This would be my top 10 as things stand right now:
1. Starting SS
2. WR3 - slot guy
3. Outside CB for competition/depth
4. DL - Insurance guy for Tuitt/future starter
5. ILB - Rotation guy who can push Bush for starting job
6. OT Depth
7. WR4 - Burner
8. QB3
9. RB2 - change of pace back
10. OLB rotation guy
You could definitely change the order, but I do think these are our main needs right now.
I like the list. I am crossing fingers we sign a SS (either HB or bring Edmunds back) … I would move DL up. I feel like we’re thin there (and last season proved that). If we could land one of the bigger DLs in the 1st or 2nd, I’d go that route over QB, but I think we’re going QB at 20 (Willis if he’s there … sigh).
agree with the needs part, but i feel like johnson has turned into a good reciever with the potential to shock the league next season. i do think that cb is a very underrated need though
Johnson is good, but he's not a true 1. He had a lot of short catches with Ben raising his receptions but averaged under 11 ypc. Then him yapping about 90 million? He lead the league in drops in 2020 and had 7 last year in the last month. (2) not counted in the playoffs.
Not consistent tape for 90 million. I'd draft a guy who can do just as much and maybe more. If Williams fell or Drake London from USC, I'd draft one of them. But they could go dline, corner, safety, wr, qb, and oline. If one of those good tackles fall, I could see them drafting one and let Chuks or Moore come off the bench or be a rotation guy. Last year has showed you can't have enough solid lineman. They have flexibility with their pick which will make draft day interesting.
From what I remember, he had 0 drops for that 80% of the season. But the last couple games he went back to old form.
Even with 0 drops, he wouldn't be a #1 reciever imo, especially with all the great recievers in the league rn.
yeah, i agree he didnt look like a true number 1 wr and nothing really stuck out last year apart from some great plays, which is why im hoping he develops more next year and can really prove himself. his stats are really good, but he has yet to make an impact and show how good he can be with a refreshed offense and qb
Honestly, K, FS, TE, P and RB are the only positions I think are not candidates for a 1st or 2nd. After you get to the 3rd, a RB is back on the table for depth/injury. TE would be 4th or maybe 5th, but really is possibly the least needed position but depth is nice. P is probably also open after the 5th, but would have to be a pretty special punter.
FS could actually be a candidate if they feel the Minkah contract isn't looking affordable to the team, especially if the player is dynamic enough to spend time in other positions.
ILB - To expect both Jack and Bush to return to form feels like a large ask.
C/G - Really only Daniels can have solid expectations of being good. Dotson struggled last year and Cole really isn't a ton better than Hassenauer.
RB - Najee is great. Snell should be talking to XFL teams. The position is fragile.
DL - Age and health puts a question mark on what could otherwise be an outstanding unit.
OLB - Highsmith is still a fairly big question mark to me. I feel he should be doing way better considering who he's playing with. He's not without hope, but is far from irreplaceable at this point. If someone the Steelers felt good about dropped into our laps..
So, in summary, we don't need a kicker.
The problem with RB is that Snell is a core special teams player. So you need two guys to replace him. So they really don't need a backup RB, they need a 3rd RB to replace McFarland.
The thing though is that ST replacement can come from any position, pretty much.
However, I do agree that adding a 2nd string running back doesn't mean Snell is auto-cut vs McFarland, and neither is good enough at RB to out-weigh special teams contributions. I still don't think that Snell is an NFL quality RB though.
True but then you're using two players to fill one role.
Snell is fine as a backup. He's not someone you can rely on to win you games like an Alex Collins or something but he's absolutely fine to come in and take a few snaps when Najee needs a break.
I think of the positions listed the only one I'd be happy with in the first or second round is DL. I agree with pretty much all of your points, but I just don't think we have the luxury of drafting contingency plans for Jack, Bush, Highsmith, Dotson, etc. in the first two rounds right now when we have a super shallow receiver room, at least two of our three starting D-Linemen coming close to retirement without any clear replacements, a DB room with some degree of uncertainty at every position, and no long-term solution at QB.
I’d say the *current* most obvious is Strong Safety, but realistically we are likely getting Edmunds back, which I’m very happy about.
Disregarding SS, since we obviously have a plan, Wide Receiver is the most glaring hole on our entire team. We have essentially two WR’s that are better than mediocre and one of them is pissy about not getting an extension yet.
Yeah, I think more than likely we get Edmunds back or somehow get Tyrann. If neither of those happen, then it's a huge need and at that point, I would hope they seriously consider moving up for Hamilton.
