Just a year after making Ladarius Green their main free-agent signing, the Steelers could draft a tight end to replace him.
Green has been hampered by ankle injuries and concussions, and he played in just six games last year. He had a couple of standout performances in those games. He caught six passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in a 24-14 win over the Giants in Week 13. He caught five passes for 72 yards two weeks later in a 24-20 win at Cincinnati. He caught a 28-yarder on third down on the Steelers’ game-clinching drive.
Green was injured in that game, however, and missed the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.
According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers aren’t pinning their hopes on Green and could take a tight end in the draft.
It probably won’t happen in the first round. At No. 30, O.J. Howard and David Njoku probably will be long gone. They could be in the running for Jake Butt of Michigan, Adam Shaheen of Division II Ashland or Gerald Everett of South Alabama on Day 2.
The Steelers’ primary needs are at cornerback and outside linebacker and they’ll probably address one if not both of those positions in the first two rounds. They have a tendency to draft wide receivers in the third round. They did that in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Perhaps their third-round pass catcher this year will be a tight end.
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