I know it's early, we still have 3 games left and hopefully a fruitful postseason to follow. But it's never too early to do a little draft speculating. So here's my early take on what positions the Steelers should and shouldn't address in the draft and why. Starting with the position's that least should be addressed by the draft.
Punter. I shouldn't even have to say this, as you should probably never draft a punter. But being the Steelers have a recent history of doing so, the 3rd round no lesand said punter is probably at the end of his Steelers career, it at least can be sensibly addressed. Jeremey Kapinos is a big time punter. He's kicking every bit as good as Sepuvelda ever did. So we have no need at punter.
Rb. The league and Arians have de-emphasized the running game to the point that i don't think you should even think about drafting a rb before the 4th round even if your current situation isn't especially good. But to the Steelers credit they have quite a stockpile of able young ( and old) backs and there's no current need to acquire a rb at all.
wr. The Steelers have two of the best young receivers in the league in Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace. Emanuel Sanders has had a bad season due to injuries and personal tragedy, but I still think he could prove to be a real good one. Jeremy Cotchery hopefully will be brought back. So there's 4 that could play for anyone right there. But it is a passing league, and that's what the Steelers do best, so drafting a wr in the later rounds makes sense. Even if for nothing more than special teams play.
TE. Heath Miller is elite, but getting older. But still I think he's good for at least 3 more years. Wesley Saunders could develop into a decent pass catching tight end. I think the kid has good upside. David Johnson has developed into a stud blocking tight end, so that's covered. In other words, we have 3 NFL caliber tight ends that cover every end of the spectrum as far as what the Steelers require from the position. No need to use a draft pick here.
Qb. We need a legimate back up for Ben. But I don't foresee or want the Steelers to use a pick, or at least one before the 5th round to address this need. Better to go after a veteran free agent along the lines of Jason Cambell for Ben's back up.
Kicker. We do need to replace Suisham, we just don't need to use a draft pick to do it.
CB. I can't believe it, for the first time I can remember this isn't a position of great need! Ike should have a few good years left. Gay is coming into his own. Keenan Lewis looks as if he has starters ability. Cortez Allen could be a gem. And Curtis Brown is a tremendous athlete and could be the guy who eventually replaces Ike as our stopper! Obviously in this pass happy league you can never have too many guys who can cover, but for once I think we can go into a draft pretty comfortable with our returning veterans.
DE. Having used 1st round picks two of the last 3 years on DE's, with both appearing to be winners, and with Keisel showing no sign of dropping off there's no great need for a DE this year.
After these positions the Steelers could sensibly use their premium picks on any of the other positions. Though of course some have higher priority than others. I'll address those later.
But at the end of the day I think we go into the offseason in pretty good shape. Having these positions relatively stable really gives you the chance to properly address the positions where your need is greatest.



and said punter is probably at the end of his Steelers career, it at least can be sensibly addressed. Jeremey Kapinos is a big time punter. He's kicking every bit as good as Sepuvelda ever did. So we have no need at punter.
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) we come to ILB. 



