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: Who will the Steelers select when their turn comes in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft?
This is as simple and obvious as the questions come. The 2017 NFL Draft begins today. Assuming that they down trade up or down, the Steelers are slated to pick 30th on the round, third-to-last pick of the day—and it’s unlikely that they move out of the spot.
So the question is: who will it be? What name will Commissioner Roger Goodell announce as the newest member of the Pittsburgh Steelers—the first drafted without Dan Rooney? Now is your opportunity to call it. Get it down on print now to make sure you can gloat if you get it right later.
I will be making my pick later on in the day when I post my mock draft, and I will also be hedging my bets in another article outlining the most likely targets that the Steelers will probably be looking at and who will be available to them when it’s time for them to send in their selection. This is the sounding off portion of the day.
Depending on whom you ask, the Steelers’ biggest need could fall on any number of positions, namely cornerback, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, safety, quarterback, or even tight end. Some might even argue that it’s still wide receiver, despite the fact that Martavis Bryant is now on track to return to the team.
Personally, barring an unusual sequence of events—which is not out of the norm for the draft, and this year promises to have a greater degree of unpredictability—I’m anticipating that the first name called is going to be either an outside linebacker or a defensive back, and I’m guessing that’s the overwhelming majority opinion as well.
Let’s find out. Maybe somebody can volunteer to tally up everybody’s picks by player and position if they’re feeling ambitious.
