Unpopular Opinion: The Steelers need a defensive draft despite theirs being the most expensive

When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment has been born… Unpopular opinion.

There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the majority of fans. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.

Next up is looking to draft players to add to the NFL’s highest priced defense…

The Steelers need a defensive draft despite theirs being the most expensive

In case you haven’t heard before, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the most expensive defense in the NFL in 2024. Based on contracts ahead of the 2025 league year, the Steelers are currently number one again until bigger contracts are signed by other teams which could knock them off the top spot. Whether you are someone who feels the Steelers defense is underachieving because they should be the best because they’re the most expensive, or if you’re someone who feels the Steelers shouldn’t be spending as much on the defense, they are common viewpoints.

But as much as the Steelers have invested in their defense, they should be looking that way in this year‘s draft.

Doing the Mock Draft Monday articles here at SCN, as well as looking whenever I see various potential first round draft picks brought up on social media, I often see outrage from some Steelers fans anytime it is a defender who is mocked in the first round. The outrage typically comes in the form of, “Stop investing in such an expensive defense!”

I get what they are saying, but it’s actually counterproductive.

The reason the Steelers are spending so much on defense is because they have so few players contributing as starters who are on rookie contracts. They have a lot of older players, some of which were drafted by the Steelers and some of which were acquired via free agency. When there is such a large percentage of your defense that are on these contracts, it’s going to cost more money. When you look at it compared to the Steelers offense, the unit where there were only two starters that were on a second contracts more than a minimum deal, there’s not much to spend.

If the Steelers want to stop paying so much for defenders, they need to replenish their squad with more players on rookie contracts. If the Steelers want to continue to have a quality defense, something some fans would argue whether or not they are quality enough at this time, they need to invest significant draft capital on defense rather than offense.

Looking at players taken in Day 1 and Day 2 of the draft over the last four years, it’s been very offensive heavy for the Steelers. In fact, it’s only been 4 of the 14 selections since 2021 the Steelers have made in Round 1, 2, or 4. So it’s been more than two: one offense to defense. If including Round 4, that’s still another three offensive plays to one defender. That’s only 28% of draft picks in the first four rounds in the last four drafts who have been defenders.

Although the Steelers have a lot of holes on their roster as well as a lot of cap space to spend a free agency, I do think they are going to add another significant piece on defense with a decent contract. Exactly where, I’m not sure. If I were to pick, I would say cornerback as the Steelers don’t have a veteran under contract at the position. But looking at the Steelers three scheduled picks in Day 1 & 2 of the 2025 NFL draft, I hope that there are players on defense.

Perhaps Steelers fans feel burnt over the last several times the Steelers have made their first round draft pick on defense. Unfortunately, trading up for Devin Bush did not work out. But the Steelers have not taken a defensive player in the first round since 2019. And even though the Steelers have a lot more committed to the defensive side of the ball than offense, they need to have more players coming from the draft so they don’t have the need for all these big contracts on that side of the ball.