The National Football League Draft really is a living, breathing organism. In the weeks leading up to its’ annual birth, it consistently changes and is gone over more times than the federal budget.
In what has to be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent years, the 2014 version is shaping up to be a full-out guessing game throughout the first round.
The Houston Texans are torn over Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack with the first pick. There is rampant speculation they’d like to trade down and maybe, this is all just a smokescreen because they may like someone else altogether at number one.
In the midst of the chaos that follows is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their top two needs are clear; wide receiver and cornerback. At issue is not just which position they go after with the 15th pick but also who that pick will be.
Already we are seeing cornerbacks like Darqueze Dennard being jumped over by guys like Kyle Fuller of Virginia Tech and Jason Verrett of TCU. Whether either of those guys goes ahead of Dennard is unknown, but the speculation is growing.
Because this draft is so uncertain within the quarterback position, the draft is likely to take one of several different routes. The Steelers must plan accordingly as the tide changes on a daily basis heading into the draft now less than two weeks away.
If a run on QBs happen ahead of the Steelers then this will be a great benefit to them because it increases the chances the guy they want will be there.
Should no quarterback go 1-14, which many are starting to think could happen, this would then really limit the Steelers’ options and would perhaps instigate a trade down which would be welcome by many.
In many ways, this is the draft every year. The difference however in my opinion is the tremendous overall depth at many positions. This will encourage teams to be more patient than usual and what this ultimately does to the Steelers won’t be known until draft day.
Whatever the case, you should expect the rhetoric to ramp up extensively in the coming days and it won’t be coming from just teams at the top either.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @steeldad and follow the website at @SCBlitz. He can be heard weekly on Trib-Live Radio talking Steelers and is a blogger for ESPN 970 in Pittsburgh.
