{"id":860577,"date":"2026-04-08T09:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860577\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:03:29","slug":"analyst-argues-edge-is-one-of-steelers-biggest-needs-understands-drafting-position-in-the-first-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/860577\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyst Argues Edge Is One Of Steelers’ Biggest Needs, Understands Drafting Position In The First Round"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of positions the Pittsburgh Steelers could look to draft with the 21st overall pick. Wide receiver, cornerback, safety and the offensive line are some major spots that have been projected for the Steelers throughout this draft cycle. Which is why it was a bit surprising to see ESPN\u2019s Peter Schrager mock<\/a> an edge rusher to the Steelers at 21st overall, in Clemson\u2019s T.J. Parker.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a slight against Parker, but edge rusher isn\u2019t a position many have looked at in the first round for Pittsburgh. However, to CBS Sports\u2019 Ryan Wilson, it\u2019s not that crazy of an idea, and it actually might be one of the Steelers\u2019 bigger roster needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was expecting something a little crazier than that. I don\u2019t hate it. I know that there are a ton of needs\u2026. Highsmith is there, and how much longer is T.J. Watt gonna play? After that, I think Herbig is in the last year of his rookie deal. There\u2019s not a lot, right? I mean, I know we have Jack Sawyer on the roster, they drafted him last year on Day 3, but I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s a long-term solution there,\u201d Wilson said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan<\/a>. \u201cT.J. Parker\u2019s a good player. So, is that not on your top-five list of needs, given the potential lack of depth at edge rusher?\u201d<\/p>\n

On paper, the Steelers feel set at edge. T.J. Watt wasn\u2019t as explosive in 2025, but he\u2019s still a quality defender whose resume speaks for itself. On the other side, Pittsburgh has Alex Highsmith, fresh off a very solid season of his own. And behind those two, Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer represent some quality youth.<\/p>\n

However, looking ahead, things could get a little murky. Watt\u2019s level of play took a step back at times last year, and his contract would make it harder for the Steelers to move him if they wanted to. Highsmith is coming off one of his better seasons and is under contract through 2027.<\/p>\n

While that gives the Steelers some security, it could make it harder to retain Herbig. He\u2019s heading into the final year of his rookie deal and should have some value if he ends up hitting free agency. Pittsburgh will likely try to keep him around, but will he sign an extension<\/a> knowing he\u2019ll continue to sit behind Watt and Highsmith on the depth chart for the near future?<\/p>\n

Jack Sawyer had some nice splash plays in his rookie season. But he\u2019s got a ways to go before he meets the level of the Steelers\u2019 starting edge rushers. If he doesn\u2019t, and Herbig doesn\u2019t stick around in Pittsburgh, there could be some questions at the position.<\/p>\n

Schrager already thinks Parker would fit well in the first round. Other than him, some other edge rushers who might be available at 21 include Akheem Mesidor and Keldric Faulk.<\/p>\n

Including edge as one of the Steelers\u2019 top-five needs may feel like a stretch. For now, quarterback, cornerback, safety, the offensive line, and even linebacker have an argument as being more dire. But in the near future, things could get more complicated at the position. Wilson doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad idea to get ahead of that in the first round this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are a lot of positions the Pittsburgh Steelers could look to draft with the 21st overall pick.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[8740,6310,3244,7,295,6313,3246,5387,5226],"class_list":{"0":"post-860577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-93-7-the-fan","9":"tag-alex-highsmith","10":"tag-cbs-sports","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-jack-sawyer","13":"tag-nick-herbig","14":"tag-ryan-wilson","15":"tag-t-j-parker","16":"tag-t-j-watt"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116368284318772142","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}