The Offense may dominate the early picks in the draft for the Steelers

[supersteeler]

This isn't to say we'll pass on a good prospect on defense, but clearly the offense is the unit that needs immediate help, especially at TE,WR,AND RB.
I believe we were ranked 21st on offense so with the expected departure of Wallace, Mendy plus the questionable return of Miller leads me to believe that unit will be at the forefront in this years draft.
From what I've read it appears to be the opposite though as reports coming out that scouts are looking at defensive players, however those players could be late round picks or even undrafted players.

Just recently Carnell lake was at the Syracuse Pro Day looking at SS Shamarko Thomas a projected 3 round pick, they compare him to former Colt Bob Sanders.

I may be in the minority here but I see a real need for a TE, one that can start. I would go even further saying TE at this point might be even more important than WR.
We seen this offense struggle to score points even before the 2012 season, playing good ball from the 20 to the 20 might get you good TOP but we need playmakers to score points in that red zone.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Having a top notch offensive line, solid all around RB, and surrounding your QB who is arguably a top 5 QB with good weapons is the right thing to do. Every rule change over the last decade favors the offensive side of the ball.

[Sugar]

This isn't to say we'll pass on a good prospect on defense, but clearly the offense is the unit that needs immediate help, especially at TE,WR,AND RB.
I believe we were ranked 21st on offense so with the expected departure of Wallace, Mendy plus the questionable return of Miller leads me to believe that unit will be at the forefront in this years draft.
From what I've read it appears to be the opposite though as reports coming out that scouts are looking at defensive players, however those players could be late round picks or even undrafted players.

Just recently Carnell lake was at the Syracuse Pro Day looking at SS Shamarko Thomas a projected 3 round pick, they compare him to former Colt Bob Sanders.

I may be in the minority here but I see a real need for a TE, one that can start. I would go even further saying TE at this point might be even more important than WR.
We seen this offense struggle to score points even before the 2012 season, playing good ball from the 20 to the 20 might get you good TOP but we need playmakers to score points in that red zone.

For the record, I've been high on the idea of a TE as well. A top TE helps in many ways and the Steelers O needs help in many ways.

[DukieBoy]

x2 on the need for a TE early in the draft.

[focosteeler]

This isn't to say we'll pass on a good prospect on defense, but clearly the offense is the unit that needs immediate help, especially at TE,WR,AND RB.
I believe we were ranked 21st on offense so with the expected departure of Wallace, Mendy plus the questionable return of Miller leads me to believe that unit will be at the forefront in this years draft.
From what I've read it appears to be the opposite though as reports coming out that scouts are looking at defensive players, however those players could be late round picks or even undrafted players.

Just recently Carnell lake was at the Syracuse Pro Day looking at SS Shamarko Thomas a projected 3 round pick, they compare him to former Colt Bob Sanders.

I may be in the minority here but I see a real need for a TE, one that can start. I would go even further saying TE at this point might be even more important than WR.
We seen this offense struggle to score points even before the 2012 season, playing good ball from the 20 to the 20 might get you good TOP but we need playmakers to score points in that red zone.

I completely agree, I think it will come down to which one the FO likes more.

[Chadman]

Disagree. The Steelers will look for dynamic young defenders as this is the oldest 'side of the ball' for the Steelers & the unit most likely to require young starters coming through who are not already on the roster.

The Steelers have drafted a bunch of young Offensive players over the last 3 years that are moving into starting roles- Brown, Sanders, Dwyer, Adams, Gilbert, DeCastro, Pouncey. The only 'old' players on the unit are Ben, Miller & Colon- and all 3 have several years left in them.

Clark, Polamalu, Foote, Taylor, Keisel all need to be replaced in a year or 2. Not to mention Hampton & Harrison this year. And if they lose Lewis, put CB on the top of the list.

[supersteeler]

Disagree. The Steelers will look for dynamic young defenders as this is the oldest 'side of the ball' for the Steelers & the unit most likely to require young starters coming through who are not already on the roster.

The Steelers have drafted a bunch of young Offensive players over the last 3 years that are moving into starting roles- Brown, Sanders, Dwyer, Adams, Gilbert, DeCastro, Pouncey. The only 'old' players on the unit are Ben, Miller & Colon- and all 3 have several years left in them.

