The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the regular season with a 13-3 record before losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs. Despite finishing with one of the best records in the NFL, Pittsburgh still has a few weaknesses going forward they need to sure up if they're going to continue to be Super Bowl contenders. As such, it's important they target the right players with the No. 28 pick in the NFL Draft. Here are three players the Steelers should avoid in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
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3.) Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
A big concern for the Steelers entering the season was their talent and depth at the inside linebacker position after Lawrence Timmons left in free agency last offseason, and that concern has only gotten worse after losing Ryan Shazier to a scary spinal injury sustained in early December against the Bengals. With Shazier's career being uncertain, this leaves a serious void in the Steelers linebacking core.
2018 is a talented draft class at the linebacker position, but selecting Leighton Vander Esch in the first round would be a bit of a stretch. He had a great year in 2017 with 141 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, four passes broken up and three interceptions.
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2.) Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
Falk might be one of the most accurate quarterbacks in this draft, however, he doesn't have a ton of arm strength and his upside is limited. Why should the Steelers cap their upside when looking for a new quarterback to possibly replace current quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who is 35 years-old. Roethlisberger isn't getting any younger but drafting Falk isn't the answer in the first round.
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1.) Connor Williams, OT, Texas
The life of an offensive lineman isn't easy and Williams will be the first to tell you that. He missed most of his Junior year with a sprained PCL and MCL. The jury is out on how Williams will recover from those injuries. He stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 315 pounds which is a great sized lineman for a lineman but he battles in the trenches with some of the strongest players in the league and hasn't been able to stay healthy. Williams is talented, but the injury concerns should scare the Steelers away, especially in the first round.
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