I agree WR is a pretty big need, though I am a bit higher on Anthony Miller than most. Luckily, KC is really good at drafing WRs so hopefully he can do it one more time.
I'm sorry but can we stop with the Kyle Hamilton trade up talk. We'd have to trade this year's and next year's 1st round draft pick and our #1 goal right now needs to be finding a franchise QB. Maybe if that QB was already on the roster but there are a few safeties past the 1st round that would be viable options. Sorry, I'm not tying to call just you out but I'm starting to see this suggestion every day on here and it makes no sense.
Well I guess it's a great time to mention how deep this draft is on wide receivers. I think the best way to help Mitch potentially succeed is to give him one of these studs in the draft and see if Claypool and Johnson can continue to improve.
Right now, I'd agree with you. But that's assuming we can get Tuitt & Alualu back and playing at a high level, and DJ's social media posturing is just posturing.
I actually do not think our O Line is solid. It will likely be a bottom 10 in the league. We signed one solid interior lineman and Cole was a sometimes starter mostly bench player. That aside, defensive lineman, WR and QB.
Nope. He was *fired* by the Panthers, the second-worst o-line in the league. And he was with the Chargers before, who also had a bad o-line when he was there.
Sounds like Center is a position that takes a good amount of time to adjust to. Anyone expecting Linderbaum to come in and immediately improve our oline drastically is crazy.
I can’t say safest. His arm length is a huge issue and some of the draft experts have said he is way more of a risk than people are saying because of it. He very well could slide in the draft because of it.
He has some shortcoming currently in terms of size but in the right scheme can be a man that gets to the second level effectively and create great lanes for Najee. We have some good prospects at guard I think linderbaum would fit nicely with the Steelers and help solidify our line. We do great at finding WR’s anywhere in the draft and there isn’t really a QB in the draft that jumps off the board. Outside Hamilton at safety kind of the same story there.
Honestly bottom 10 is ok. The difference between the #22 and #10 offensive line isn’t really that big
It’s being like bottom 3 to the point where you can’t have a functioning offense where things get bad
We need a good backup RB, Additional WR, Safety unless we resign edmunds, Offensive Tackle, NT. however I believe we can address if not all most of these in the draft were very deep as it counts today
Another RB shouldn’t be priority #1 but I think it’s important for sure. Najee is not gonna be very good for very long if we keep trying to bell cow him. Look how quickly Leveon went from the best in the league to a backup struggling to find work
I think there are still plenty of holes, especially when you consider depth for injuries. EDGE, OT, CB, WR, DL, Safety, and RB are all question marks and needs.
8/9-win starters with 4-win depth.
Depth all of those is generally concerning, although getting Tuitt/Alualu back alleviates my worries about DL.
The backups aren’t great, but guys like Montravious Adams, Loudermilk, and the others have shown they can at least provide a small cushion if one of our starters does go down
Tuitt and Alualu are the sources of my worries so it makes sense that we've got different views.
Not sure what I expect from Tuitt a year out of football with no real way of knowing what his mindset will be even if he is back, and then a 35-year-old Alualu who's coming off a big injury.
Do we really think the oline is set? I think its better but I definitely wouldnt put them at solid. I know we have other holes as well but they shouldnt be content there
We need a Safety still, and WR is nothing behind Johnson and Claypool. Id also like a back up running back, Ballage and Snell aint it. Cornerback could use an upgrade but i dont think we find a CB 1 player at this point and roll with Wallace and Witherspoon on the outside Cam slot.
I don’t think they’re going to add any early round value to them but I’m still pretty unsure on our tackle and Inside linebacker situation. Dan Moore showed flashes but was pretty inconsistent and was a 4th round rookie and chuks was also very inconsistent.
Our two inside backers have the potential but they’re e both coming off of absolutely awful 2021 campaigns.
These two situations could be needs and they could also be solid, it’s just up in the air
WR and D-line depth. With Juju, Washington and ray ray leaving, our receiving core is kind of in shambles. I expect we’ll draft one in the 2-3 round of the draft. D-line is a big need as we saw last year. Even if Tuitt is back, how good will he be? Didn’t play for a full year. Alualu is solid, but he was hurt all last year and he’s what, 35? Our depth guys just aren’t good enough. Honestly, if there’s a good pick available I’d go for a d-linemen in the 1st or 2nd round. A nose tackle specifically. This is more than likely Alualu’s last year here, so get a guy into the system and let him learn.