Clark, Polamalu, Foote, Taylor, Keisel all need to be replaced in a year or 2. Not to mention Hampton & Harrison this year. And if they lose Lewis, put CB on the top of the list.

No question Chad, but it doesn't mean we draft a future defensive starter when we need help now on the offense. What defensive player picked early will help us when he most likely only plays special teams? Now if you prefer we draft replacements down the road for Troy and the other guys thats ok if you don't mind some more 8-8 seasons.

This teams needs help now in order to compete at a high level, we either get that help through the draft or FA's. Tyler Eifert could start on our offense as it is, then when Heath comes back will have two really good TE's in Haley's offense. We also need a feature back that doesn't ask to come out after two series, there are a number of backs that could unseat either Redman or Dwyer in the draft.

As I stated in the first post, its not to say we pass on a good defensive player early, but if we want to improve as an offense we better get the players needed now. With losing Wallace, Mendy, Starks, maybe Foster and not having Heath early on will make it difficult to improve without replacements now.

[Chadman]

Wallace, Mendy, Starks, maybe Foster and not having Heath early on will make it difficult to improve without replacements now

They effectively replaced Wallace the moment they re-signed Brown. For better or worse, it's Brown & Sanders at 1 & 2 now, no rookie is bumping those 2. Starks was replaced the moment they drafted Mike Adams. Gilbert & Adams are the OT's moving forward. The team effectively moved away from Mendy last season by using a RB rotation. Foster was a back-up OG forced into a starting role by the injury to DeCastro. With DeCastro healthy, and Colon still on the roster- why invest in Foster? The only player on the list not properly accounted for is Heath. But Heath is 31, and has 3-4 years left in him. He already costs nearly $8m against the cap. You really think the Steelers will draft another TE that will cost upwards of $3-$4m against the cap to be Heath's back-up?

The Steelers don't draft for ímmediate need'. They ALWAYS draft with the future in mind. There are no Safety prospects behind Troy or Clark, and both could be gone next season. Lewis might prove too hard to sign, and Ike is coming to the end. The CB's look great if it's Taylor, Allen, Lewis & Gay, but not so great if it's Allen, Gay, Brown & Victorian. Both Keisel & Hood are UFA's next season, and the only NT signed beyond 2013 is Fangupo.

Not even mentioning ILB & OLB...

[supersteeler]

Ben needs playmakers who can get in the end zone, this offense struggled too long now in that sense averaging a mere 21 points a game.
As I said we shouldn't exclude defensive players in the draft but at the same time we can't pretend everything will be ok on the offense as it is. I would think drafting a TE early would satisfy both immediate help AND the future, the luxury of waiting for players to develope is fine but do we have that time?
The window for another championship is open with Ben, by not surrounding him with the weapons he needs the offense will continue to struggle making it harder for that window to stay open.

[Oviedo]

x2 on the need for a TE early in the draft.

I'd have no problem with that either. Haley has shown the willingness to use the TE more than any other recent Off Coord. We also have to worry about how Heath comes back from a significant injury. He may be the next player to be a shadow of his former self.

[ikestops85]

I would love for them to target someone like Ertz as their first pick unless there is still a premier pass rusher on the board. DL used Woodley his rookie year as a pass rush specialist so he wouldn't have a problem using someone else in that capacity. Harrison is gone so we easily could find a place for a pass rusher on the field.

[hawaiiansteel]

I would love for them to target someone like Ertz as their first pick

the 17th pick in the 1st round is way too early to select Zach Ertz, if you really want him then trade down and pick up some additional draft choices.

[focosteeler]

the 17th pick in the 1st round is way too early to select Zach Ertz, if you really want him then trade down and pick up some additional draft choices.

Do you think Ertz is ready to walk in and start day 1? Part of me wants them to draft a young guy but if he won't start until mid season I kinda them to sign a vet FA and draft a TE late to develop. Use that early pick on something else

[Chadman]

If the Steelers lose Keenan Lewis to FA this offseason, is everyone still adament that Offense should dominate the early draft selections?

[focosteeler]

If the Steelers lose Keenan Lewis to FA this offseason, is everyone still adament that Offense should dominate the early draft selections?

That is the only exception that I see. If we lose him they HAVE to draft a CB in the 1st. Ike won't last much longer