AFC North Draft History
By Kris Rogers
Pittsburgh Steelers
First Round Selection: 25th Overall
Previous First Round Picks: Jarvis Jones (2013), Ryan Shazier (2014), Bud Dupree (2015)
GM – Kevin Colbert
Another year, another Steelers team that needs a corner. Well, don’t get your hopes too high. Kevin Colbert has been with the Steelers since 2000, and the team has never taken a corner in the first round under his tenure. In fact, the position has only been addressed 3 times in the second round dating back to 2000 (Ricardo Colclough, Bryant McFadden, Senquez Golson).
The Steelers, like the rest of their AFC North brethren go BPA at a position of need. They do love to bolster the front seven of their defense, picking a linebacker first the past three seasons. They tend to favor highly athletic, raw prospects that they can coach up as opposed to technically sound draft picks. They also trade rather infrequently, occasionally moving up for a special prospect.
On offense, the Steelers and Colbert excel at finding talent in the middle rounds, especially at receiver. Emmanuel Sanders, Markus Wheaton, and Mike Wallace were all third round picks, Martavis Bryant was drafted in the fourth, and Antonio Brown was a diamond in the rough in the sixth. And while not every one of these picks have worked out (Looking at you, Dri Archer), Steelers fans should feel confident in the offense.
However, this draft should be very defensively focused. James Harrison will be 38 before the season begins, and Jarvis Jones hasn’t lived up to his first-round expectations. Pittsburgh also needs a nose tackle after Steve McLendon left for the Jets, and needs depth at DE behind Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt.
And of course, the secondary needs work. With Will Allen not returning for his 13th NFL season, it leaves only special teamers Shamarko Thomas and Robert Golden to play Strong Safety. On the outside, the Steelers have only two corners with experience at the position on the roster in William Gay and Ross Cockrell. They drafted Senquez Golson and Doran Grant last year, but Golson missed the entire season with a shoulder injury, and Grant only played special teams.
At pick 25, the Steelers will most likely spend the pick on the front seven; either an outside linebacker or D-Tackle, but some hold out hold out hope that the Steelers will finally draft a highly-touted corner.