The 2017 NFL draft was an event for the books. The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provided a tremendous atmosphere as the sports world was given the opportunity to meet the new faces of the NFL. With the amount of defensive players available in this year's draft, it was no surprise that most teams focused on becoming defensively sound. The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the many teams whose final draft board put fear into most teams across the NFL. Pittsburgh fans definitely have something to look forward to for the future.
Hanging the Steel Curtain?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of those teams in the NFL that continually experiences success. Although the Steelers do not have the same roster they had during their Super Bowl Seasons, their new improvements have teams around the league worrying. With Pittsburgh's first round pick they selected linebacker T.J Watt out of the University of Wisconsin. This was a perfect pick for a Steelers defense that has been struggling to play up to the black and yellow standard. During their championship run in 2009, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the third best rushing defense in the league. It helped the team shut down opposing offenses as they kept the scoreboard idle.
With the help of their new rookie outside linebacker, the Steelers look to stop the rushing attacks that were able to gash the team for big yards in the previous season.
Acquiring T.J was a smart move. The Steelers do not know how long their veteran linebacker James Harrison will be able to produce on the defensive side of the ball. With the help of Bud Dupree and Ryan Shazier, the Steelers should be able to produce a top ten defense. The Steelers were also able to pick up two cornerbacks in the draft in addition to their new linebacker.
Cameron Sutton from Tennessee and Brian Allen from Utah will now have the responsibility of shutting down division rival AJ Green and recently drafted speedster Jeremy Ross.
Preparing for the next generation of offense
While many fans believed Ben Roethlisberger was planning to retire before the start of the 2017 NFL season, the Steelers were determined to play it safe.
The Steelers drafted Joshua Dobbs, the big-armed quarterback from Tennessee. This fourth round selection showed the league that the Steelers understand that Ben will not be able to play forever. The organization plans to mold the young quarterback until it is his time to shine. Pittsburgh also added another big-time receiver threat to their arsenal when they acquired JuJu Smith-Schuster out of The University of Southern California. With Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and now Smith-Schuster, teams will have their hands full. With a draft class with this much potential, the Steelers are paving a road that will enable them to continue to have success for years to come.
