Black and Gold Links: Why the Steelers should target Ben Roethlisberger’s next weapon in the NFL Draft

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Time to check on the latest news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2019 is fast approaching, and the news surrounding the black-and-gold is far from over. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers should be looking for the next best weapon for Ben Roethlisberger in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft.

Let’s get to the news:

Carter’s Classroom: Drafting Ben’s next weapon

By: Chris Carter, DKPittsburghSports

It’s time we talked about how to help Ben Roethlisberger and the offense with the 2019 NFL Draft. The defense has been the priority here for the past month, but adding ammunition to an offense that lost Antonio Brown this offseason and hasn’t had Le’Veon Bell since 2017 is still a major concern.

This is a collection of reasonable targets the Steelers could look to draft who could bring significant boosts to what Randy Ficthner has been doing with the offense:

When I graded Roethlisberger, my main takeaway was that he needed to spread the ball more. Some of that will need to come from an improved running game. Not forcing him to lead the league in attempts would help lower his interception total from 16 and give him a more balanced system to work around. Dale Lolley wrote yesterday on some running back prospects that could interest Kevin Colbert.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Sean Davis is a solid player, but hasn’t displayed the playmaking ability many expected from the former Maryland product. In fact, the team might have to address the position in the upcoming draft.

Sean Davis might spur Steelers to draft safety

By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Sean Davis in 2016, they were trying to get younger at the two safety positions, where the starters had a combined age of 60-plus years spanning the previous six seasons.

It topped out at a combined 66 years in 2013 between Ryan Clark (34) and Troy Polamalu (32). The next two years featured a combination of Polamalu (33) and Mike Mitchell (27), then Mitchell (28) and Will Allen (33).

The addition of Davis in the second round in 2016 brought down the average age as part of the reconstruction of the Steelers defense that started trending toward younger, athletic players. Terrell Edmunds came aboard last year as a first-round pick and, because of an injury to veteran Morgan Burnett, started 15 games.

This year, the Steelers again will have youth on their side in the secondary. Davis is 25, and Edmunds turned 22 in January.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Joe Haden talks about how the Steelers will be thrown right into the mix in Week 1 when they travel to New England to play the Patriots.

Joe Haden: We’re right in it when the season starts

By: Josh Alper, ProFootballTalk

They’ll be in New England for the first Sunday Night Football game of the season, so the first look at their post-Antonio Brown offense will come against a Patriots team that will be kicking off a title defense. They’ll move on to host the Seahawks the next week and Steelers cornerback Joe Haden knows that the team will have to be sharp right off the bat.

“We have to make sure when we go into camp that we are prepared for something serious when we get started,” Haden said, via the team’s website. “When the season starts we are right in it. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who we are playing, we just have to be ready.”

To read the full article, click HERE

• A draft day trade every Steelers fan should never forget. When the Bus drove to Pittsburgh.

A trade that changed it all

By: Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

On April 20, 1996, during the NFL Draft, they pulled off one of the best trades in NFL history, acquiring Jerome Bettis from the St. Louis Rams, along with a third-round pick, for the Steelers second-round pick in 1996 and fourth-round selection in 1997. The Rams had just drafted running back Lawrence Phillips, who spent only two seasons with them, in the first round and felt Bettis was expendable.

The rest as they say, is history.

“I got a chance to talk to Coach (Bill) Cowher,” recalled Bettis of when the trade was made. “My rookie year the Steelers came to Los Angeles and we beat up on them pretty good and I had a great day running the ball. The first thing he said to me on the phone was ‘We just traded for you. If you can’t beat em, join em. I remember you beat up on us your rookie year and I’m glad to have you.’ It was great to hear and to be going somewhere they wanted me. That worked out pretty well.”

To read the full article, click HERE

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