Steelers Draft Evaluation: There's Limited Numbers With Linebacker

PITTSBURGH -- The 2020 NFL Draft class is deep. On defense, it's not as deep.

The Steelers head into Thursday thinking they could use another outside or inside linebacker. With the edge playing a larger role off the bench, adding a rookie for depth would certainly leave less concern for lack of talent in role players.

On the inside, Ulysses Gilbert hasn't seen what he can do in the NFL regular season yet, but without any resume to judge from it's hard to determine if they can use another option or not.

The problem is that the drop off from mid to late-round picks is significant. The Steelers could find someone to play an immediate role in Day 2, but once the bottom half of the draft starts they're only looking at players with as much potential as those already on the roster.

They don't need to add anyone. What they want to do is make sure they have the best options to sit behind T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Vince Williams and Devin Bush.

Those options won't come in the sixth-round.

By no means does this rule out the possibility of finding a backup. The Steelers could use their third or two fourth-round picks and draft a player like Malik Harrison or Troy Dye with plenty of upside.

But playing a waiting game will leave their options slim. So when drafting a linebacker, the Steelers need to stay within their window.

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