When asked if his defensive line was too banged up at the end of the season to be effective, Mike Tomlin didn't pull any punches.
"Everybody’s defensive line is banged up," Tomlin said at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla. "Don’t excuse-make. I’m not joining you in that."
Tomlin might not want to join in a public discussion, but there was no doubt the Steelers' line was banged up and pushed around in its season-ending 45-42 playoff loss to Jacksonville when defensive end Stephon Tuitt suffered an elbow injury in practice in the days before the game, while nose tackle Javon Hargrave tweaked his back.
That tested the Steelers' line depth, something they had improved in the offseason with the addition of veteran Tyson Alualu. Tuitt (57 snaps) and All-Pro Cam Heyward (53) both played the majority of the 61 defensive snaps in that game, but with his back acting up, Hargrave played just 23 snaps, four fewer than his backup, L.T. Walton.
Despite the injuries, nose tackle Daniel McCullers, the team's sixth defensive lineman, was inactive for the game, as he was for most of the season.
The Steelers re-signed McCullers to a one-year deal as a free agent last month, but that was as much to cover their butts at the position as anything. The intent is to select a young defensive lineman in the draft at some point to push McCullers for a roster spot.
And while it's unlikely that happens in the first round -- unless a top prospect such as Alabama's Da'Ron Payne would somehow fall to them with the 28th pick -- the Steelers could look to improve their line depth in the middle rounds or later when the draft is held April 26-28.
Why wouldn't the team consider a pure nose tackle in the first round? Look to the nose tackle many fans point to as what the Steelers currently need for that answer:
Former Steelers Pro Bowl NT Casey Hampton tells the Talk of Fame Network, "What I did almost extinct now" at the nose tackle position: https://t.co/8I3GNlz8ek
— Rick Gosselin (@RickGosselin9) April 2, 2018
In today's NFL, base defense is a fallacy. The Steelers barely play their 3-4 25 percent of the time, lining up in a nickel or dime defense most often. But that doesn't necessarily mean a player who can line up as a true run-stuffing nose tackle isn't needed. It just means it's not a position teams now prioritize early in the draft.
One player who could fit into the Steelers' plans in the middle rounds is North Carolina State defensive tackle B.J. Hill (6-3, 311 pounds). Stout enough at the point of attack to play the nose most of the time for N.C. State, Hill also was nimble enough to be moved outside over the tackles at times, as well.
How athletic is Hill? He played running back in high school at 260 pounds.
"I played everything in high school. I was a speed guy, a power guy. Juke moves, spin moves, everything," Hill said . "I caught sweeps, counters, you name it."
He obviously won't be asked to run the ball at the NFL level. His main job would shutting down opposing run games, something Hill did nicely at N.C. State along with Bradley Chubb, who is expected to be the top defensive lineman selected in this draft, and fellow draft prospects Justin Jones and Kentavius Street, all of who were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
While Chubb got a lot of the publicity, Hill was a standout in his own right, recording 57 tackles with 5.5 for a loss, three sacks and three passes batted in 2017.
"I feel like I can play anything. I'm an athletic big guy," Hill said. "So anywhere the coach needs me.
"One-gap or two-gap assignment? I like to two-gap. It's pretty much the same as playing the one."
Here are my rankings of the top defensive linemen available in this draft:
Defensive Line Rankings
- Bradley Chubb, DE, 6-4, 275, North Carolina State
- Vita Vea, DT, 6-5, 344, Washington
- Da'Ron Payne, DT, 6-2, 308, Alabama
- Marcus Davenport, DE, 6-6, 264, UTSA
- Taven Bryan, DT, 6-5, 293, Florida
- Tim Settle, DT, 6-3, 328, Virginia Tech
- Harrison Phillips, DT, 6-4, 285, Stanford
- R.J. McIntosh, DE, 6-4, 296, Miami (Fla.)
- Rasheem Green, DE, 6-5, 280, USC
- B.J. Hill, DT, 6-3, 311, North Carolina State
One player I left off my top 10 who would have been there if not for a heart issue that caused him to be sent home from the combine is Michigan's Maurice Hurst.
Hurst has a very quick first step, and though he's undersized at 6-1, 292, he was one of the top defensive players in the Big Ten last season. But the heart issue will be a concern, even though subsequent checkups have cleared him to return to football.
If the Steelers choose to wait to use one of their two seventh-round picks to address their defensive line depth, they could look to new line coach Karl Dunbar's former employer for help.
Joshua Frazier, a backup defensive tackle in his career at Alabama, was a surprise invitee to the combine, but at 6-3, 321, the former five-star recruit could surprise at the NFL level. After all, getting stuck behind a bunch of first-round draft picks at Alabama is nothing to be ashamed of.
If not Frazier, Poona Ford (6-0, 305) or South Florida's Deadrin Senat (6-0, 300), a pair of run-stuffing fireplugs who should be available in the seventh round, could fit the bill.