4 MID-ROUND PLAYERS THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS CAN FIND AT THE NFL COMBINE

The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely focus on defense during the opening rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft, but could find these mid-round steals from the combine.

Not all superstars come from the first two rounds. The Pittsburgh Steelers know this better than anyone, that there is still plenty of potential during the half of the draft most people stop paying attention. But if it wasn’t for the mid to late rounds, their offseason would be going much smoother than it currently is.

James Conner, Antonio Brown, Jesse James, Vince Williams, the list goes on. The Steelers have had success scoping out the needles in the haystack once all the big names are off the board. Not all mid-round picks turn into stars, but finding them in every round is just as important as finding them early.

This year, the Steelers will turn focus to offense during the middle of the draft after using their opening rounds to fill holes at corner, inside and outside linebacker. Tight end, wide receiver, running back will have a mid-round draft board in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers love to utilize the middle of the draft and the first step to putting together their wish list comes from the NFL Combine. Come Saturday, they’ll be focused on finding the pieces to the puzzle they’d like to utilize immediately and those they believe they can find once the third-round hits.

These four players will be sitting around once Pittsburgh fills their holes on defense. When they are, Pittsburgh will sit back and hope they found the next NFL Draft steal to put into their roster.

JACE STERNBERGER

The tight end out of Texas A&M had a major breakout performance in 2018 and decided to leave early before he had to replicate it next season. With 832 yards and 10 touchdowns, Sternberger seemed like the top option for the Aggies and proved to be a solid receiving target.

The Steelers are going to lose Jesse James this offseason and can’t replace him with Xavier Grimble. Instead, they’ll look towards the middle of the draft to find a replacement, but with this year’s class they should have no trouble doing so.

Sternberger will be around towards the third-fifth round of the draft and can step in and be a contributor immediately. Working with Vance McDonald, the rookie should develop even better route running skills and at 6’5, 250 pounds he should have no trouble blocking in the NFL.

GARY JENNINGS

Gary Jennings seemed to be overlooked by the breakout of his wide receiver counterpart David Stills. However, for the Steelers, Jennings has the better skill set to breakout in the NFL.

Jennings is more of a vertical threat with NFL speed and has decent jump ball ability. He’s not much of a mid-round pick but more of a sleeper that Pittsburgh can find, and would love to find, near the third-round of the draft.

He’s not Antonio Brown, but implementing Jennings into the offense with JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington means the Steelers have a strong middle of the field option and two young deep threats for Ben Roethlisberger.

Without adding age, this receiving core could be one of the youngest in football with some quiet superstars waiting to break out.

MYLES GASKIN

The Washington product has had an incredible two years as a starter for the Huskies. Both running and catching, Gaskin become one of the primary parts of his college offense and helped lead them to a Pac-12 Championship in 2018.

Averaging 4.9 yards per carry last season, Gaskin showed he’s capable of making every run worth it but also possesses the skills to be a dynamic pass-catcher out of the backfield. Using both sets of skills, he’ll fit in well with James Conner and Jaylen Samuels.

Pittsburgh doesn’t need another superstar runner, but wouldn’t mind having three options in the backfield. If it means keeping Conner fresher for the postseason and still having the same production from two backups, Gaskin will be on their radar once they fill their immediate needs.

P.J. JOHNSON

P.J. Johnson is the perfect mid-round defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He possess the size, strength and speed to play both end and nose in a 3-4 defense and could mix into the rotation with Tyson Alualu well.

He’s found himself leaving school with one of the best defensive tackle classes in recent memory, but should still hear his name called at some point during the draft. Unlike most mid-round defensive linemen, Johnson has the skillset to play well in the NFL and won’t need a ton of adjustment once he reaches the next level.

If Pittsburgh doesn’t plan to resign Daniel McCuller or LT Walton, they’ll need to fill the role with a rookie and without waiting too long to do so, Johnson should be available around the fifth-round.