Positions the Steelers need to Target

Everyone and their dog has decided the Steelers need a cornerback in the first round. It’s an understandable concern; a series of late game comebacks by Steelers’ opponents exposed the Steelers’ secondary and brought out the worst in our DBs. But taking a cornerback in the first round is basically a knee-jerk reaction to last season, and that isn’t the position the Steelers need the most help with. After the jump, I’ll tell you what they DO need.

Safety: Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark make up a strong starting tandem that compliment each other perfectly. Behind those two, we have… Ryan Mundy. Granted, no one really knows how well Ryan Mundy would play, but there’s probably a reason he hasn’t seen the field. According to the Wikipedia depth chart (because neither the Steelers website nor NFL.com give a damn about updating their depth charts), the backups are Tuff Harris (?) and Will Allen. None of those names sounds like they could fill in for, say, an injured Polamalu, and we saw how that lack of a plan B affected the team last year. With nearly no one waiting in the wings to get on the field, the Steelers should invest a high draft pick in an athletic safety to take over when Polamalu or Clark miss time.

Tackle: I’m so creative, insinuating that the Steelers need to spend a draft pick on some sort of offensive lineman. But another gander at a depth chart reveals the names Jonathan Scott and Tony Hills as the backup tackles. Who’s Jonathan Scott? If you don’t even remember your team signing a player, it’s usually a safe bet that you shouldn’t count on him. Again, there isn’t really much competition at the tackle position, and it wouldn’t hurt to add some actual talented depth rather than just bodies.

I’d qualify those two positions as the biggest real needs. Everyone is clamoring for a cornerback, but everyone apparently forgot that the team JUST drafted TWO last year in Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis. Let’s give those two guys another chance to get on the field before we decide we need a first-rounder for another CB. And even though Santonio Holmes was just lost to the Jets, WR isn’t much of a need either. Between Ward, Wallace, Randle El, Battle, and Sweed (not giving up yet), adding another body at WR is just cramming more people than can fit.

After that, the team still has some depth issues on the defensive line and interior offensive line, but those are already well documented. Personally I also wouldn’t hate an outside linebacker, but then again, I can never get enough linebackers. I think the team WILL spend some picks on WRs or CBs, but not as early as Steeler nation is demanding. There are more important needs as far as depth goes.