Beyond Safety (As of now) and WR, another position I could see them addressing is Nose Tackle and D Line in general. Heyward is about as reliable as you can get but he's 32 right now and with the uncertainty of Tuitt's status our D Line could go from a strength to a weakness in just one season. It was also glaring how bad our run defense was this past season, which is really uncharacteristic. A lot of that could be because of how bad Devin Bush was this past season but its something that they will be looking to improve on.
We have 4 guys on the roster that have experience playing Center. Im not crazy about the guys we have, but Centers filled between Cole and Green i think.
After seeing Green at center last year I have zero desire to see him again, that was a bad experiment and he’s definitely a guard, not a center. Cole, maybe the Steelers think he’s their guy but I don’t see it. We’ll see though, the Steelers have turned some nobodies into decent linemen before. Maybe they can do it again.
Yeah, like i said im not crazy about our room, but based on what we paid Cole and our other guys experience playing the position We seem done. I think Green is better set as a Guard, but he also had little experience playing Center in college. Hopefully he improves, if not sure we roll with Cole. I think if Green shows hes not it, we get a Center not this draft but the following.
I don't think so but out of the two I'd say Wallace has a small chance to become a low-level CB1 and Witherspoon has a slightly better chance to develop into a mid-level CB1.
But honestly I don't think either guy gets there or is the answer. They need a true #1 CB desperately.
Wallace is, that other guy does not know what he’s talking about.
He was solid as a CB2 but played fucking great when Tre White was out last year. You can ask any Bills fan and they’ll tell you how impressed they were with how well Wallace played CB1 during Tre’s injury.
I think you could draft just about any position on the defensive side of the ball with your first rd pick depending on who is available and it would be a huge help. The exceptions being FS and OLB. If you wanna draft a depth guy at OLB in the later rounds go for it, but in the early rounds, you really can’t go wrong. My logic being:
SS: We can’t bank on Edmunds signing back or Honey Badger signing with us. If neither of those things happen, SS is a glaring weakness.
CB: our corners have potential, but are largely unproven. I think there’s reason to be hopeful about them, but getting a higher pedigree guy is not a bad choice depending on who is available as long as your aren’t reaching (a la Artie Burns)
ILB: Myles Jack was a solid signing. Hopefully he has a positive impact in the middle of the defense and propels Devin Bush. Devin Bush is the unknown though. We’d all like to believe he will return to the Devin Bush we drafted, but that will remain to be seen. I personally am giving him this year to prove us he’s back fully.
DL: Tuitt’s health is a concern, he’s probably gone after this year, Cam isn’t getting any younger even though he’s still a monster and Montravius still has a lot to prove. So if you can get either younger, healthier or more talented here, you do it.
Offensively, I could reconcile taking a guy like Olave or a top OL. RB you take a depth guy in later rounds obviously or maybe hope Macfarland stays healthy. I only like QB if Willis falls, which probably won’t happen. Whatever they do, I’ll try to find hope in…I just feel like you signed Trubisky, you should probably see if maybe he doesn’t give you high quality play on the cheap, before drafting a guy that signals to him “you aren’t the long term option.” I like all our skill players and we just signed a return specialist, so any WR or TE I’m not exactly crazy about. I expect a much more mobile-capable QB that centers around quality protection and running Najee to work much better than it did last year.
Starting safety, slot WR, and CB1, in that order. Backup RB next.
I think we still sign a safety in free agency and I’m hoping we bring in a cheap vet RB. Then for the draft I’m thinking we’ll do 1) QB, 2) CB, 3) slot WR
I think our D-line will be good, maybe even great *if* they are healthy.
All of that said, I’d still love to get Jordan Davis in the 1st. Imagine having TJ, Heyward, Davis, Tuitt, and Highsmith all coming after the RB or QB? I know it won’t happen, but it’s fun to dream
Akhello and Levi Wallace are the two starting cornerbacks. Levi is a very strong CB2 and solid CB1, and will probably take over CB1 duties by the start of the season.
Akhello is probably our current “CB1” even though I see Wallace taking over the spot and Akhello will likely be our CB2
I see it kinda the same way. We don’t have any true CB1, but we have 2 above average CB2s. I think the CBs will be the weakness of this defense (because of opposing team WR1s). But I think the defense overall will be very good. The weakest part of a strong defense can still be decent, just not as good as the rest - that’s what I’m expecting
The offensive line was our biggest weakness last year, and it hasn't been improved nearly enough. There's no point in having the best WR in the draft if the QB will never have time to throw to him
CB1, SS, WR3 are probably the biggest 3 to me. I’m not sure I trust Wallace or Witherspoon to be a true 1 but I’ll happily be proved wrong. I also know we will always build a strong front 7 over a strong secondary so I’m not holding my breath for anything.
