The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the surprising teams in the NFL to miss the playoffs and with their division rival the Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl, Mike Tomlin and company will be looking to improve as much as they can through the draft at key positions like linebacker and running back.
The Steelers have the 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft and are in a very good position to get a player than can start immediately while also addressing one of their key position needs. The focus heading into the draft will be at running back, linebacker, offensive line as well as the tight end position. At the middle of the first round the Steelers could be in excellent position to take Tyler Eifert out of Notre Dame or Zach Ertz of Stanford, prospects that are considered the best rated at their position in the draft.
Health Miller may not be back for the beginning of the season after tearing his ACL and the Steelers may want to bring in a young tight end to develop and play while he is out. Ertz and Eifert have been two of the highest producing tight ends over the past two seasons, with the Notre Dame star making 50 catches last season for 685 yards and four touchdowns, which followed his 63 catch, 803 yards season from the year before. Eifert has scored nine touchdowns over the past two seasons and Ertz has been just as good, scoring 15 over the past three years.
Ertz made 69 catches for 898 yards with six touchdowns in 2012 and improved on his stats from the year before by more than double. Both players are considered first round prospects and could be taken late over the first 32 picks or early in the second round. The Steelers also will be looking at running backs, as they were depleted for most of last season due to injuries and they also let Rashard Mendenhall hang out in free agency. Montee Ball could be an option in the first round or later, as could Alabama running back Eddie. The team also has looked into signing free agent Ahmad Bradshaw.
The team also may look at wide receivers like Tavon Austin or Robert Woods after losing Mike Wallace in free agency and the Steelers also have to deal with the offer sheet the Patriots gave to Emmanuel Sanders. The team also needs playmakers on defense in the secondary, as the Steelers ranked in the bottom part of the conference in turnovers over the past two seasons, including last year when they had just 20.
Last season the Steelers went 8-8, including 3-3 in the AFC North, and missed the playoffs despite big wins against the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens. The team lost three of its final four games, finishing the year with a 24-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The team started the year 1-2, but rebounded by winning five of the next six games, falling only to the Tennessee Titans.
The Steelers were ranked 14th in passing yards per game with over 235 behind star Ben Roethlisberger, but injuries hurt the running game, which ranked just 26th in the NFL with less than 100 yards per game. The defense was stellar all season, ranking first in passing yards per game with just 185 and second in rushing yards with 90 per game.
