Next on Steelers' to-do List? Rejuvenate the Offensive Line

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Alabama running back Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, much to the dismay of the "running backs don't matter/running backs don't belong in the first-round" crowd. Admittedly so, yours truly is a part of said crowd, going as far as to write a piece on why Najee would be a "good but not great" pick in the first round.

Truth be told, I still feel that way, especially with some of the talent that fell/was available to the Steelers with pick number 24. However, the Steelers desperately needed to find crucial pieces to their puzzle when it came to running the football, and I feel as if some fans need to desperately hear this:

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Great teams are not built on the first day of the NFL Draft. Super Bowl parades are not planned, and championships simply aren't won with one selection in the first round. As fate would have it, Pittsburgh still has another seven picks within the final six rounds before the 2021 NFL Draft is complete. Not every pick will be a home run, as some guys are sure to simply not get the job done at the end of the day. Not every need will be filled, either. It's impossible to satisfy every hole in your roster with one mere name announced by commissioner Roger Goodell.

Case in point: The Steelers aren't close to being done from adding talent to their roster, and while some will disagree with how the needs are being assembled, it's hard to argue with needs being satisfied.

So, the Steelers needed a running back, and spent a pretty penny on who many consider to be the top back in the draft. What's next for the black and gold?

If they're seriously invested in fixing their blatant rushing woes, they can check off the last on their to-do list carried into the offseason:

Fire offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner- Check!

Promote/Hire a coordinator with fresh, forward-thinking (Matt Canada)- Check!

Start fresh with a new running back capable of handling a workload- Check!

Rejuvenate the offensive line in key places such as tackle and center- TBD

Day two of the 2021 NFL Draft appears to be the best place to accomplish such a feat, with top-tier talent at both offensive tackle and center slipping for second-round consideration.

As for the center position, the Steelers will certainly miss the athletic presence of Maurkice Pouncey following his retirement, although his play down the stretch suggested it was the right time to step away. With the team already possessing two capable (this is wildly up for interpretation, I am speaking literally here) centers in B.J. Finney and J.C. Hassenauer, the Steelers don't feel as if they're backed into a corner when it comes to drafting a center.

With that being said, the opportunity will most definitely present itself on the second day of the draft, and the Steelers should be all ears on a fresh presence at the center position. Players such as Alabama's Landon Dickerson, Oklahoma's Creed Humphrey, Ohio State's Josh Myers and Wisconsin-Whitewater's Quinn Meinerz are names to watch (and hopefully be available) when the Steelers are on the clock.

The same sentiment can be carried over to the tackle position. Should the Steelers be forced into starting both Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner at their respective tackle spots both currently have at the moment, the team would be content in a very worst-case scenario following a draft where no tackle talent was added.

However, a plethora of young talent at the tackle position is available heading into rounds two and three, as the following tackles could be on Pittsburgh's radar when they're on the clock at pick 55: Teven Jenkins (Oklahoma State), Walker Little (Stanford), Sam Cosmi (Texas), Dillon Radunz (NDSU), Liam Eichenberg (Notre Dame), Jalen Mayfield (Michigan) and Spencer Brown (Northern Iowa).

Of course, the "best player available" strategy will always be put to use, and should an incredible talent fall to the Steelers at any point, it'd be hard not to deviate from whatever road map you or I had drawn out for them. Guys such as Notre Dame's Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Alabama's Christian Barmore were among a handful of expected first-round picks that surprisingly fell, potentially pushing more talent to the Steelers' hands at pick 55 in the second round.

"We have seven picks left and there's a lot of good players left at a lot of positions," said general manager Kevin Colbert in a press conference following their first-round pick. "We'll re-do some things and take a look at what we're looking at tomorrow, but we're excited about the depth that's left."

Whether it be to improve the ground game and open rushing lanes for their newly-acquired running back to stroll through or simply provide a better line of defense for their aging Hall of Fame quarterback, rejuvenating the Steelers' offensive line feels like an important task for Colbert and company to accomplish as the team marches forward to the second day of business.

The first round of the NFL Draft lived up to every bit of hype and unpredictability it annually offers, setting up a pivotal second day of drafting for many teams, including the Steelers.

The Najee Harris selection tells us a few things: The Steelers believe he's the best running back in the draft, and they're confident some form of offensive line talent will be present when it's again their turn to pick.

The NFL Draft is a marathon, not a sprint. And although the Steelers got off to quite the quick start, a long two days rests ahead for a team that looks to be intent on beefing up their offensive line, should all go according to plan.

Then again, if you show me a general manager that had a draft go exactly to plan, I'll show you a liar.

Donnie Druin is a Deputy Editor with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.