Pittsburgh Steelers seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft
By John Newman
Without a first-round draft pick in 2020, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to get creative with their later round draft picks. 2020 NFL draft analysis and more!
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an up and down season, no one is going to deny that. The Steelers started the season playing their biggest conference rival, the New England Patriots, on prime time. They lost in humiliating fashion. They lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season due to an elbow injury against the Seahawks in week 2. His primary backup Mason Rudolph was injured with a concussion for part of the season, only to be replaced by Devlin Hodges during a lackluster performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 12.
2019 was also going to be the first year without the team’s star wide receiver and furniture throwing aficionado Antonio Brown since 2010. This was also the first season when Le’Veon Bell would not be on the books at the start of the season. Despite burning a whole lot of bridges and goodwill on the way out, no one can deny the two controversial former Steelers were the elite playmakers that helped keep this team in playoff contention for multiple seasons.
The two ex-Steelers account for 126 touchdowns and over 19,000 yards of offense while with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Losing two players with that much production was already going to be tough.
On top of all this, general manager Kevin Colbert decided to double down on the 2019 season and trade the team’s 2020 first-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins for Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. With five interceptions this year, the move to secure an elite player entering only his second season in the NFL is a good use of draft capital. But at the time of the trade, the move was met with mixed emotions from the fan base.
With another injury to 37-year-old Roethlisberger, combined with no defined succession plan for when he retires, some Pittsburgh Steelers fan were hoping the 2020 NFL draft would be when the team started to prepare for life without Big Ben. But with Roethlisberger signing a contract extension in April worth $68 million through 2021, fans should expect the team to draft with an eye on building a team to make the most of Roethlisberger’s final years.
Without a first-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to make the most of their five draft picks, plus whatever compensatory picks they are likely to gain. With 23 Free agents in 2020 along with a paltry $5.4 million in cap space per Spotrac Colbert will have to be smart about which players to bring on board in the 2020 NFL draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers will also need to make some tough decisions about which Free Agents to re-sign and which players they will need to cut loose.
Using the Pittsburgh Steelers draft history as my guide, along with statistics and team needs, I have created this mock draft that I think could best address the team’s needs. With only five picks and limited cap space, the team will need to be smart with how it uses its draft capital. But with Roethlisberger entering the final years of his career, the Pittsburgh Steelers will need to add protection for their aging quarterback and round out their above-average defense.