With NFL free agency underway, a lot of organizations are focused on signing players to improve their teams. The Pittsburgh Steelers must be active in free agency and the draft to improve from the 10-7 record they finished with last season. They have already fixed their issues at inside linebacker and quarterback by signing Patrick Queen and Russell Wilson, but there is still more to do. There are many other different positions they could try to address but there are four that they need to prioritize fixing.
4 Positions The Steelers Should Address This Offseason
1. Center
Over the last few weeks, the importance of this position’s need to be addressed rose dramatically. The starting center last season, Mason Cole was awful. With a year left on his contract, many thought he would stay on the team as insurance, in case the Steelers couldn’t find a suitable replacement for him in the draft or free agency. The Steelers cut him two weeks ago and it put pressure on them to sign or trade for not only a starting-caliber center but a backup one as well.
If the Steelers had kept Cole and drafted a center or found a good center in free agency, they could have moved Cole to the backup spot. While Cole wasn’t good as a starter he would have done well as a backup and at least had experience. With the decision the Steelers made they have turned this role into a big priority that needs to be addressed soon.
2. Cornerback
Besides Joey Porter Jr., the performances of the cornerbacks ranged from average to abysmal. A consistent issue among those corners last season was a lack of speed and the inability to compete with the top receivers in the league. Three of those terrible cornerbacks (Chandon Sullivan, Levi Wallace, and James Pierre) are set to be free agents this offseason.
While the Steelers won’t miss their play, they will need to replace them as it leaves them with very few players in the cornerback room. Their focus should be to grab another starting cornerback and an experienced backup. They could try to solve both of these issues in free agency but with their other needs, it would be best to address this position in free agency and the draft.
They could sign a veteran cornerback who could start if needed while also drafting a cornerback in the draft. Trying to sign good cornerback in free agency could cost a lot of money and the Steelers need to preserve as much money as possible to sign other players for other positions that need to be fixed.
3. Offensive Tackle
This position will probably get addressed. Whether it receives the same amount of attention as the positions listed before, is debatable. The Steelers spent a first-round pick on offensive tackle Broderick Jones last year. He was drafted to be a left tackle but was moved to right after former right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor played terribly. Dan Moore Jr. is the current starting left tackle.
While he isn’t a bad run blocker his pass blocking is not good and he shouldn’t be starting if better options are available. This isn’t a stellar offensive tackle class in free agency so the Steelers would be looking to upgrade in the draft. They would probably look to draft a right tackle and have Broderick move back to the left side.
4. Safety
Minkah Fitzpatrick is a top-three free safety in the league, his running mate strong safety Damontae Kazee is not. They also lack depth behind both of them as they just cut backup safety Keanu Neal. The safety class in free agency has grown tremendously in the past week with multiple teams cutting or choosing not to re-sign their safeties.
That is where the Steelers should look to get a safety and there is a variety of routes they could go. They could get a young safety in Kamren Curl, a big star safety in Justin Simmons, or an older veteran like Jordan Poyer, for example (if he hadn’t signed with the Dolphins). Whichever path they take, there is no excuse for why the Steelers shouldn’t be able to find a new safety to pair with Fitzpatrick this offseason.
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