Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 Mistakes to avoid in 2020 NFL Draft
By Samuel Teets
4. Making lateral moves at skill positions
A few years ago, Pittsburgh boasted the best offensive trio in the NFL. Now, the days of Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Roethlisberger seem like a distant memory. Roethlisberger missed most of the 2019 season. Brown appeared in only one game and ran into continuous legal issues off of the field. Bell underperformed in his first season with the New York Jets.
If Roethlisberger can drag out one or two more seasons of classic Big Ben, then the Steelers should take a serious look at their offensive pieces. Clearly, there’s a talent disparity between those Killer-B’s offenses and the current unit.
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Fortunately, Pittsburgh’s defense won’t require much attention during the draft for the first time in a while. That lets the Steelers explore offensive improvements, including at the skill positions.
The Steelers possess three competent wide receivers, but can any of them become an ace for the team? JuJu Smith-Schuster made a Pro Bowl alongside Brown in 2018, but injuries and inconsistent play more than halved his production this past season.
Diontae Johnson and James Washington averaged about 700 receiving yards between the two of them. Both took over in certain games, but neither performed consistently. While they both contributed, I’m not sure either is better than Martavis Bryant, a former No. 2 receiver in Pittsburgh.
Several mediocre players also inhabit the running back position. Neither James Conner nor Benny Snell look like long-term solutions at running back. The Steelers could take a step up from both young runners, but finding that new starter could prove problematic.
Pittsburgh’s prominent skill players all belong in the NFL, but none of them are superstars. The team doesn’t need more average players. That just crowds the depth chart. There’s no reason to use draft picks for players who aren’t better than what’s already available.