The Pittsburgh Steelers have addressed some needs in free agency. They landed Patrick Queen, signed DeShon Elliott, and filled out the depth of their wide receiver room. But more than anything, the Steelers love to address their needs with the best player available for those needs. There are currently four glaring needs between receiver, offensive tackle, center, and cornerback.
And on Monday, Mike Tomlin said that they do not feel overly rushed to land any players at either of those positions. In other words, they can play the board as they see fit and take the best player from one spot.
“We’ve been very active in free agency and that makes you very comfortable as we lean in on draft weekend,” Tomlin said. “We’ve addressed a lot of needs and you don’t feel overly thirsty in any particular area, and I think that is just a good feel as you go into the weekend.”
And that continues to follow the trail of interest that the Steelers have put out throughout the past few months.
The first round? Best player available at a premium position. Khan values positional value, or if you are at a non-premium position, premium players (ex: Patrick Queen). So, for now, I expect tackle, cornerback, or wide receiver to be the pick, and I’m leaning toward offensive tackle. But Graham Barton might be the lone exception to that rule given how much they value versatility along the offensive line.
“Position flexibility has always been important to me,” Khan said. “We have guys who are center capable. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to look at free agency, the trade market and the draft process. There are good players in every one of those areas.”
A tell-all? It’s not that, but it’s a nugget to follow. Some teams like to lock guys into one spot, which also has its benefits. But the Steelers are a team that likes their offensive linemen to learn multiple spots, sometimes to their detriment. But if you read those tea leaves, Khan hints that a center is probably coming through the NFL Draft, but it might be time to keep the ideas open a bit more. As such, you can bet they think of Barton as a center, and he might be the top-ranked guy on their board. He could play all five spots.
Regardless, the Steelers are set up to find the guys who fit the best player available slots on their board. Wherever they think their weaknesses are and who the best player is from those crop of positions will be the pick. That much is clear, and it is the same way they operated in 2023 to land all the value they did up and down the draft board.
