Yeah I mean it’s not a need. If you pencil 30 targets a game and 510 targets for the season, 350 to DJ/Pickens/Pat (20+ per game) and another 100 to the RBs that’s about 60 left for backup WRs and TEs which is tiny.
My post is more about getting the best player. All things equal the best player at OT or CB is best case. But in 3-5 years give me superstar game tilting WR or EDGE or IOL over serviceable CB/OT. Just saying that bringing in Robinson or any other mid level vet shouldn’t change anything on draft front.
I also think a top OT or CB could struggle too, and the non top guys even moreso. Those are really hard positions with typically steep learning curves. So idk how much you’re giving up in year 1 even if the JSN/Addison/Mayer/whoever doesn’t catch 80 balls, or if the EDGE doesn’t see a ton of snaps. Also injuries do happen.
Long story short basically position should be a tiebreaker for BPA imo. I can’t predict who that will be; but if you could predict the future and told me “Kincaid is going to be Kittle 2.0” I wouldn’t avoid him because of targets in year 1.
you could say they’re covered at any position is kinda my point. So they need talent more than any one position in my opinion.
As one of us said to the other a few pages back, the likelihood is that BPA at around 17 is going to come down to who you think you can develop best and who fits your scheme best.
To expand on that, the quality seems to be fairly flat from about 15 to 40 or so. There's no obvious superstars lurking. The possible fallers from the top 15 who aren't completely mad for the Steelers are OTs, CBs, and possibly Edges and DLs. There's a bit of a slope, but not so much of a one that the idea of turning down a guy regularly mocked at 20 for a guy regularly mocked at 35 at 32 is insane. I mean, that'd basically be saying "I'd take Darnell Washington over Michael Mayer". I don't think most teams would do that, but I can see that being a better gamble for some
As such, I think it's something of a moot point. The Steelers aren't going to be in a position where a WR or TE is very clearly the best player available at 17 or 32 (unless you want to take Bijan Robinson and tell him his name is now Deebo Samuel, which I do). That might change come 49 (or a trade down from 32) but it feels unlikely the best WRs will fall. TE is different, you could potentially get a stupid bargain there but the Steelers don't look they're preparing for that all that much. It feels like, from the guys they've looked at most, they don't see the point unless it's a guy who can duplicate Gentry's blocking to an extent. Which I think makes some sense. A lot of the possibilities of 2 TE sets go out the window if neither guy is a plus blocker. The Steelers can use 2 TEs, but I don't think they can use 2 Freiermuths.
I also think that while they can justify just about every position short of QB and RB - I'd also add Guard to that right now - I think there's some positions where you'd have to justify not taking them early.
They pretty much need a Tackle. They're in a nightmare scenario if Moore or Okorafor go down, and it should be very easy for a guy to steal their snaps and improve the team. It's a premium position so you have to strike early; you're already arguably out of guys who can cover for injuries there by 32. You almost certainly are by the end of the 2nd.
Their need for a CB is nearly as strong. Less about this year, but it's a premium position where they now have no future and where a guy coming in and stealing snaps straight away could be a huge boost. If the guy could play inside off the bat and start Maulet being 1st choice nickelback, even better.
And after that I think the positions all kinda jostle around depending on preference, but it feels to me like you can only really afford to address one in the first 3 picks, unless the value is insane in which case punting CB to the 3rd round could work out okay thanks to a deep draft.
