Pittsburgh Steelers' Remaining Post-Draft Priority List

The bulk of the Pittsburgh Steelers' offseason business is just about complete.

The main portion of free agency has slowed to a trickle of signings and the NFL draft has wrapped up. Now, the only work left to do is establish a 90-man roster that will carry them through spring and summer practices.

Well, that's one thing Pittsburgh has left to do. There are still a few loose ends the Steelers will need to tie up between now and when the 53-man rosters are finalized prior to the start of Week 1.

From positional battles to depth-chart arrangements and whether the team has enough depth in all areas, here are the highest-priority items on the Steelers' current to-do list.

Who Is the No. 2 Quarterback?

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The Steelers chose to use a draft pick on a quarterback for the first time since 2013, selecting Tennessee's Joshua Dobbs in the fourth round this year. The last time they did so was also in the fourth round, four years ago, on Landry Jones.

While a quarterback drafted in the fourth round should pose no short-term threat to starter Ben Roethlisberger's job, what about Jones? He has served as the team's primary backup since 2015 (he appeared in only one game prior to that, in 2013) and was brought back on a two-year, $4.4 million deal this offseason. But that doesn't mean Dobbs won't be pressing him for his roster standing.

What works in Jones' favor, though, is that incumbent status. The Steelers—using Jones as recent precedent—don't necessarily want their young, inexperienced quarterbacks to leapfrog to No. 2 on the depth chart right away if they can help it.

With Jones having at least an on-paper mastery of coordinator Todd Haley's offense (if not an on-field one), he certainly comes into the offseason program with a clear advantage.

Dobbs is a smart player and person, though, and should he prove to be a quick study, there could be a shakeup on the Steelers' quarterback depth chart, with the rookie promoted to No. 2 and Jones dropped to No. 3.

This will be an important battle to keep an eye on as the offseason progresses, given how much time Roethlisberger has missed over his career with injuries.

Who Stays and Goes at Outside Linebacker?

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The Steelers added two edge-rushers via the draft, taking T.J. Watt in Round 1 and then closing their eight picks with Keion Adams.

The pair join James Harrison, Arthur Moats, Bud Dupree and Anthony Chickillo on the roster as the outside linebackers with the greatest odds of making the team this year.

While it's possible all six reach the 53-man roster, it's more likely that the team will only have room for four (five at best). And it doesn't seem as though Watt or Dupree—both Round 1 picks and the presumed future of the Steelers' pass rush—will have much trouble taking two of those spots.

Another must be reserved for Harrison; though he's 39 years old, he was Pittsburgh's sack leader last year and has no reason not to stick around for another year.

That leaves just one potential spot available for Moats, Chickillo and Adams. Moats, who is in the final year of a three-year contract, had 3.5 sacks and 19 combined tackles last year while playing 37.9 percent of the team's defensive snaps, according to Football Outsiders.

Chickillo, a 2015 Round 6 selection, had 24 combined tackles and 2.5 sacks while on the field 30.2 percent of Pittsburgh's defensive plays.

Adams is a rookie, but he is one with upside. Though he could be earmarked for a practice-squad stash, the cutting-and-signing that requires could turn the Steelers off if they were too concerned another team could snag him in the time between. 

Though Moats has the experience upside over all three and Chickillo has been in the Steelers' system for what is about to be his third season, that doesn't mean one has the nod over the others at this point.

Mastery of defensive technique along with strong special teams play will need to be among the deciding factors as to how many outside linebackers makes Pittsburgh's roster this year and who they will be.

Is the Team Set at Tight End?

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With the 2017 draft class so strong at tight end, the Steelers' depth chart seemingly weak and the team being linked to numerous prospects—both of the early- and later-round varieties—it came as a surprise that Pittsburgh used no picks to help bolster the position.

Instead, the Steelers seem content to stand pat with the veterans they were carrying before the draft (as well as the addition of two undrafted rookies as of now), which belies something else—trust in the continued development of 2015 draft pick Jesse James and in the health of Ladarius Green, a free-agent signing from 2016. 

