I drafted the first 5 rounds for the Steelers...
Round 1, Pick 30: Michigan LB/SS Jabrill Peppers
Pittsburgh still has yet to find a permanent replacement for the great, future HOF Troy Polamalu. Peppers, I believe, only had one career interception at Michigan; that does not take away his ability to play both the run and the pass well. He is also a dangerous weapon on special teams. I know that Pittsburgh has two good safeties in Mike Mitchell and Sean Davis, but Mitchell won't be there forever (2 more years, maybe). Jabrill Peppers paired with Sean Davis would give Pittsburgh two young, physical, and talented safeties. I also considered Obi Melifonwu (safety from UCONN) with this pick.
Round 2, Pick 62: USC CB Adoree' Jackson
Pittsburgh's inability, or unwillingness, to play press man is probably the biggest reason why they cannot beat New England on a relatively consistent basis. When you play 5-7 yards off the ball, Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, and that dink n' dunk offense will kill you every time. With Adoree' Jackson's olympic speed, that will hopefully allow them to play press man. Put Jackson in the slot and lets see if that will help them shut down the shifty slot receivers that thrive on those short passes. Also, this would give Pittsburgh two GREAT potential kick/punt returners in the draft.
Round 3, Pick 94: Youngstown State OLB/Edge Rusher Derek Rivers
The great thing about this draft is that there are a lot of really good pass rushers in it. Taking a pass rusher in the first or second round was tempting but I knew that I could wait until the third. Pittsburgh's best pass rusher last year was 38 year old James Harrison. They have another good pass rusher in Bud Dupree but he didn't play until the second half of the season due to injury. Derek Rivers, all 6'4" and 250 pounds of him, is NFL game ready right now. He had 14 sacks as a senior, so he definitely doesn't have a problem getting to the QB. He won't be a day 1 starter but he is a promising backup to James Harrison in 2017. He should slide into that starting role in 2018 and give Pittsburgh a great OLB duo in Dupree and Rivers.
Round 3, Pick 105: Clemson TE Jordan Leggett
Heath Miller is the greatest tight end in Steelers' history and he, unexpectedly, retired before the 2016 season. Pittsburgh signed Ladarius Green, hoping he could replace Miller. Unfortunately, Green's first season with Pittsburgh was plagued with an ankle injury and a concussion that kept him out of the playoffs. Second year tight end Jesse James was pretty decent last year but he still needs to show more. Jordan Leggett is a great receiver and would be another weapon for Big Ben. Pittsburgh will have Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant at wide receiver, if they can add a tight end that is a great receiver and can stay healthy then that offense will be even tougher to stop.
Round 4, Pick 135: Virginia Tech WR Isaiah Ford
I was in a debate with myself on whether I should go running back or wide receiver with this pick. I decided to go receiver for a couple reasons; Pittsburgh needs to replace Markus Wheaton and who knows if Martavis Bryant will be with the team after 2017. Isaiah Ford gives the Pittsburgh group of receiver some needed size and he can learn from Antonio Brown. I thought about going with a slot receiver like Ryan Switzer or someone like DeeDee Westbrook, but I wanted size and Eli Rogers showed a lot of promise in the slot last year for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh and GM Kevin Colbert is notorious for finding great offensive talent in the later rounds and I would be very confident that they found another gem if they went with Ford.
Round 5, Pick 173: Pittsburgh RB James Connor
Pittsburgh needs a backup running back for LeVeon Bell. DeAngelo Williams was great but he was the oldest running back in the NFL last year. They tend to draft the bigger running backs and Connor definitely isn't a small guy. Also, we cannot forget that he is a cancer survivor and is one of the best stories in this year's draft. He played his college career at Heinz Field so it would only be right if he played his NFL career there too.
