There are all kinds of questions that surround each and every NFL team this time of year but for the Steelers, the $64,000 question is just what will the defense look like now without Dick LeBeau.
Speculation, and this is all that we really have, is that new defensive coordinator Keith Butler will make the defense more “user-friendly” and will also bring in more looks and perhaps more aggressiveness.
The “user-friendly” part means that Butler’s defense will not be as complicated as LeBeau’s was. The constant excuse about rookies not being able to play right away has to be a thing of the past because this defense needs help now, not in two or three years.
As far as the multiple looks, I’ve been told the Butler and Tomlin would like use some 4-3 alignments and that means they need a guy who can put his hand in the dirt as well as come off the edge from a two-point stance. The chances that the Steelers already have this player on the roster is doubtful and that brings us to the draft.
One of my co-writers has made no bones about the fact that he really likes UCLA’s Owamagbe Odighizuwa. Owa would fit exactly the type of guy the Steelers are allegedly looking for but there could be other options especially if he’s gone by pick number 22.
Should the Steelers go cornerback in the first or second round as most think they will, the type of corner should be a very serious sign of what Keith Butler has in mind for his cornerbacks.
Typically, the Steelers like corners who are good tacklers and who have lots of good skills when it comes to zone coverage. Should they grab a guy whose strength is more man-to-man then just maybe we’ll get our first real sign of what Butler has planned.
Honestly, regardless of what unfolds in the draft I still see some significant differences in Butler’s defense compared to LeBeau’s but how different will be a question until the preseason.
