Tim Benz: Steelers should address positional priority over bulk needs in draft

Apparently, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin feels properly hydrated heading into the start of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

“We’ve been very active in free agency,” Tomlin said Monday. “That makes you really comfortable as we lean in on draft weekend. We’ve addressed a lot of needs, and you don’t feel overly thirsty in any particular area. And I just think that’s a good feel as you go into the weekend.”

I disagree with Tomlin’s assessment. Not only are the Steelers a little bit “thirsty” in some areas on their roster, I’d argue that there are places where they are positively parched.

Unless the team wants to convert/promote James Daniels, Nate Herbig, Spencer Anderson or Ryan McCollum, there doesn’t appear to be an obvious starter at center.

Beyond George Pickens, no wide receiver on the team had more than 20 catches last year. Despite acquiring Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliott, general manager Omar Khan still needs to offset the loss of seven defensive backs who are currently in free agency or have moved on to other teams.

On top of that, the defensive line has concerns about age and injury, and the club could upgrade at tackle, even though it seems comfortable with Dan Moore Jr. anchoring the left side for at least one more year.

That’s a lot to quench in one draft. Someone get Tomlin a Gatorade! He may need a sip or two sooner than he thinks.

When it comes to the first two rounds, what the Steelers need to prioritize is whether to go after those bulk needs at wide receiver and defensive back, where multiple holes exist or try to get a high-quality starter right away at a position of need along the offensive line with a player who could line up for every snap of every game if health allows.

Barringa trade for a starting receiver, I choose the latter — for two reasons.

First of all, if the Steelers go with a tackle or center (or both) in either of the first two rounds, that’s about 1,000 snaps each where those players are directly involved in blocking along the offensive line. So select the highest-quality player who would be involved the most directly in the outcome of plays most often.

Meanwhile, at receiver last year, Pickens (929) was the only player who came close to absorbing 1,000 snaps, and hewas only targeted on 106 of those. Granted, Diontae Johnson did miss time due to injury, or else his total would have been near that level as well.

In the defensive backfield, rookie Joey Porter Jr. (a second-round pick a year ago) didn’t see more than 40% of the snaps until after the Week 6 bye. The other second-round selection, Keeanu Benton, also played well when called upon. Yet, he was only on the field for 42% of the defense’s snaps.

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A player like Iowa’s Cooper DeJean could be a variable in the sense that he could play a ton in the slot or, like former pro and college scout Matt Williamson pointed out to us last week, as a “STAR” back if Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin deem Jackson the best outside corner partner for Porter.

Secondly, the depth of talent where the Steelers could get a quality contributor at DB or receiver in Rounds 3-4 as a starter or subpackage role player is much greater.

Unless they swing a trade, the Steelers pick at 20 and 51 over the first two rounds. In Rounds 3 and 4, the Steelers select Nos. 84, 98 and 119. In The Athletic’s “The Beast” draft guide (via Dane Brugler), there are three centers in the top 100 rankings — Duke’s Graham Barton (No. 18), Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson (No. 23) and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier (No. 34). The next player listed is Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini as a third-to-fourth rounder.

At tackle, there are eight prospects in the first 40 picks (nine if you count G/T Troy Fautanu of Washington). The next one doesn’t show up until No. 59 with Patrick Paul of Houston, then Brandon Coleman of TCU at No. 66.

If the Steelers can wait until the second or third round on a receiver or corner and address one (or both) of the offensive line holes, Brugler lists nine receivers between No. 50 and the end of the third round. There are eight corners between No. 49 and the end of the third round. There are six defensive tackles between No. 51 and the end of the third round.

In other words, at the positions of bulk need for the Steelers, where multiple players are deployed in various subpackages, the talent is evenly distributed through mid- to late Day 2.

“I don’t know that there’s a cookie-cutter formula,” Tomlin said when I asked about drafting for high snap-count starters versus aiding multiple needs at one position.“It’s about the players. It’s about their floor. It’s about their ceiling. It’s about their readiness. There’s a lot of variables in the equation.”

If that’s the case, the dream scenario would be if J.C. Latham of Alabama was available when the Steelers pick at No. 20 and at least two of those centers were still on the board.

If the Steelers are willing to move Moore to the bench or trade him, Latham is a 6-foot-6, 342-pound right tackle with 25 starts at that position. He (or Fautanu or Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga) would allow Broderick Jones to move over to left tackle, and then, potentially Frazier or Powers-Johnson might be on the board in the second round, especially since Powers-Johnson seems to be slipping a bit due to some injury concerns.

If those two centers and Barton are all gone by pick No. 51, then the Steelers can go corner or receiver and hope Bortolini is still there with one of their third-round picks.

One thing that might help is a trade-down in the first round to acquire at least one more pick before Day 2 wraps up. That’s something the Steelers haven’t done since 2001. When asked about why the franchise has avoided that course of action, Khan said he and his predecessor, Kevin Colbert, have never been fundamentally opposed to the idea. But there’s a reason why they have been resistant to doing so.

“I would just say, in my opinion, you never trade away from a good player. But obviously, if there’s ever a scenario that makes sense for both sides, you have to look at it,” Khan said.

This year, I think that would make sense. That way the possibility of addressing center, tackle, corner, receiver and defensive line could be accomplished before Khan and Tomlin go to bed Friday night — presumably less thirsty than how they woke up on Thursday morning.

Whether they are admitting it or not.

Listen: Tim Benz and TribLive beat writer Joe Rutter discuss Steelers draft strategy.