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2011 NFL Draft: Steelers Have Many Needs

Steelers Depot has a good review of the Steelers' needs in the 2011 NFL Draft. It's hard to disagree with any of it. For a good team, the Steelers have a surprising number of positions where they aren't in great shape. Steelers fans have been talking about the offensive line all season, and the team will surely at least consider picking an offensive lineman in the first round but, as one commenter points out, who they end up picking at No. 31 will depend heavily on who goes before they pick. If whoever the Steelers judge to be the top offensive linemen - whether that's Mike Pouncey, or Anthony Castonzo or Nate Solder or Derek Sherrod or Tyron Smith or Gabe Carimi, or whoever - are already off the board by the time they pick, they may be forced to go in a different direction.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there are at least a couple of other potential directions the Steelers could go. Cornerback is another potential area of concern, and so is the defensive line. At corner, Ike Taylor is a free agent, and the Steelers can't be too happy with what they've got at the position beyond that. The Steelers will almost certainly pick at least one cornerback, whether that's in the first round or later on (and they'll try extra hard to get Taylor back). At defensive end, the Steelers could use someone else to complement Ziggy Hood, now that Aaron Smith is perpetually injured and Brett Keisel isn't getting any younger. 

Beyond that, the Steelers could also use help at safety, nose tackle and punter. We'll see if they're able to address all those needs in the draft.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.