Pittsburgh Steelers' Recent Draft History Suggests CB Might Have to Wait

To the surprise of no one, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert acknowledged that cornerback is one of the team's biggest positional needs this offseason. In speaking at the league meetings in Arizona, Colbert (via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) said that it, "is a position that we would like to make some additions to."

Though the Steelers have hosted free-agent cornerbacks Sterling Moore and Patrick Robinson, both men left Pittsburgh without contracts. It appears that the Steelers' interest in bringing in a veteran cornerback has waned, and instead they will focus on addressing the position in next month's draft.

A number of NFL experts have the Steelers taking a cornerback in the first round at 22nd overall. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller has them selecting Michigan State's Trae Waynes. The NFL Network's Charles Davis has them taking Washington's Marcus Peters. Between Pete Prisco, Rob Rang and Dane Brugler of CBS Sports, Prisco and Rang each has Pittsburgh taking a cornerback—LSU's Jalen Collins for Prisco and Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson for Rang.

Year	Player	Round	Year	Player	Round
2003	Troy Polamalu	1	2009	Joe Burnett	5
2003	Ike Taylor	4	2010	Crezdon Butler	5
2004	Ricardo Colclough	2	2011	Curtis Brown	3
2005	Bryant McFadden	2	2011	Cortez Allen	4
2006	Anthony Smith	3	2012	Terrence Frederick	7
2007	William Gay	5	2013	Shamarko Thomas	4
2008	Ryan Mundy	6	2014	Shaq Richardson	5
2009	Keenan Lewis	3

It's not inconceivable that the Steelers ultimately select any of these cornerbacks with their first-round pick. However, it would break a pattern—that of drafting the best player available in Round 1. It would also mark the first time the Steelers selected a defensive back with their first pick since 2003, when they chose safety Troy Polamalu.

In fact, of the 14 defensive backs the Steelers have drafted since the selection of Polamalu, only two have been second-round picks. More often, the Steelers take cornerbacks (and safeties) in the middle rounds, with three selected in Round 3, three selected in Round 4 and six in Rounds 5 and beyond. These include William Gay (Round 5, 2007), Ryan Mundy (Round 6, 2008), Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen (Rounds 3 and 4, 2011), and Ike Taylor (Round 4, 2003).

It's possible those middle rounds will be the ones to produce the Steelers' next young cornerback, rather than the first round. Because, while Colbert has noted that the Steelers do need more corners, he's also not committed to drafting one to start right away: 

"

You usually don't go into it thinking you are drafting [a cornerback] to start. If they do and they are good, that's fine. If they aren't ready, that's more of the norm. We wouldn't just draft a guy because he's more ready to help us this year.

"

This seems to indicate that the Steelers have a level of comfort in Allen, Gay and Antwon Blake being the three main corners to see action in 2015, as long as they can select the right cornerback to develop into a future starter.

It could also just be Colbert reiterating common knowledge—that corner, like wide receiver, has one of the steeper learning curves from the college game to the NFL, and that expecting one to be a full-time starter as a rookie is a lot to ask. 

However, history says that the Steelers may not have their eyes on the likes of Waynes, Peters, Collins or Johnson unless one of those players happens to be atop their draft board once they make their pick. More often, the Steelers avoid need in Round 1 or only draft to need when it lines up with their board.

That being said, 2015 would be a good year for the Steelers to break their pattern and address one of their biggest needs with one of the draft's top talents, rather than hoping to find a true diamond in the rough later on. 

Allen received a contract extension a day before the 2014 season started, but he wound up demoted to slot corner before being benched entirely. Blake played in 10 regular-season games last year, totaling 38 combined tackles, but he had only one start. Gay is on the wrong side of 30 years old.

Though the Steelers may not need a rookie cornerback to start all 16 games in his first season, they certainly need someone capable of getting to that point more quickly. And conventional wisdom, at least, says they would be more likely to find that player in an earlier round rather than on Day 3.

However, the Steelers aren't about conventional wisdom, but instead employ a draft strategy that is based on cultivation, development and taking players who are simply great at what they do, rather than just great for what the Steelers do or for what the Steelers lack.

So do not be surprised if the Steelers pass on so-called top-rated cornerback talent in Round 1 in favor of someone they have atop of their own ratings at another position and waiting until later to build up their secondary. History often has a way of repeating itself, as far as the Steelers and the draft are concerned.