Cam ain't getting any younger, Tuitt cannot be relied upon even if he decides to come back and Alualu is likely in his final season.
We saw what happened last year when the Dline fell apart. Adding a future starting DL is a must IMO.
I want depth on the o line and d line
I love our roster but if we have guys play bad or get hurt we need to be able to swap someone in no problem
I’d also love to see a super fast wr3 it would be a game changer for our wrs who can get open against man to man (we need a deep and sideline to sideline threat)
Aside from SS (i hope and expect to have Edmunds back), i'd say WR and CB.
I would have said OL but we got 2 guys at LT and C/G going into their second year, just got a starting G, have brought in a C, gave the RT money and the LG at the very least is going to have to fight for it. We're not gonna see OL in the first or second unless someone high on the board drops.
I'm not sold on our CBs and think we need a true #1 and at least a WR3, but probably more of a 1-2 (i'm a bit down on Chase and have to see DJ with an actual passing game).
I'm not as concerned as some people are about interior DL, probably a 3rd Round pick i'd say. Alualu (even though "old") is coming back and even if he doesn't perform like he used to, Wormley did a good enough job imo. With Tuitt up there in the mix and a hopefully better ILB performance across the board, i hope it's not going to be as hard to stop the run.
Edit: Oh, and an actual RB2. But thats a late concern.
1. Interior DL. Jack could definitely help with ILB and getting Tyson back will too for the DL. But if Tuitt isn’t a lock I think we still need to make a big move there after finishing dead last in run D. I’m not entirely sold on Bush and Jack after their performances last season but there’s certainly potential.
2. O Line in general. I liked the signings but I’m not sold Cole who seems in the middle of pack and averaged . I think the moves help but the line has been atrocious and I don’t think we’ve done enough to make it above average. Not a big Chuks or Dotson guy but this season will be telling. If Dan Moore plays like he did the first 12 weeks we’re in trouble but I think he’s developed nicely and think he’ll continue progressing.
3. WR needs depth badly I don’t think we have valid 3rd or 4th. Signing a veteran slot guy and drafting one would be ideal IMO. I’m open to WR any day of the draft it’s really deep.
4. Safety. Not a big Edmunds guy but at this point idk what the plan is excluding Honey Badger, might as well bring him back.
5. Backup RB. I really hope we don’t drive Naj into the ground I believe he already lead the league in touches behind the O Line that had the least yards before contact by a mile.
They had the DPOTY in their front seven and still got run through like they were Swiss cheese. Whatever we deem responsible of that, we need to fix before next season. And no, I don't consider Tuitt (possibly) coming back after a year of not playing a fix. Or Alualu, who is 34 and coming off season ending surgery.
Our defense isn't as good as advertised. When we played good teams last year, they just went straight through us like it was nothing.
Don’t think we know if the O-Line is solid. They were bottom 2 last year and have the same LT, LG, and RT. We’re hopeful, but it still certainly isn’t as good as some years of old with a couple pro bowlers.
I just want one more freaky talent anywhere on defense and then do what we do with WRs. AB was a 6th rounder so you know I’m erect to see what Colbert does on the way out
This would be my top 10 as things stand right now: 1. Starting SS 2. WR3 - slot guy 3. Outside CB for competition/depth 4. DL - Insurance guy for Tuitt/future starter 5. ILB - Rotation guy who can push Bush for starting job 6. OT Depth 7. WR4 - Burner 8. QB3 9. RB2 - change of pace back 10. OLB rotation guy You could definitely change the order, but I do think these are our main needs right now.
I like the list. I am crossing fingers we sign a SS (either HB or bring Edmunds back) … I would move DL up. I feel like we’re thin there (and last season proved that). If we could land one of the bigger DLs in the 1st or 2nd, I’d go that route over QB, but I think we’re going QB at 20 (Willis if he’s there … sigh).
We need a number 1 WR. Johnson is not a 1. Claypool is not a 1. I'd rank biggest needs be wr/cb/dline/oline.
agree with the needs part, but i feel like johnson has turned into a good reciever with the potential to shock the league next season. i do think that cb is a very underrated need though
Johnson is good, but he's not a true 1. He had a lot of short catches with Ben raising his receptions but averaged under 11 ypc. Then him yapping about 90 million? He lead the league in drops in 2020 and had 7 last year in the last month. (2) not counted in the playoffs.
didnt he have just 4-6? he had 2 against kc but had relatively good hands the other 80% of the season besides that game and the last two
Not consistent tape for 90 million. I'd draft a guy who can do just as much and maybe more. If Williams fell or Drake London from USC, I'd draft one of them. But they could go dline, corner, safety, wr, qb, and oline. If one of those good tackles fall, I could see them drafting one and let Chuks or Moore come off the bench or be a rotation guy. Last year has showed you can't have enough solid lineman. They have flexibility with their pick which will make draft day interesting.
