers have 4 7th round picks.
4 – The person with the most correct answers wins a prize (I already have a nice Steelers prize in mind).
5 – In case of a tie, the person with the most correct answers on Steelers’ picks will win.
6 – If there’s still a tie after the tie-breaker, then I’ll do a random drawing to select the winner.
How does that sound? Let me know your feedback, and I’ll announce the contest and publish the rules next week.
16I like the idea!
17I’m in
18I like the idea as well… time to start looking at a bunch of mock drafts to get some good ideas!
19Don’t we need to consider getting a new tight end with Saunders out for 4 games? I hope that guy can turn it around because he seems to have the athleticism to be a good receiving tight end but given his problems in college following the rules and his suspension for substance abuse, we may not be able to count on him. Johnson cannot step in for Heath. Unfortunately, because of the Patriots’ success with two receiving TEs, these guys will be acquired in the higher draft rounds so we may not be able to do any better than a guy like Saunders who has first round talent but was only available last year because of his off-field problems.
20I think you have to include RB and QB on the list, and bump DE and OLB off. RB i’d put right behind Kicker at #7 because even if Mendenhall comes back we need a 3rd down back who is a threat in the passing game. QB id sneak in at #10 because with Ben we need a reliable backup, and I’d rather it not be Batch again.
21Erik,
Don’t forget that we still have Baron Batch lined up to be the 3rd down back. And we always have the option of bringing back Mewelde Moore.
As far as quarterbacks go, I agree with you. I don’t mind having Byron Leftwich OR Charlie Batch, but I don’t want both of them. We need at least one backup QB who is under 50 years old.
22Dan R.,
I really have high hopes for Saunders. I think the team can survive 4 games without him. But he’s going to be a good one.
David Johnson is seldom called upon to catch the ball, but he’s a little better at it than most people think (but he’s definitely no Heath Miller).
23Leonard Pope just signed–didn’t see that coming! We still may look at a TE late Rounds 6-7- George Bryan NC State; James Hanna – Ok. Surprised that Michael Egnew from Mizzou was brought in for a visit – he’s a pure receiving TE. Maybe Colbert is cooking up something new??? Naah!!
24one thing you are all forgetting is that Mundy, Lewis, and legursky are all still free agents, so that changes some of our needs too.
25I think you’re pretty much right on target.
OL is paramount except for NT if the right scenario happens or if the best player sits there, (Hightower?) He would be the best at 24, no doubt and a team like Pitt could do a whole lot worse than to add him to their stellar (#1) linebacker corps.
Agree totally on the CB position.
Both Cortez and Curtis are good and have great potential to be really good. The scouts did their job perfectly at CB.
Poe is a tough one if he happens to be there.
Either another Ngata or another Haynesworth is possible.
Is it worth the chance and do they think they have the coaching and just as importantly the TEAM to inspire him? Pitt has awfully good scouts and coaches, proved out by basically playing only two nose tackles in twenty years; Steed and Hampton, both superb NTs. Got to give credit where it’s due to Hoke as well.
I agree about safety also. Huge. If only Barron or Harrison Smith were around but that ain’t gonna happen.
Then perhaps Phillip Thomas (small?) or Markelle Martin later?
RB is moot until the OL is better. Even then I believe Red Zone is good, Batch has super potential and Clay is another Kevin Mack type, possibly. That said i think the most talent and the biggest possible sleeper on the entire team is Dwyer. It’s all up to him, how hard he wants it but the combo of size, speed and those really great feet remind one of … dare I even say it?
Every time he’s on the field he shows something and that something is outstanding ability and potential. Special.
Also agree that kicker is huge. Who didn’t love Gary anderson, one of the greatest signing in Steeler and NFL history.
Quite a few lower spots for some chances and hunches.
I have big faith in the Steeler scouts and coaches.
26Wow! Great first post, HP. Welcome aboard.
I look forward to reading your comments in the future.
BTW, I completely agree with you about Jonathan Dwyer. He has the potential to be as good (or as bad) as he wants to be. I was so upset last year when he came to camp out of shape. IMO, there’s no excuse for that (not even the lockout).
I just don’t understand athletes who don’t seem to understand that their body is the most valuable thing that they have. Take care of it! Players would be wise to watch how hard Ike Taylor works during the off-season, and emulate him.
27Thanks for the welcome!
Yes Ike gets after it and so does Pouncey and a few others like Timmons. (Harrison just has to show up)
Gotta love players like Harrison. Reminds me of Joey Porter over on the other team’s sidelines not just trash talking but kicking ass before the game. No scale to measure that on. No doubt why, in the immortal words of Dan Dierdorf, Joey Porter style “inspiration” is “STRIIIICKLLLLY PROOOHIBITED!” (right Warren!)
I honestly believe there aren’t too many teams with an every day, month, year after year TEAM attitude and camaraderie like the Pittsburgh Steelers have. Practically a patent!
It’s a very special thing and it would be hard to imagine any other aspect of the game surpassing that.
That Bettis, Hines, Farrior, Hoke, Smith, Miller, Troy and all the rest are the MEN they are is a big big reason for such consistent success.
Anyway, like pretty much everyone else I think they’ll go with Poe or Hightower. I hope Hightower for two reasons. One because he is absolutely perfect for Pittsburgh. Two because the Ravens won’t have him. That might even be two and a half!
Myself I’d go the first two with OL and then maybe Still or one of the other potentially great NT like Ta’amu or Fangupo. It’s not unheard of for a man to step up past himself when inspired by teammates, coaches, fans, tradition and the system itself.
Safety and DL is bigger sooner than LB or WR or TE.
Just my two cents.
28I have to agree with kam! The fact of the matter remains it is now a passing league. Thusly, you need people to defend the pass. The steelers struggle when they are spread out. Teams are figuring this out about us. I love our safeties but we dont have playmakers at corner..not even ike. We cant guard simple stops and out routes. We may have drafted corners in previous years but are they quality corners? And why not in the first round? Linebackers and nose tackles cant cover receivers.
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