Could the Steelers double-dip, drafting more than one cornerback this year?
Close your eyes and imagine you are Steelers GM Omar Khan: Can you feel it? If you’re Omar Khan, the first-year General Manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, what do you want to do in your first draft?
You want to have that “hold my beer” attitude and make sure the other 31 GMs understand you are a man with a plan: and you are going to execute it!
You want to do something outside of the box, unlike anything the Steelers have recently operated. You want to make the NFL aware there is a new sheriff in Pittsburgh, and his name is Omar… and Omar is not jacking around.
Let’s say your first order of business with pick number 17 of the 2023 NFL Draft is a cornerback. Deonte Banks and or Joey Porter Jr. are both still available. That’s great news. Frankly, this shouldn’t take 10 minutes to decide. Pick one, either one. (I personally lean towards Banks, but I will not complain if you grab Porter Jr. They’re both keepers.)
But what do you do next?
Strategy for Day Two of the NFL Draft
Day Two of the NFL Draft is going to be a great day. The Steelers GM wakes up, looks over the smorgasbord of undrafted players and knows he owns the 32nd pick. That equals the first pick of the day, the top pick of round two. Other teams are going to blow up his phone trying to get to that spot, and based off of your intelligence reports, you could do the following:
- Be content: and keep pick #32 OR
- The Texans (#33 pick) call as well as the Cardinals (#34 pick)
- The Cardinals offer a 3rd round pick (#66) to drop two spots
- The Steelers take the Cardinals offer
At this point, hypothetically, a few of the cornerbacks that are still on the board are:
- Julius Brents (Kansas State)
- D.J. Turner (Michigan)
- Cam Smith (South Carolina)
- Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State)
- Tyrique Stevenson (Miami)
- Kelee Ringo (Georgia)
These players are all talented, but they are not Deonte Banks or Joey Porter Jr. And some of them should be available at pick #49. These are all considerations, but not at the newly acquired pick #34 (via the Cardinals). Instead, the Steelers could consider two inside linebackers, Jack Campbell (Iowa) and Drew Sanders (Arkansas) who are still on the board. Even though the Steelers have signed two free agents to plug the dike in the middle of their defense, I would grab Campbell: the Steelers will not be sorry.
With the 49th pick you get your second cornerback, Julius Brents from Kansas State. Double dip completed.
The second rounds ends with Pittsburgh getting two quality rookie cornerbacks (Banks/Porter Jr. and Brents) plus a top-notch inside linebacker (Campbell). And because of the trade with the Cardinals, the Steelers now have an extra pick at the top of the third round (#66) to pair with their original selection (#80). Combined with pick #120 in the fourth round, that leaves the Steelers three more picks before the seventh round. (Pittsburgh does not have a fifth or sixth round pick this year.)
With three picks left, you should be able grab a couple of defensive line players plus a tight end or receiver.
My logic to double dipping
While Patrick Peterson is a good veteran signing, he’s also an older player. The future Hall of Famer can be a perfect mentor for two top tier rookie corners. Also, you should have a top tier secondary with the addition of these two young studs. Pittsburgh should see their sacks and turnovers skyrocket.
With the double-dip, the cornerback position is locked down for several years. If the Steelers pack the defense with top notch talent, they become contenders. And I don’t just mean for the playoffs. The Steelers will be able to handle pass-happy teams like Kansas City and Buffalo, plus matchup favorably with the Cincinnati trio of receivers, which could possibly see them get back to win a 7th Super Bowl.
Just hold my beer and watch.