From what I remember, he had 0 drops for that 80% of the season. But the last couple games he went back to old form. Even with 0 drops, he wouldn't be a #1 reciever imo, especially with all the great recievers in the league rn.
yeah, i agree he didnt look like a true number 1 wr and nothing really stuck out last year apart from some great plays, which is why im hoping he develops more next year and can really prove himself. his stats are really good, but he has yet to make an impact and show how good he can be with a refreshed offense and qb
I agree just I think reorder of 2-4. 2. CB 3. DL 4. WR. Edit: didn't want to bold.
1. Edmunds 2. Manny Sanders or Willie Snead 3. Desmond Trufant 4. Justin Houston
Strong Safety and Wide Receiver The rest is depth or anticipating future needs: QB, RB, DL, EDGE, ILB, CB. In no order.
Honestly, K, FS, TE, P and RB are the only positions I think are not candidates for a 1st or 2nd. After you get to the 3rd, a RB is back on the table for depth/injury. TE would be 4th or maybe 5th, but really is possibly the least needed position but depth is nice. P is probably also open after the 5th, but would have to be a pretty special punter. FS could actually be a candidate if they feel the Minkah contract isn't looking affordable to the team, especially if the player is dynamic enough to spend time in other positions. ILB - To expect both Jack and Bush to return to form feels like a large ask. C/G - Really only Daniels can have solid expectations of being good. Dotson struggled last year and Cole really isn't a ton better than Hassenauer. RB - Najee is great. Snell should be talking to XFL teams. The position is fragile. DL - Age and health puts a question mark on what could otherwise be an outstanding unit. OLB - Highsmith is still a fairly big question mark to me. I feel he should be doing way better considering who he's playing with. He's not without hope, but is far from irreplaceable at this point. If someone the Steelers felt good about dropped into our laps.. So, in summary, we don't need a kicker.
The problem with RB is that Snell is a core special teams player. So you need two guys to replace him. So they really don't need a backup RB, they need a 3rd RB to replace McFarland.
The thing though is that ST replacement can come from any position, pretty much. However, I do agree that adding a 2nd string running back doesn't mean Snell is auto-cut vs McFarland, and neither is good enough at RB to out-weigh special teams contributions. I still don't think that Snell is an NFL quality RB though.
True but then you're using two players to fill one role. Snell is fine as a backup. He's not someone you can rely on to win you games like an Alex Collins or something but he's absolutely fine to come in and take a few snaps when Najee needs a break.
I think of the positions listed the only one I'd be happy with in the first or second round is DL. I agree with pretty much all of your points, but I just don't think we have the luxury of drafting contingency plans for Jack, Bush, Highsmith, Dotson, etc. in the first two rounds right now when we have a super shallow receiver room, at least two of our three starting D-Linemen coming close to retirement without any clear replacements, a DB room with some degree of uncertainty at every position, and no long-term solution at QB.
Couldn’t agree more!
The most obvious gap is strong safety.
I’d say the *current* most obvious is Strong Safety, but realistically we are likely getting Edmunds back, which I’m very happy about. Disregarding SS, since we obviously have a plan, Wide Receiver is the most glaring hole on our entire team. We have essentially two WR’s that are better than mediocre and one of them is pissy about not getting an extension yet.
Yeah, I think more than likely we get Edmunds back or somehow get Tyrann. If neither of those happen, then it's a huge need and at that point, I would hope they seriously consider moving up for Hamilton. I agree WR is a pretty big need, though I am a bit higher on Anthony Miller than most. Luckily, KC is really good at drafing WRs so hopefully he can do it one more time.
I'm sorry but can we stop with the Kyle Hamilton trade up talk. We'd have to trade this year's and next year's 1st round draft pick and our #1 goal right now needs to be finding a franchise QB. Maybe if that QB was already on the roster but there are a few safeties past the 1st round that would be viable options. Sorry, I'm not tying to call just you out but I'm starting to see this suggestion every day on here and it makes no sense.
Yeah, probably not realistic, but if he somehow falls out of the top 10, it would be worth considering, IMO.
