The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a conservative team in the offseason. They don’t make splashes in free agency, filling a few holes with veterans but opting to do most of their work during the draft. Pittsburgh prefers to draft and develop players and reward them with contracts compared to signing high-priced veterans in free agency.

This offseason, it will likely be more of the same. There is a lot of optimism surrounding the Steelers after how strongly they finished the 2022 season. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett played much better in the second half of the season and with T.J. Watt healthy, the defense was once again a scary unit.

The most often mentioned position of need for Pittsburgh is their secondary. With Cameron Sutton hitting free agency, the Steelers could lose their No. 1 corner from last season. While this group isn’t necessarily a poor one, they are lacking that true shutdown kind of player.

The trenches could also use some infusion of talent. The offensive line gelled as the season went along, surprising some people. Along the defensive line, there is a sneaky need emerging for the Steelers.

Larry Ogunjobi, Chris Wormley and Tyson Alualu are all free agents. Cameron Heyward had another excellent season with 10.5 sacks, but going on 34 years old, it is fair to question how much longer the Steelers can rely on him.

With that in mind, the Steelers could look to add a defensive tackle to the mix with one of their early picks. A player to keep an eye on is Gervon Dexter Sr. He had a wonderful showing at the NFL Combine and there is a chance that his performance leads to being selected in the late first round.

The Steelers are one of the teams that have used a top 30 visit on Dexter along with the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. The size that he possesses is unteachable and something that franchises will love to get their hands on. 

There is a lot to work with to develop Dexter into a very good player at the next level. Multiple teams have compared him to All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs. That is certainly a lofty comparison but shows just how much talent there is to work with.

Pittsburgh owns the Nos. 17, 33 and 50 overall picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. The No. 33 pick is courtesy of the Chicago Bears from the Chase Claypool trade ahead of the deadline. With Davis shooting up draft boards, the Steelers could hope he falls to them at 33 and select him there.