INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 25: General manager Kevin Colbert of the Pittsburgh Steelers speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Kevin Colbert
Quarterback depth haunted the Steelers’ 2019 season, but is it enough to convince them to take one early in the 2020 NFL Draft?
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2019 season proved how important depth at quarterback is for NFL teams, as the team’s fans were made painfully aware following the injury to Ben Roethlisberger.
After suffering through watching Mason Rudolph and the league’s number one bird watcher, Devlin Hodges, Pittsburgh may very well look to find a suitable long-term replacement and temporary backup for Roethlisberger.
Will the Steelers pull the trigger on a quarterback like Washington’s Jacob Eason or hope that the return of Big Ben can lead them to the playoffs? It’s time to find out with this incredibly accurate seven-round mock draft:
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
RB, Tigers
I expect a quarterback to be in play here but there’s a good chance all of the team’s preferred signal-callers are off the board by the time this pick rolls around. As a result, the Steelers pivot and add dynamic LSU running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Guys with three names are better football players, according to science a.k.a Pittsburgh’s current number one receiver, and that’s why Edwards Helaire makes a lot of sense with the club’s first pick of the draft.
Running back may not seem like a pressing need, however James Conner, Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels all missed time due to injury last season. That positional volatility certainly didn’t help the team’s quarterback situation and it’s a big reason why the Steelers could draft a running back earlier than some expect.
Edwards-Helaire (5-foot-7, 207 pounds) is a compact and shifty back who excels at making defenders miss. He’s excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield and should serve as a nice complement and outlet when James Conner isn’t on the field. New Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada helped recruit CEH to LSU and could be pounding the table for the former Tiger in the Pittsburgh draft room.