Sometimes it pay to go against the conventional wisdom. After all, the rise of blogging and social media has raised Monday Morning Quarterbacking and Arm Chair General Managing to something of an art form. While easiest examples that come to mind are ones where social media becomes the mother of all bandwagons (think of how Steelers Nation regarded Todd Haley), the real fun is when you take a position that’s contrary to popular opinion and you turn out to be right.
- But then there are other times when it pays to follow the crowd.
It appears that the Steelers 2018 Draft Needs poll is one of them.
The Steelers need to find someone who can “replace” number 50 in he 2018 NFL Draft. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
The results of the Steelers 2018 Draft Needs poll are in, and Steelers Nation clearly rates inside linebacker among the Steelers top need heading into the draft.
- Moving on to second place, it’s also no shocker that fans would like to see an upgrade at safety, this despite the celebrated signing of Packers veteran Morgan Burnett. With Sean Davis set to move over to free safety, and Burnett assuming the role of strong safety–the position he manned at Green Bay–one wouldn’t think safety would be high on the Steelers draft wish list. However, with 51 votes, the black and gold faithful think otherwise.
- Rounding out Steel Curtain Rising’s poll results, we see that, with the third most votes at 33, fans aren’t exactly thrilled with the all-world talents of running back Le’Veon Bell–or at least his contract demands after he and the franchise failed to come to a long-term agreement for the second spring in a row.
- Following running back is, believe it or not, quarterback, with 24 votes. Sure, Ben Roethlisberger seems more content and eager to play next season and beyond, what with offensive coordinator Todd Haley now employed with the Browns, but many readers of SCR seem to think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find his successor sooner rather than later.
- Speaking of 24 votes, that’s also how many outside linebacker received. Despite spending multiple first round picks on the position over the past half-decade, it appears fans aren’t yet satisfied with the production–their disenchantment with 2015 first round pick Bud Dupree may have something to do with that.
With just two days to go before the 2018 NFL Draft, if the readers of Steel Curtain Rising are any indication, the Steelers’ number one priority is finding the next Ryan Shazier–or at least someone capable of filling his role at a high enough degree to make the position of inside linebacker a strength again and not a weakness.
Stay tuned to Steel Curtain Rising in the coming days for more draft coverage, including an in-depth look at each of the team’s picks, starting with the first round choice Thursday evening.
