The Pittsburgh Steelers have been mentioned as a possible destination in the Chris Johnson trade rumors with the Titans, but that deal is very unlikely and he could end up with the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints or Miami Dolphins instead, while the Steelers are concentrating on the draft and names like Brandin Cooks, Mike Evans, Justin Gilbert, Kelvin Benjamin, Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson could be picks for Ben Roethlisberger's team.
The Steelers had a rough year on offense last season and while many think the team will go for that side of the ball in the drat in the first round, experts like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper predict that the team will pick a defensive player at number 15 overall. According to ESPN.com, the experts predict that a cornerback or safety will be the pick with names like Justin Gilbert and Darqueze Dennard coming up, but that could change as the draft gets closer. One reason for that prediction likely has to do with the deep class of receivers in this draft and the fact that the Steelers should be able to get a talented one in the later rounds.
The consensus for the Steelers has many thinking that they will take a receiver at some point after losing Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders in each of the past two offseasons and there is a very deep roster of options. The wideouts in this drat are led by Sammy Watkins, who is expected to be a top 10 pick, while other names like Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Marqise Lee and Jarvis Landry are all getting attention as well.
The Steelers ranked 12th in the league in passing yards per game last season, but losing Sanders will be a big hit and that puts even more pressure on Antonio Brown, who had a great season last year but could suffer from added attention from defenses. Last season he had 110 catches for 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns and he was very productive for Big Ben, but this season he will have the top corners for opposing teams on him and that could take away some of his numbers. Adding a receiver like Cooks or Lee could be huge for the offense and this comes as they are trying to get second year player Le'Veon Bell into the feature role after he missed time last season with some injuries.
Cooks was one of the top receivers in all of college football last season and he won the award as the best WR after putting up filthy numbers with 128 catches for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns. Even though those numbers are a bit inflated since Oregon State was one of the top passing teams in the nation, it shows that he has great hands and can produce and his numbers after the catch were impressive as well. If Evans makes it to number 15, and he won't, the Steelers may go after him and if they fall in love with someone like Lee or Matthews before the draft they could go that route as well.
