Steelers have big decisions to make ahead of the NFL Draft
NFL Draft week is here and the Pittsburgh Steelers have some big decisions to make.
For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, someone other than Kevin Colbert will be overseeing the Steelers' selections on draft day.
That someone is Omar Khan, now just days away from his first draft as Steelers general manager.
Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin will team up to make seven picks, with three coming within the first 50 selections and the first at 17th overall.
In terms of stories, none would be more interesting than the Steelers selecting cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the son of the former Steelers star and assistant coach, who was a star of his own at North Allegheny and then at Penn State.
The feel-good part aside, Porter certainly could be a good fit as the Steelers look to solidify the corner position for the future with a physical, shutdown presence like Porter, who could be mentored by future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson, signed by the Steelers in the offseason, who will start at one corner spot.
The question with Porter becomes whether he will still be on the board when the Steelers pick at No. 17 or do they value him enough to trade up in the first round to get him.
Trading up is rare with the Steelers. They've only done it twice in the past 20 years, with mixed results. The black and gold moved up to get Troy Polamalu in 2003, and Devin Bush in 2019.
Will they continue their trend of standing pat, or will this new management team choose to be aggressive if they feel that Porter is too good to let slip by?
If it's not Porter, and the Steelers still choose to go in the direction of corner in the first round, a name to keep in mind is Maryland's Deonte Banks, who is big and physical and fast, grabbing everyone's attention at the NFL Combine when he turned in a blazing mark of 4.35 in the 40-yard dash.