Indecisiveness Still Surrounds First Round Selection

During Monday's pre-draft press conference held at the Pittsburgh Steelers facility, General Manager Kevin Colbert and newly extended Head Coach Mike Tomlin sat in front of reporters who were all trying to gauge the direction the Steelers will go in with their first round selection this Thursday evening. For fan purposes, I think many who are a part of Steeler Nation were looking at this press conference as a way to grab some answers to the many questions that have been left unanswered regarding this team throughout this off-season. We have heard many rumors in regarding the direction of the team's first round pick, but obviously nothing definitely has been said -- until now.

This is one of the first times we have heard the organization speak regarding this topic and rightfully so. Staying quiet during the draft process always allows each team to have leverage during the draft. No teams ever want any other team knowing the direction that particular team is going entering the draft, always leaving that element of surprise. While we haven't heard anything that’s definitive for the Steelers sake, Colbert did address each position's depth at the current moment and labeled them as such:

GOOD DEPTH:

Offensive Line

Running Back

Inside Linebacker

Outside Linebacker

Cornerback

OKAY DEPTH:

Tight End

Safety

Quarterback

NOT SO GOOD DEPTH:

Defensive Line

[incontent2]

That being said, by looking at these “labels”, you would think the direction the team is willing to go in with their first round selection is with a prospect on the defensive front. That is where much of the indecisiveness lies. The rumors surrounding the team's draft have been ones that have led us as the fans to believe the team's direction is going to lead to a offensive tackle or a running back falling into their laps at pick 24 -- or at least that being the best case scenario. Those positions, in my opinion, are the ones that would allow this football team to take that next step, becoming more of a balanced team. It’s just a little hard to grasp the team's plan out at the moment. That doesn’t mean I don't trust them.

In that same press conference, Colbert addressed additional routes the team might go in, if “their man” is not still off the board when the Steelers pick comes up. While it’s not in typical Steelers fashion, Colbert did address the possibility of the team making a draft day move, like previously done for Devin Bush.  While this time when asked, Colbert completely debunked trading up but trading down is an avenue that's still left open.

“We’re always going to value quality over quantity, but if we’re not comfortable with what we’re looking at at the 24th pick, we’ll trade back,” Colbert said. “We’ve got to look at what we’re walking away from. I never like to walk away from a pick without having — say if we’re trading back five spots, I want five players that we would be comfortable in taking so we can’t lose. That’s the way we’ve always approached that.” - Kevin Colbert

[incontent3]

Who is on the Steelers radar? We still aren't 100% sure of anyone. The rumors we have been hearing have been the names Najee Harris, Tevin Jenkins and Landon Dickerson. Those are the three names the Steelers are "locked in" on. Whether or not that report has value or not, we don't know and won't until this Thursday night. Like Colbert says best, he likes to select the best player on the board at the time, someone who is in a position to help this football team win now, especially with their first round selection. Who exactly that player will be, we won't have to wait long to find out.

#SteelerNation