James caught just 39 passes on 60 targets last year for 338 yards and three scores, but he could see his role in the passing game increase this year.

That also seems to be the case for Green. He appeared in only six games last year due to two different injuries but made the most of his playing time, with his 18 catches on 34 targets yielding 304 yards and one score.

Green was a participant in this week's voluntary workouts, a sign that his health is stable enough for him to be cleared for physical activity and potentially hinting at him finally breaking out as the receiving-first tight end the Steelers signed a year ago. 

The established depth behind the two hasn't changed, with David Johnson returning as a blocking tight end and Xavier Grimble as a passing-game contributor. The latter had 11 catches worth 110 yards and two scores last year, and it's possible that the Steelers feel confident in him as an understudy for Green in particular.

But the two undrafted players also need to be watched. Pitt's Scott Orndoff, is more of a blocking-type (and a threat to Johnson), but he did have a good 2016 season as a receiver as well, with 35 catches for 574 yards and five scores. Ryan Malleck, from Virginia Tech, also has receiving skills, and he had 21 catches for 289 yards and two scores while paired up with starter Bucky Hodges.

This group of six seems like more than enough tight ends for the Steelers, but there are caveats regarding James' continuing on-field improvement and Green staying healthy. It will take a full summer of training camp and preseason games to figure out if eschewing tight end in the draft was the best strategy for the Steelers.

Evaluating Safety Depth

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The Steelers also chose to not draft a safety this year. On one hand, the decision makes sense: They still have both Mike Mitchell and Sean Davis under contract and last year's starters have no reason to worry about losing their roster standings in 2017, it appears.

But, on the other, that leaves them with little depth at the position and no clear heir apparent to Mitchell, who is under contract until 2019 but cannot be considered safe from roster cuts in a year's time given it would cost over $8 million to keep him and just over $1 million to release him.

Behind the two starters sits Robert Golden (who started ahead of Davis for the first half of 2016 before being demoted), Jordan Dangerfield and the unknown David Hagan. The Steelers also signed Pitt defensive back Terrish Webb as an undrafted rookie last week. 

Golden and Dangerfield both seem to have solid job security heading into the workout phase of the offseason. Golden has proved he can be a valuable backup and workable starter, while Dangerfield has been crucial on special teams—no Steelers defensive back played more special teams snaps than him a year ago.

But are these two players enough? And are Hagan and Webb capable of threatening the fairly locked-in jobs of Golden and Dangerfield as the summer plays out?

While teams don't typically load their 53-man rosters with safeties, Pittsburgh may simply want to round out its depth in order to have enough players for training camp this summer.

The Shape of the Receiver Depth Chart

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Regardless of whether Martavis Bryant or Sammie Coates seriously or facetiously believe that the Steelers' drafting of receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the 2017 draft's second round will cost either of them their jobs, there's no doubt the addition will cause a shakeup at the position.

While Antonio Brown remains comfortably atop the depth chart, the pecking order for the rest of the position group will be established over the course of the summer, and doubtless a few wideouts will be losing their jobs. Pittsburgh has 11 receivers on its roster, but that number will dip to six or seven by the time the team puts together their 53-man crew.

Bryant, recently reinstated from a lengthy suspension, is not necessarily safe either, given his disciplinary history. One more failed drug test would knock him out of the NFL perhaps permanently, and it would guarantee no playing time for him in 2017.

Even if he regains his footing as Pittsburgh's No. 2 behind Brown, the Smith-Schuster drafting could easily cut into the playing time of the likes of Coates and Cobi Hamilton, determine just how often Eli Rogers is called upon in the slot and who of Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter can earn a roster spot.

Hunter was a free-agent signing from earlier in the spring, while Heyward-Bey was a 2009 Round 1 draft pick of the Oakland Raiders who has transitioned into serving as a special teams ace in his past three years in Pittsburgh.

Spots two through six on the receiving depth chart will be hotly contested this summer and will help shape what has become an explosive, pass-heavy offense for the upcoming season.

The Steelers may have a good problem on their hands when trying to evaluate this position, but it is a problem nonetheless.