what are our needs?

not shocking. Would love to add Jensen and maybe a 2-4 draft pick. Would do a lot to shore up the OL.

 

Agreed, but not that order, or maybe you weren't doing an order....if So.....never mind.

 

That is my order as of right now. There are definitely areas where we can make signings and change the order of needs. We have a rough OL, Our ILB situation is stable but bad, we currently have no CB's outside of Sutton, WR is just DJ and Claypool, S is just Minkah. They are all pretty big needs. I hope we can make a few signings on the OL and draft a CB and ILB. Then we can work on an under the radar signing at WR (or keep JuJu) and picking up a starting SS (whether its Edmunds or someone else... this guy is going to be a cheaper option IMO).

 

if true this says something about green at center. Now does he move to guard? Does Dotson remain at guard? I have heard the have been considering some vet guards as well. Interesting if true. We need a center. Everyone says we need o line but each of those 5 are different.

 

We have 2 wait ,and see. So many freaking rumors flying around right now...it's hard 2 keep up. LoL.

 

In order of most pressing
OL, specifically C and OT. I assume Green might be a solid G. This makes C priority to help improve G. A top notch OT would provide immediate relief to the entire OL. We must greatly improve at least ONE OL position this off-season.
DL, NT upgrade given age/injuries would be great. Davis with UGA would be my favorite round 1 pick, but I think he's combining himself into an early teens selection at worst.
ILB, we have below average ILB across the board. We currently have players there and they're not old or hurt, so it's not quite as pressing, but need talent injection of some kind.
CB, always a need with the Steelers since Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake played their last games.
QB, I moved this down because the options we have are limited or not very appealing given the needs listed above. I'd love to see a long-term upside option, but I don't feel like it will happen this year. DO NOT OVERDRAFT a mediocre QB prospect at the expense of improving OL/DL/ILB or CB.

 

ILB, both lines, DBs. If they trade down and are careful, that can all be addressed in two drafts, realistically. I hope there is a good QB available in 2023. They perhaps should trade for DBs, because they don’t draft them well.

 

i don't think both lines are that big of a need yet. the d-line still has time. if they get adams back, loudermilk, tuitt, wormley still gives us something to work with. o-line they need for sure to add to. witherspoon is critical. add a corner in the draft. ILB to get in here in case they don't give bush that 5th year option. safety i'm not sure yet. my thinking is killebrew brought back as insurance and see what they saw in stiner. norwood is the backup at FS. big drop off from minkah though.

 

Yeah, I am not convinced the OL is bad, but they are fairly green and it was a year of transition. On the DL, that’s a lot of ‘ifs”. Tuitt may just hang up his cleats and Cam is getting long of tooth.

 

sounds like tuitt is coming back though. wormley isn't that old and loudermilk played well and should get better. adams isn't old or used up yet. davis is hopefully healthy. only so many spots to use. i don't think this is a critical year for this unit yet.

 

If Tuitt is coming back I agree.

 

Everyone on DL is old, and that is why it's such a need THIS year. If two or three all suddenly retire or fail to return from injuries, we're in BIG trouble in 2023 or even this year.

 

cam is playing at the top of the league. tuitt isn't really that old and sat out a season. alualu sat out a season and was playing as one of the tops in the league as well. wormley isn't old. loudermilk isn't old. adams isn't old if they bring him back. davis sat out all season and isn't old. we are in pretty good shape on the d-line. no room for a guy if we did draft one.

 

If they draft Jordan Davis, or Travis Jones there's no need to re-sign Adams.

 

I think there are much bigger needs at that point in the draft then at a position of strength on our defense.

 

Yep. If everything goes well the DL is OK for one more year, but when does everything go well? DL is one of those things that could be much upgraded in one draft

 

adams helped a lot. he wasn't to expensive last year sitting on a practice squad. he shouldn't cost much.

davis was hurt from early on so he should be back. he was a draft pick we had high hopes for.

alualu broke an ankle so it wasn't like he had nagging injuries. he was playing at a very high level before the injury.

cam still playing at a very high level.

tuitt, if back can be really good. not really that old. tuitt is 28. he's in his 8th season but really his 7th after sitting out a year.

wormley, quietly had a really good year with 58 tackles and 7 sacks. he's still young.

loudermilk, he's only in year 2 and should get better. he played well for a rookie last year.

way more needs of a higher priority on this team then these studs. there will be good player in the draft next year as well. i don't see a need right now to add a top draft pick in this area. much of the time we only play two down d-linemen anyway.

 

The DL isn't a strength just yet, Adams isn't a lock to return, Tuitt's return isn't official and Alalu is 35 coming off a serious injury.

 

alualu broke an ankle very early in the year. 35 or not he was a top 20 defensive lineman in the league for the last two years prior to the broken ankle. he wasn't slowing down at that point before the freak injury. what is good is he rested for a year really and two others stepped up in loudermilk and wormley. alualu can play in a rotation in this group and won't have near the wear and tear on him. i expect tuitt back. davis will also be back. that's a pretty nice mix of young and old. adams would be icing on the cake. we don't need a first round pick in this group this year.

 

Jordan Davis>Adams

 

maybe but we won't be using a first round pick on a player at a position we are in good shape at. davis was a draft pick for us as well. adams has played here and pretty well i might add. way more needs in the first or second round then davis. davis can be a liability as well if teams catch us trying to substitute and have to leave him on the field for passing downs.

 

Davis wouldn't be my first choice at #20, but if the QBs they like are gone I would be okay with them taking Davis if he's there. They won't be able to hang with teams that have good offenses, go with a dominant front seven assuming Tuitt returns.

 

I agree but not in order.

 

.. and would you look at that!!! FA has started and QB has moved down somewhat on the board. Still very much possible though one is taken in Round Two; traded up even. However, Cornerback and IOL/IDL will likely be pushed up as a result. Now, if James Daniels signs to Pittsburgh... again, likely that the team will draft a CB or IDL though Zion Johnson being on the board should not scare the Steelers off.

 

If all three suddenly retire or have injuries end their career we will have a TON of money to just go sign a replacement or two. Its a pretty sure bet that the Steelers see Loudermilk progressing to become a starter in the next couple years. Wormley is still fairly young and a quality player. Even in the disaster scenario of all three leaving, we are a signing (with all that money freed up) and a draft pick away from being just fine again. I dont think we are in any danger of DL being an issue any time soon. If we draft a DL at all, I assume it wont be any earlier than 3rd or 4th round.

We have too many other needs to be spending precious draft capital at a position of strength just to hedge our bets on the future. DL will be a need in a draft in the future... its just not this one.