The 2016 season is unfortunately over, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are now embarking upon their latest offseason journey, heading back to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, formerly known and still referred to as the ‘South Side’ facility of Heinz Field. While the postseason is now behind us, there is plenty left to discuss.
And there are plenty of questions left unanswered as well. The offseason is just really the beginning phase of the answer-seeking process, which is lasts all the way through the Super Bowl for teams fortunate enough to reach that far.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring the developments in the offseason as they develop, and beyond, looking for the answers as we look to evaluate the makeup of the Steelers as they try to navigate their way back to the Super Bowl, after reaching the AFC Championship game last season for the first time in more than half a decade.
Question: Is today the most important day of the NFL Scouting Combine for the Steelers?
Today’s list of participants for the NFL Scouting Combine will be made up of the college rank’s prospective defensive backs looking to make a name—and a lot of money—for themselves at the NFL level. And the Steelers are one among many teams who are looking for some young defensive backs to take them to the next level.
Still looking, we should probably say, because they used both a first- and a second-round pick on the secondary in 2016, and it yielded them two starters in cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean Davis. But they are still waiting on 2015 second-round pick Senquez Golson, who has spent most of his first two seasons in the league injured, and their fourth-round pick that year, cornerback Doran Grant, did not even make the roster last year.
The top brass more or less admitted that they are still looking for help in the secondary, and are reportedly heading into free agency with high hopes of being a player toward the top end of the market to provide some serious aide.
But it wouldn’t be the first time the Steelers have had good intentions to find help in the secondary in free agency only to find themselves substantially outbid. There’s a more than reasonable chance that they don’t find what they are looking for in free agency.
Which means of course that they will have the find the answer in the draft. While outside linebacker is regarded as the team’s biggest need by most, a case can still be made for the secondary, especially if reports are to be believed that the team wants to play more man coverage yet doesn’t feel they have the personnel to do it.
With that in mind, today could be the most important one of the NFL Scouting Combine for Pittsburgh—that is, unless yesterday was after getting a good look at the top pass rushers, many of whom they scheduled meetings with. I would expect a lot more meetings today for the secondary.
