2020 NFL Draft: Top trade-up targets for the Pittsburgh Steelers

This one may feel counterintuitive to most Steelers fans. After all, Colbert spent the team’s 2020 first-round draft pick on safety Minkah Fitzpatrick during the 2019 Miami Dolphins firesale. Surely safety shouldn’t be a concern for the Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft, right?

Well…about that.

Fitzpatrick came to Pittsburgh to fix a severely flawed and vulnerable secondary. During Week 1 and Week 2, the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs gave up big plays deep down the field, costing the Steelers their first two games of the season.

Safeties Terrell Edmunds and Sean Davis allowed eight receptions on ten combined targets during the Seattle Seahawks loss in Week 2, according to PFF. In a game lost by just two points, allowing that many throws against just two players in a game is not a recipe for success in the NFL.

Fitzpatrick helped secure the Steelers secondary for the rest of the season, allowing the team to finish third best in defended passing yards, as opposing teams averaged just 194.6 passing yards, per NFL.com.

But while Fitzpatrick became one of the best downfield defenders in the NFL last season, he served more like a slot cornerback and deep safety role on the defense. Edmunds played reasonably well at strong safety for the Steelers last season, bringing in the second-highest number of tackles on the team, according to NFL.com. But with just seven defended passes, one sack, and one interception since 2018, Edmunds is hardly the Tyrann Mathieu of the Steelers.

Davis left the Steelers in free agency while the team re-signed backup Jordan Dangerfield to a one-year contract. But the Steelers can not rely on Fitzpatrick to be the sole defender downfield.

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have high hopes for Edmunds in his third season at strong safety, but if Colbert has seen enough to know Edmunds can’t be the versatile safety most defenses demand their strong safety to be, the front office may choose to prioritize the safety position in the 2020 NFL Draft.

If the Steelers are looking for another defensive back to pair with Fitzpatrick, Xavier McKinney from Alabama may be the best safety to do that. Since the Combine, McKinney has seen a rise in his draft stock as more scouts have had a chance to see his true worth on film. Upon further review, several analysts are starting to consider whether McKinney is the better safety prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft when compared to LSU safety Grant Delpit.

If McKinney does fall to the second round, the Steelers should move heaven and earth to trade up for McKinney. While that would be quite a bit of draft stock invested in the defensive back position, it would be worth it from a coverage perspective.

McKinney is the type of do-it-all safety the Steelers have been lacking in recent years. He can play slot cornerback. He can rush the passer on third down. He can defend deep downfield. In short, McKinney is like Fitzpatrick, except he can line up in the box and play as an extra pass-rusher too.

At 6-foot-1, 200-pounds, McKinney is the ideal size and weight to run around the field from play to play, going where he is needed, holding up tight ends and running backs on passing plays. While Fitzpatrick can play deep and take slot duties on four-wide sets, McKinney can do all that but also play in the box and against run plays.

In three seasons with the Crimson Tide, McKinney racked up 13 tackles for a loss, six sacks and six forced fumbles while playing in the box. Out in coverage, McKinney had 15 passes defended and five interceptions, showing himself to be that versatile, athletic strong safety the Steelers have been lacking in recent years.

Trading up to get McKinney looks to be difficult in the 2020 NFL Draft. It would have been hard even if he hadn’t moved up draft boards in recent weeks. Plus dedicating that much draft capital to the defensive backfield could become costly, considering many teams have their eyes on drafting McKinney now. A late-round pick might not be enough to convince a team interested in him.

But if McKinney is still on the board in the second round, Colbert and the Steelers front office should call around and see what moving up would cost them. Having two talented, versatile safeties on the roster could create a new “no-fly zone” in Pittsburgh, as they would force offenses to target the short and intermediate levels of the field to progress.