Apr 18, 2020 5 min read

The Steelers have had a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft every year since 1967, a span of more than 50 years – or approximately the last time the Cleveland Browns were relevant.

But that will be the case this week as the draft will begin on Thursday with the Steelers watching patiently from the sideline.

Considering the Steelers received an All-Pro safety in Minkah Fitzpatrick as part of the return for their first-round draft pick, they’re fine with that. And given the overall lack of knowledge – or at least what teams are accustomed to having at this point – going into the draft, all the better.

“I’m a lot more comfortable knowing we got an All-Pro player with that pick,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said. “I’m not real concerned about getting back (into the first round). There’s really good depth in this draft. I feel good about who we can get in the second round and beyond.”

What can the Steelers expect to get with their first selection this year, the 49th overall pick? The biggest need is an offensive playmaker.

The Steelers’ biggest issue in 2019 was not the fact they didn’t have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for all but two games, though that obviously exasperated the main issue. The biggest issue was that they saw a dropoff from scoring 51 offensive touchdowns in 2018 to 25 in 2019.

Again, Roethlisberger was a big part of that. He had 34 touchdown passes in 2018. But the fact is the Steelers never recovered from the loss of Antonio Brown following that season.

Brown scored 15 touchdowns in his final season with the Steelers. Pittsburgh scored just 10 more touchdowns in 2019 than Brown had by himself the year before.

That wasn’t all because of the lack of Roethlisberger.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s career high for touchdowns is seven. James Conner, who scored 13 touchdowns in 13 games in 2018, saw his production fall of to seven TDs as he played only six quarters in the final eight games.

That’s why the Steelers need a playmaker and maybe even two. They need someone who can score a touchdown from anywhere on the field.

This is an especially deep draft at the wide receiver position. There’s a good chance there will be a receiver with a first-round grade available to the Steelers. There are eight to 10 players who might carry such a ranking.

One of those – specifically TCU’s Jalen Reagor, USC’s Michael Pittman and Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk – would be very tempting to take at pick No. 49.

But the Steelers also know they can’t necessarily count on Conner to stay healthy. He hasn’t played a full season in his three years in the NFL. To expect him to suddenly do so in his fourth season is probably a pipe dream.

That’s why the Steelers’ top pick should be a running back. Sure, Conner might stay healthy this season. He might bounce back and become a Pro Bowl player as he was in 2018.

But Conner is heading into the final season of his rookie contract. And if he has a great year, the Steelers probably won’t be able to afford to sign him – at least not for a reasonable price. If he doesn’t have a good season, they won’t want to re-sign him.

There are five running backs in this draft who have star power and look like they’ll be solid starters: Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins and Cam Akers of Florida State.

There’s a good chance the Steelers’ top draft pick will be one of those five.

Expecting Swift, Taylor or Dobbins to be available might be a bit much to ask, but there’s a chance at least one of the three will still be on the board. And Dobbins is the best of the bunch.

If he’s there, the Steelers would be ecstatic. Swift and Taylor are good backs. Dobbins could potentially be great.

But if it comes down to a choice between Edwards-Helaire and Akers, both of whom are nice fallback options, the pick should be Akers.

This team needs an infusion of speed. And Akers ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Edwards-Helaire, while shifty and a great pass-catching back, ran a 4.60. That’s plenty fast enough to play in the NFL, but Akers’ speed would add a dimension the Steelers just don’t have right now.

Akers was a one-man show at Florida State the last couple of years, running behind a terrible offensive line and without much at quarterback. Yet he was still very productive.

As good as Edwards-Helaire was last season, he was surrounded by NFL-level talent.

The difference between the top backs this year is splitting hairs. None are going to be early picks. But all could be difference-makers.

And a difference-maker is exactly what the Steelers need.

The rest of the draft could see the Steelers fill needed depth spots – an offensive lineman, safety, inside and outside linebacker. But it will be that second-round pick that will make the biggest impact this season. And it has to be somebody who scores touchdowns.