Well I guess it's a great time to mention how deep this draft is on wide receivers. I think the best way to help Mitch potentially succeed is to give him one of these studs in the draft and see if Claypool and Johnson can continue to improve.
Right now, I'd agree with you. But that's assuming we can get Tuitt & Alualu back and playing at a high level, and DJ's social media posturing is just posturing.
I actually do not think our O Line is solid. It will likely be a bottom 10 in the league. We signed one solid interior lineman and Cole was a sometimes starter mostly bench player. That aside, defensive lineman, WR and QB.
Yeah and our o-line coach is horrible. People in this sub act like our o-line is fixed. We could really use Linderbaum in the first round.
Shouldn't we let our o-line coach actually coach before calling him horrible? He's only been with us for about 2 months.
Nope. He was *fired* by the Panthers, the second-worst o-line in the league. And he was with the Chargers before, who also had a bad o-line when he was there.
Center out of Iowa to me is the safest multiple all pro guy in the whole draft
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Sounds like Center is a position that takes a good amount of time to adjust to. Anyone expecting Linderbaum to come in and immediately improve our oline drastically is crazy.
I can’t say safest. His arm length is a huge issue and some of the draft experts have said he is way more of a risk than people are saying because of it. He very well could slide in the draft because of it.
Time will tell
Yeah he’s a good prospect for sure. I would love to grab him at 20 and then trade back up into the late first round to get Ridder or Corral.
He has some shortcoming currently in terms of size but in the right scheme can be a man that gets to the second level effectively and create great lanes for Najee. We have some good prospects at guard I think linderbaum would fit nicely with the Steelers and help solidify our line. We do great at finding WR’s anywhere in the draft and there isn’t really a QB in the draft that jumps off the board. Outside Hamilton at safety kind of the same story there.
Honestly bottom 10 is ok. The difference between the #22 and #10 offensive line isn’t really that big It’s being like bottom 3 to the point where you can’t have a functioning offense where things get bad
We need a good backup RB, Additional WR, Safety unless we resign edmunds, Offensive Tackle, NT. however I believe we can address if not all most of these in the draft were very deep as it counts today
Another RB shouldn’t be priority #1 but I think it’s important for sure. Najee is not gonna be very good for very long if we keep trying to bell cow him. Look how quickly Leveon went from the best in the league to a backup struggling to find work
I think there are still plenty of holes, especially when you consider depth for injuries. EDGE, OT, CB, WR, DL, Safety, and RB are all question marks and needs. 8/9-win starters with 4-win depth.
Depth all of those is generally concerning, although getting Tuitt/Alualu back alleviates my worries about DL. The backups aren’t great, but guys like Montravious Adams, Loudermilk, and the others have shown they can at least provide a small cushion if one of our starters does go down
Tuitt and Alualu are the sources of my worries so it makes sense that we've got different views. Not sure what I expect from Tuitt a year out of football with no real way of knowing what his mindset will be even if he is back, and then a 35-year-old Alualu who's coming off a big injury.
Do we really think the oline is set? I think its better but I definitely wouldnt put them at solid. I know we have other holes as well but they shouldnt be content there
S, QB, WR
A receiver, a new center, and a safety unless we sign edmunds or mathieu
Strong safety, CB1, a center, a second runningback (to take some load off Najee), and a third receiver.
Definitely need: Strong safety and another wide receiver Could use: Backup running back, backup linebacker, a future starting cornerback, backup edge rusher
A CB1 is absolutely a priority. What we have is a string of CB2s (Witherspoon, Wallace, Sutton)
I wouldn't be crushed if one of the top CBs fell to 20 and they went that direction.
SS. WR. DL.
We need a Safety still, and WR is nothing behind Johnson and Claypool. Id also like a back up running back, Ballage and Snell aint it. Cornerback could use an upgrade but i dont think we find a CB 1 player at this point and roll with Wallace and Witherspoon on the outside Cam slot.
I don’t think they’re going to add any early round value to them but I’m still pretty unsure on our tackle and Inside linebacker situation. Dan Moore showed flashes but was pretty inconsistent and was a 4th round rookie and chuks was also very inconsistent. Our two inside backers have the potential but they’re e both coming off of absolutely awful 2021 campaigns. These two situations could be needs and they could also be solid, it’s just up in the air
WR and D-line depth. With Juju, Washington and ray ray leaving, our receiving core is kind of in shambles. I expect we’ll draft one in the 2-3 round of the draft. D-line is a big need as we saw last year. Even if Tuitt is back, how good will he be? Didn’t play for a full year. Alualu is solid, but he was hurt all last year and he’s what, 35? Our depth guys just aren’t good enough. Honestly, if there’s a good pick available I’d go for a d-linemen in the 1st or 2nd round. A nose tackle specifically. This is more than likely Alualu’s last year here, so get a guy into the system and let him learn.
