Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker, Bud Dupree, has earned the franchise tag. Offensive guard, Ramon Foster has retired. Outside linebacker, Anthony Chickillo has been released along with inside linebacker, Mark Barron. B.J. Finney is a Seahawk and Tyler Matakevich has signed with the Buffalo Bills. Oh, and yeah, I almost forgot. Javon Hargrave is now an Eagle.
Needs have taken shape and among the most urgent are on the defensive side of the ball at both linebacker positions. The positive for the Steelers is that they have quality starters in place for these roles. The challenge? Depth.
Since I began evaluating draft trends from the past decade, along with the types of athletes the Steelers target, I’ve learned quite a lot not only about the Steelers’ strategy, but about late-round selections they’ve made in recent years.