As Free Agency Dust Settles, Steelers' First-Round Pick Remains a Mystery

Thanks to free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers have even more holes to fill in the upcoming NFL Draft.

After a heated first week of free agency, the dust has finally (somewhat) settled for teams around the National Football League after spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the yearly carousal of players seeking what many players would deem "financial security." 

Heading into free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers had many questions surrounding the team in another crucial offseason. With one last push for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to make another postseason run, how would the front office assemble a team to win now? The Steelers have never been big spenders in free agency, as the team much prefers to build through the NFL Draft and retain in-house talent. 

With little cap room and more than 20 players to make decisions on, turnover on the roster was to be expected in Pittsburgh. Pre-free agency mock drafts and general draft conversations surrounding the Steelers appeared to be a two-headed monster of debates between selecting the next-best offensive tackle or grabbing one of the top running back prospects on the board. 

Fast-forward to present day, where the Steelers find themselves with more holes on the depth chart than initially anticipated. Sure, the salary cap dropping 8% to $182.5 million dollars this season squeezed some players out of contention to be re-signed. Yet as former Steelers offensive linemen Ramon Foster points out, Pittsburgh's mantra of building through the draft will eventually lead to talented players searching elsewhere:

Pittsburgh has an issue that really good organizations have, developing talent that other teams eventually want. Getting past the development stage then capitalize 🤷🏽‍♂️. Considering how much the Star players gone command, Pitt can’t keep everyone. https://t.co/e2bayT439G

— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) March 22, 2021

After waving goodbye to starters such as James Conner, Alejandro Villanueva, Tyson Alualu, Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton, Vince Williams and what looks to eventually be Steven Nelson, a batch of new faces will be starting in black and gold once the first whistle blows for the 2021 season.

The good news? The Steelers are quite confident in some of the successors of the aforementioned players. Guys such as Robert Spillane, Cam Sutton and Alex Highsmith are in line to have significant roles next season, as all three had solid 2020 campaigns.

With no big moves on the horizon for the Steelers, the 2021 NFL Draft is all that remains for Pittsburgh to supplement their losses across the team. With the Steelers being awarded a fourth-round compensatory pick in the upcoming draft, Pittsburgh currently has eight draft picks to their name.

The most important (and talked about) pick, obviously, will be what direction they go in with the 24th overall selection in the first round. With the Steelers being a wildcard in terms of draft-night decisions, a wide array of positions of need for the front office to fill only thickens the fog of what Pittsburgh may do.

While a handful of positions are beginning to gain traction, running back still appears to be a popular choice for the Steelers with Conner's departure. Fans continue to fantasize of Najee Harris or perhaps Travis Etienne toting the rock in Pittsburgh. While arguments will forever be made that running backs are overvalued, there's no doubting the Steelers would benefit from either of the two in their backfield.

The less-sexy pick? An offensive lineman, which would most likely be a left tackle thanks to a weaker class of centers coming in. The Steelers have made some depth signings in the trenches, yet no legitimate starters at either of the two positions listed above have emerged. While the likes of Penei Sewell, Christian Darrisaw and Rashawn Slater expected to be gone by pick number 24, guys such as Alex Leatherwood, Sam Cosmi and Dillon Radunz are some top names to watch as the dominoes fall mid-round.

Although Spillane performed well in the limited action we saw of him last season, many believe the Steelers are in the market to snag another athletic middle linebacker to pair with Devin Bush. Big-time playmakers in the likes of Zaven Collins, Nick Bolton and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are names that have been circulating around the Steelers in plenty of mock drafts.

Finally, with the news of Steven Nelson eventually finding his way out of Pittsburgh, the secondary looks to lose two key starters between him and Steven Nelson. While the Steelers did retain Cam Sutton, his true role will be hard to pinpoint, assuming the Steelers aren't fully confident in James Pierre/Justin Layne. Should they not be, first-round corners in the likes of Jaycee Horn and Caleb Farley may potentially slip to the Steelers, although guys such as Eric Stokes and Ifeatu Melifonwu may be more realistic.

With just a little over a month until the 2021 NFL Draft gets underway, no front-runner truly exists for the Steelers to nab with their first pick of the weekend. A plethora of mock drafts will come and go suggesting every player under the sun, yet it appears we are all simply throwing darts in the dark until the draft board aligns itself in front of our own eyes.

Yet that's the magic of the NFL Draft, and the Steelers always seem to have a card up their sleeve. While a mystery pick isn't exactly what the doctor ordered for fans wanting to pre-order jerseys or media simply trying to align content, it may just be what Pittsburgh likes. 

Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.