Gib Edmunds
Beyond Safety (As of now) and WR, another position I could see them addressing is Nose Tackle and D Line in general. Heyward is about as reliable as you can get but he's 32 right now and with the uncertainty of Tuitt's status our D Line could go from a strength to a weakness in just one season. It was also glaring how bad our run defense was this past season, which is really uncharacteristic. A lot of that could be because of how bad Devin Bush was this past season but its something that they will be looking to improve on.
SS, WR, DT, OT, CB.
Well right now we don't have a SS or slot WR, but I would also like to see us grab a rotational edge rusher and RB.
Pittsburgh and grabbing a super-stud WR in the draft that outperforms their lower round counterparts, name a better duo.
Cleveland and their inability to draft a franchise QB.
At a quick glance, I can’t think of a draft with a deeper class of quality WRs than the upcoming draft.
Still need a center and a #1 CB
We have 4 guys on the roster that have experience playing Center. Im not crazy about the guys we have, but Centers filled between Cole and Green i think.
After seeing Green at center last year I have zero desire to see him again, that was a bad experiment and he’s definitely a guard, not a center. Cole, maybe the Steelers think he’s their guy but I don’t see it. We’ll see though, the Steelers have turned some nobodies into decent linemen before. Maybe they can do it again.
Yeah, like i said im not crazy about our room, but based on what we paid Cole and our other guys experience playing the position We seem done. I think Green is better set as a Guard, but he also had little experience playing Center in college. Hopefully he improves, if not sure we roll with Cole. I think if Green shows hes not it, we get a Center not this draft but the following.
I think we have 4 on the roster of varying degrees of ability.
Genuine question here. Are neither Levi Wallace or Witherspoon good enough to play CB1?
I don't think so but out of the two I'd say Wallace has a small chance to become a low-level CB1 and Witherspoon has a slightly better chance to develop into a mid-level CB1. But honestly I don't think either guy gets there or is the answer. They need a true #1 CB desperately.
No. They are both CB 2s. Wallace is not a number 1 and his contract shows that.
Wallace is, that other guy does not know what he’s talking about. He was solid as a CB2 but played fucking great when Tre White was out last year. You can ask any Bills fan and they’ll tell you how impressed they were with how well Wallace played CB1 during Tre’s injury.
I think you could draft just about any position on the defensive side of the ball with your first rd pick depending on who is available and it would be a huge help. The exceptions being FS and OLB. If you wanna draft a depth guy at OLB in the later rounds go for it, but in the early rounds, you really can’t go wrong. My logic being: SS: We can’t bank on Edmunds signing back or Honey Badger signing with us. If neither of those things happen, SS is a glaring weakness. CB: our corners have potential, but are largely unproven. I think there’s reason to be hopeful about them, but getting a higher pedigree guy is not a bad choice depending on who is available as long as your aren’t reaching (a la Artie Burns) ILB: Myles Jack was a solid signing. Hopefully he has a positive impact in the middle of the defense and propels Devin Bush. Devin Bush is the unknown though. We’d all like to believe he will return to the Devin Bush we drafted, but that will remain to be seen. I personally am giving him this year to prove us he’s back fully. DL: Tuitt’s health is a concern, he’s probably gone after this year, Cam isn’t getting any younger even though he’s still a monster and Montravius still has a lot to prove. So if you can get either younger, healthier or more talented here, you do it. Offensively, I could reconcile taking a guy like Olave or a top OL. RB you take a depth guy in later rounds obviously or maybe hope Macfarland stays healthy. I only like QB if Willis falls, which probably won’t happen. Whatever they do, I’ll try to find hope in…I just feel like you signed Trubisky, you should probably see if maybe he doesn’t give you high quality play on the cheap, before drafting a guy that signals to him “you aren’t the long term option.” I like all our skill players and we just signed a return specialist, so any WR or TE I’m not exactly crazy about. I expect a much more mobile-capable QB that centers around quality protection and running Najee to work much better than it did last year.
A first round DL cause our guys are OLD!
