“Look, I’ve been a Steelers fan since 1980. I’ve seen it all. You guys on the radio and these mock draft experts need to stop talking about needs. Because when you talk about needs, you reach. The Steelers just need to draft the best player available. Period. I’ll hang up and listen.”

That caller likely dropped his phone in a Chris Rock “mic drop” kind of way. Or maybe he pranced around his house like a proud dog after leaping up high to catch a tennis ball.

These images come into my mind whenever a Steelers fan calls a talk show or posts a response in a comments section and gives the “Best Player Available. Period” speech when discussing an upcoming NFL Draft

Like that fictional caller, I have been following the Steelers since 1980, and I can count on one hand the number of times I thought they used their first-round pick on the best player available without any regard for positional needs.

Perhaps it was the 1980 NFL Draft when Pittsburgh used its first-round selection to take Mark Malone, quarterback, Arizona State.

How about the 1996 NFL Draft when the Steelers selected Jamain Stephens, offensive tackle, North Carolina A&T?

Maybe the 2009 NFL Draft when Pittsburgh picked Ziggy Hood, defensive tackle, Missouri.

Can you think of any other times that the Steelers used their first-round pick on the best player available regardless of the position? Perhaps not so coincidentally, the three examples I just gave came on the heels of Super Bowl appearances and/or victories. It’s probably a little easier to enter such a draft looking for someone who may not be able to help you now but could be in a position to help you down the road.

But most teams are looking for immediate help when evaluating players for an upcoming draft. Thankfully, the NFL is one league where the majority of rookies, at least high-pedigreed rookies, contribute right away.

The Steelers wanted to run the football more in 2021, and they just so happened to select a running back in that year’s draft. Pittsburgh needed a quarterback in the following year’s draft and just so happened to take one in the first round. The Steelers needed an offensive tackle, cornerback and defensive lineman heading into last year’s draft and picked all three in that order over the first two rounds.

Coincidence? Nah.

Thankfully, I think the fans are finally catching on to this, and I’ve seen less of this BPA nonsense heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. There are just so many draft experts out there spewing their opinions on a daily basis, and their evaluations of players are all over the place. After you add in the endless mock drafts and big boards, who can say for sure who the best player available is at any point in the draft?

That was a rhetorical question because you really can’t these days.

The Steelers will go into this Thursday’s draft looking to add the best player available…at a position of need. Maybe a really good cornerback will be there at 20, and the Steelers will take him because he’s rated higher than the best offensive tackle left on the board. Or maybe there will be three cornerbacks ranked higher than the best tackle left at 20. What do you do in that case? You take one of the cornerbacks, right? Draft value, baby! Don’t be surprised if Pittsburgh takes the tackle. Why in the world would you do that? Perhaps the drop-off at tackle would be too steep to risk waiting. Maybe you just gotta gamble that one of those three cornerbacks will drop to 51.

Either way, the Steelers are going to use their first-round pick on a player who can contribute right away, even as a starter if everything falls into place at training camp.

The Steelers may again use their first-round pick on the best player available regardless of position.

But that’s probably not going to happen until after their next parade.