LSU CB Tre’Davious White could be a good match for the Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking to add a cornerback, or two, to their depth chart in the 2017 NFL Draft, but finding the right prospect is certainly easier said than done.

Before highlighting one of the prospects who certainly should be on the Steelers’ radar, let’s take a look at the depth chart.

Artie Burns
Ross Cockrell
William Gay
Senquez Golson
Al-Hajj Shabazz

Needless to say, the team certainly will want to bolster that depth chart, but what the team is truly looking for is an outside cornerback, who is capable of playing more man-press coverage, as well as the zone coverage schemes the Steelers deploy regularly.

Now enter LSU’s Tre’Davious White, the talented cornerback from LSU. Many have projected White to the Steelers in the first round, but is he what they want?

The answer to that question is both yes and no.

White is a very fluid cornerback who can certainly play at the line of scrimmage and disrupt receivers from getting a clean break off the line of scrimmage, but for all he does well, he lacks the speed and athleticism to handle some of the more talented receivers on the outside.

So, what does all that mean? The Steelers need a slot cornerback in a bad way. William Gay has filled that role the past two seasons, but age is slowly creeping up on him. Senquez Golson was supposed to be that player, but Golson has yet to even see a preseason snap, let alone playing a meaningful regular season snap in the NFL.

The need for a slot cornerback is real in Pittsburgh, but should they draft one with the 30th pick? Slot cornerbacks are essentially starters in today’s NFL, but White would have to be NFL ready from Day 1 to earn such a designation.

These are just some of those incredibly difficult decisions the Steelers face heading into the upcoming draft. Take a player like White, or take a pass rusher in the back half of the first round?

Time will tell what the Steelers will do with their first round pick, but to get a better grasp on what White brings to the table, check out the latest breakdown from Brett Kollmann.