The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2014 season ranked 27th in passing yards allowed per game (253.1). They also allowed the tenth highest completion percentage (64.5) in the league to opposing QBs while surrendering the fourth most passing touchdowns (30). What I'm trying to say is that the Steelers need a lot of help in the secondary.
The team can find that help by just staying put at No. 22 overall in tomorrow's draft. Or, they could trade down. Grantland's Bill Barnwell laid out a trade scenario that benefited all parties in which the Steelers sent their first-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the No. 24 overall pick and a fifth-rounder.
"Pittsburgh could justify using its entire draft on defensive backs," Barnwell wrote. "Things are that bad in the secondary. Even though Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor (both of whom recently retired) had names that didn't remotely match their production over the past couple of years, the Steelers really haven't had defensive backs who could challenge them for snaps. The only achiever Pittsburgh brought through was Cortez Allen, and he got benched two months after signing a five-year, $26 million extension. Things are ugly.
"The best thing the Steelers can do is trade down and try to acquire additional picks. Here, they're only picking up a fourth-rounder, but it's also at the relatively low cost of moving down two spots in a draft that should have several cornerback candidates lurking at the end of the first round. The Cardinals move up to get ahead of the Lions at no. 23, who could beat Arizona to Melvin Gordon if so inclined."
The Steelers have been rumored to be interested in cornerbacks such as UCONN's Byron Jones, Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson and FSU's Ronald Darby. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if they land one of them.
