Steelers draft for future, not particular opponent or matchup
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, left, speaks to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin at midfield after the AFC championship game on Jan. 22 in Foxborough, Mass.
Associated Press
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert will be on the clock Thursday night at the NFL Draft.
PITTSBURGH 鈥� As they have every season since 1978, the Steelers will play 16 regular-season games and, potentially, up to four postseason games in 2017.
Yet to hear some tell it, the Steelers have just one opponent next season: The New England Patriots.
Those would be the same Patriots who humbled the Steelers in January蘑菇视频 AFC Championship game in Foxborough on their way to a fifth Super Bowl title since 2001.
However, that flawed line of thinking goes that: The Steelers, who host the Patriots in Week 15, will meet them again a few weeks later, presumably, in an AFC title game rematch. If only the Steelers can land a top-end edge rusher and a press cornerback in the first two rounds of this week蘑菇视频 draft, than finally vanquishing Tom Brady is fait accompli, right?
Well, it doesn鈥檛 quite work like that.
As evidenced by everything we鈥檝e seen from the Steelers this off-season 鈥� save for their brief flirtation with New England star linebacker Dont鈥檃 Hightower 鈥� it蘑菇视频 not a matter of closing the gap on or keeping up with the Patriots. The Steelers have their way of doing business, New England has its own.
For the Steelers, possibly the second-most successful franchise since the turn of the century, it蘑菇视频 a matter of giving themselves the best chance to succeed against any team, not one particular opponent.
If anything, the Steelers need to put some distance between themselves and the teams within their division. The far more immediate goal for the Steelers is winning the AFC North and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The lack of the latter, along with an injured Le鈥橵eon Bell, has cost the Steelers more than anything in each of their last three playoff runs.
Surely, an explosive pass-rushing outside linebacker like Auburn蘑菇视频 Carl Lawson or UCLA蘑菇视频 Takkarist McKinley, or a ball-hawking corner like Alabama蘑菇视频 Marlon Humphrey or LSU蘑菇视频 Tre鈥橠avious White, would help against Brady.
Then again, any of the aforementioned will help against Aaron Rodgers, Mathew Stafford and Andrew Luck, who the Steelers will also face in the 2017 season.
This weekend, if the Steelers select, say, an edge rusher in the first round and a cornerback in the second, it will be with the purpose of helping the Steelers win games for years to come, not just next season against one particular opponent.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going into it saying we need this to matchup with this, you don鈥檛 even know if that matchup will occur when you play them,鈥� Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said on Monday.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know if you鈥檙e going to get in the playoffs, let alone whether another team will make it and how far they go.
鈥淢aybe I鈥檓 just not smart enough to do the we鈥檝e-got-to-get-this-to-matchup-with-this-guy. I just say let蘑菇视频 get as many good ones as we can and hope for the best.鈥�
Besides, it蘑菇视频 questionable what impact any rookie defensive player, no matter how good, could make against a player like Brady in an imaginary conference championship that蘑菇视频 still nine months away.
It didn鈥檛 work last year when the Steelers started three rookies 鈥� Artie Burns, Sean Davis and Javon Hargrave.
But if recent history holds up, the Patriots should be back in the AFC title game.
With all their off-season moves, acquiring Brandin Cooks, Stephon Gilmore, Kony Ealy, Dwayne Allen and retaining Hightower, the Patriots are strong favorites to repeat.
Despite all their success in recent years, New England has been to six straight AFC title games, and has just two wins to show for it. The Patriots haven鈥檛 had consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl since the 2003 and 鈥�04 seasons.
And then there蘑菇视频 this: Brady will turn 40 in August. Despite rumblings out of New England that he鈥檇 like to play into his mid-40s, age eventually catches up to everyone, even the great Tom Brady.
That leaves the Steelers in an advantageous position. Though Ben Roethlisberger hinted at retirement, the window for the Steelers should be open for the next three seasons.
Whoever the Steelers select with their eight picks in this weekend蘑菇视频 draft, it should be with that time frame in mind. Not just one game next season, against one team.
NEWS & NOTES: During his pre-draft press conference with coach Mike Tomlin, Colbert said he had no update on suspended WR Martavis Bryant蘑菇视频 status. Bryant has filed for reinstatement but is still awaiting word from the league office. 鈥� Likewise, Tomlin said he had no new information on TE Ladadrius Green蘑菇视频 health. Green finished the 2016 season in concussion protocol. 鈥�. Colbert said he and Tomlin have begun final preparations for the draft which starts with Thursday蘑菇视频 first round. The Steelers hold eight picks, one in each round, including two in the third round.