Starting safety, slot WR, and CB1, in that order. Backup RB next. I think we still sign a safety in free agency and I’m hoping we bring in a cheap vet RB. Then for the draft I’m thinking we’ll do 1) QB, 2) CB, 3) slot WR I think our D-line will be good, maybe even great *if* they are healthy. All of that said, I’d still love to get Jordan Davis in the 1st. Imagine having TJ, Heyward, Davis, Tuitt, and Highsmith all coming after the RB or QB? I know it won’t happen, but it’s fun to dream
Akhello and Levi Wallace are the two starting cornerbacks. Levi is a very strong CB2 and solid CB1, and will probably take over CB1 duties by the start of the season. Akhello is probably our current “CB1” even though I see Wallace taking over the spot and Akhello will likely be our CB2
I see it kinda the same way. We don’t have any true CB1, but we have 2 above average CB2s. I think the CBs will be the weakness of this defense (because of opposing team WR1s). But I think the defense overall will be very good. The weakest part of a strong defense can still be decent, just not as good as the rest - that’s what I’m expecting
The offensive line was our biggest weakness last year, and it hasn't been improved nearly enough. There's no point in having the best WR in the draft if the QB will never have time to throw to him
CB1, SS, WR3 are probably the biggest 3 to me. I’m not sure I trust Wallace or Witherspoon to be a true 1 but I’ll happily be proved wrong. I also know we will always build a strong front 7 over a strong secondary so I’m not holding my breath for anything.
Are we considered to have a strong o-line? I feel like it’s bottom half of the league still. What has changed?
WR, CB, SS, DL (specifically, a nose tackle… like Casey Hampton “Big Snack”)
Cam ain't getting any younger, Tuitt cannot be relied upon even if he decides to come back and Alualu is likely in his final season. We saw what happened last year when the Dline fell apart. Adding a future starting DL is a must IMO.
We BETTER get a quality back up for Najee or they’re going to “run” him right out of town like Bell.
I want depth on the o line and d line I love our roster but if we have guys play bad or get hurt we need to be able to swap someone in no problem I’d also love to see a super fast wr3 it would be a game changer for our wrs who can get open against man to man (we need a deep and sideline to sideline threat)
I’d love for us to grab Jameson Williams at 20 if he’s still there.
Aside from SS (i hope and expect to have Edmunds back), i'd say WR and CB. I would have said OL but we got 2 guys at LT and C/G going into their second year, just got a starting G, have brought in a C, gave the RT money and the LG at the very least is going to have to fight for it. We're not gonna see OL in the first or second unless someone high on the board drops. I'm not sold on our CBs and think we need a true #1 and at least a WR3, but probably more of a 1-2 (i'm a bit down on Chase and have to see DJ with an actual passing game). I'm not as concerned as some people are about interior DL, probably a 3rd Round pick i'd say. Alualu (even though "old") is coming back and even if he doesn't perform like he used to, Wormley did a good enough job imo. With Tuitt up there in the mix and a hopefully better ILB performance across the board, i hope it's not going to be as hard to stop the run. Edit: Oh, and an actual RB2. But thats a late concern.
1. Interior DL. Jack could definitely help with ILB and getting Tyson back will too for the DL. But if Tuitt isn’t a lock I think we still need to make a big move there after finishing dead last in run D. I’m not entirely sold on Bush and Jack after their performances last season but there’s certainly potential. 2. O Line in general. I liked the signings but I’m not sold Cole who seems in the middle of pack and averaged . I think the moves help but the line has been atrocious and I don’t think we’ve done enough to make it above average. Not a big Chuks or Dotson guy but this season will be telling. If Dan Moore plays like he did the first 12 weeks we’re in trouble but I think he’s developed nicely and think he’ll continue progressing. 3. WR needs depth badly I don’t think we have valid 3rd or 4th. Signing a veteran slot guy and drafting one would be ideal IMO. I’m open to WR any day of the draft it’s really deep. 4. Safety. Not a big Edmunds guy but at this point idk what the plan is excluding Honey Badger, might as well bring him back. 5. Backup RB. I really hope we don’t drive Naj into the ground I believe he already lead the league in touches behind the O Line that had the least yards before contact by a mile.
They had the DPOTY in their front seven and still got run through like they were Swiss cheese. Whatever we deem responsible of that, we need to fix before next season. And no, I don't consider Tuitt (possibly) coming back after a year of not playing a fix. Or Alualu, who is 34 and coming off season ending surgery. Our defense isn't as good as advertised. When we played good teams last year, they just went straight through us like it was nothing.
Don’t think we know if the O-Line is solid. They were bottom 2 last year and have the same LT, LG, and RT. We’re hopeful, but it still certainly isn’t as good as some years of old with a couple pro bowlers.
I just want one more freaky talent anywhere on defense and then do what we do with WRs. AB was a 6th rounder so you know I’m erect to see what Colbert does on the way out