Steelers need to upgrade the secondary

by Alex Muchnok

 Almost two weeks after the Steelers disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV, they now set their sites on what’s next for it’s franchise, the 2011 NFL Draft.



Many Steelers fans hope to “upgrade” the offensive line, or even draft another defensive end, or tackle to add dept to their aging front seven. But after watching the Super Bowl, the way the defensive backfield played was a huge eye-opener. Of course you’ll hear how safety, and defensive MVP, Troy Polamalu had a disappointing performance, (which I won’t disagree with), but, the Steelers real problem in that game were their corners.

Ike Taylor, although a fingertip away from changing the entire season, had below a sub-par performance. After re-watching the game, I happened to have noticed that he was giving up a lot of “junk” over the middle, while allowing his man to cut cleanly inside, without a jam, or any sort of effort. Bryant McFadden could not guard Jordy Nelson to save his life. He ended up with 9 catches, for 140 yards, and one touchdown. I won’t even go into detail about how William Gay played, you get the picture…

This is why our first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft should be Brandon Harris out of Miami (FL).

As much as I would love to see the Nnamdi Asomugha clone, Jimmy Smith out of Colorado fall to the #31 spot, it’s highly unlikely. Harris, barring any circumstances, will probably be available when the Steelers number is called. Although not a big interception guy, Harris uses his speed and “big-hitting abilities” to agitate the receiver. Drafting Harris would not only provide young talent in the secondary, but also allow him to take over as the number two corner, moving Bryant McFadden to the third and displacing William Gay, which is something that has to be done.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on however you want to look at it), I will not be deciding who the Steelers choose on draft day. But I trust Kevin Colbert, and the rest of the Steelers front office to make the right decision…