Who should the Steelers draft?

Image courtesy of Pittsburgh Sporting News

Image courtesy of Pittsburgh Sporting News

Alex Manjerovic, Sports Editor

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the 22nd pick in the 2015 NFL draft. The jury is still out on the team’s last two first round draft picks, as Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier have both had disappointing starts to the careers in black and gold. This past season, despite having one of the leagues best offenses, the Steelers didn’t get out of the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The obvious need for the Steelers is the secondary, as they gave up the 6th most passing yards per game in 2014. Another area of concern is outside linebacker. Despite the fact that the Steelers used their 2013 first rounder on Jarvis Jones, the shocking retirement of Jason Worilds, who left the sport to become a Jehovah’s Witness, has created a need at OLB. Here are a few players that the Steelers should target at pick 22.

Marcus Peters – Cornerback, Washington

The 22 year old was considered the top draft prospect at Cornerback coming into the 2014 season, but his draft stock dropped after having off-the-field troubles. Peters was kicked off of Washington’s team after an altercation with an assistant coach in November. However, Peters’ pure talent and instincts have kept him as a projected first rounder. With the retirement of Ike Taylor, the Steelers’ cornerback unit has gotten even weaker this offseason. This would certainly be a risky pick for the Steelers, but the defense desperately needs a shut down corner, and Peters is worth the risk.

Landon Collins – Safety, Alabama

Collins was a two-year starter and an all-American for Nick Saban at Alabama. Able to play either safety position, Collins could take over for the recently retired Troy Polamalu. Collins could also replace Mike Mitchell, who was extremely disappointing last season after earning a big contract. He may not have the highest upside, like a lot of players projected to go in the first round, but Collins is a plug and play safety who starred for one of the nations best college teams.

Randy Gregory – Linebacker, Nebraska

Gregory is another player with a lot of talent, but he also has a number of off the field issues as well. There were talks of Gregory possibly being a top 5 pick, but that changed after he tested positive for Marijuana twice at Nebraska, and once again tested positive at the NFL combine. After the positive test, the Steelers scheduled a pre-draft visit with the outside-linebacker, showing that they are not scared off by the issues. Gregory may be the immediate pass-rusher that Jarvis Jones was not at outside linebacker. If Gregory falls to 22, the Steelers should not think twice about picking him.