Analysis: With glaring need at ILB, Steelers should trade up for higher draft pick

NFL mock drafts are fun .

But let's face it. That's all they are. Fun.

Not at all scientific. Purely speculative. Entirely reliant on an unpredictable series of events based on an inconceivable amount of variables.

It's like your NCAA Tournament office pool. You want to think you know what you are talking about. But as a fan in Pittsburgh, you pretty much have as much of a chance of nailing all of the first-round draft picks in the NFC East as you do all four 5-12 matchups on the bracket.

So instead of blindly throwing Black and Gold darts at a board and giving you a guess at what we might see from the Steelers, here's a look at what the Steelers should do.

Trade up. Big.

This angle hasn't been talked about enough. That's mainly because within conventional parameters of Steeler-thinking, the organization simply doesn't do that very often.

But there is a need to do so now.

The most fabled trade up in recent memory for the Steelers occurred 15 years ago. That's when Kevin Colbert shot up the draft board from pick 27 to 16.

They got Troy Polamalu.

How did that work out?

The team identified a distinct need at a given position. They saw a singular talent at the position. Chris Hope was just a rookie, Brent Alexander was likely heading into his last year in Pittsburgh and it was time to move on from Lee Flowers as a starter.

The club had a feeling on Polamalu, despite some concerns about concussions in college and some wondering if his skills would translate to the NFL.

That feeling turned out to be right.

The need is even more glaring this year at inside linebacker with the untimely loss of Ryan Shazier due to his spinal cord injury. And the consensus is much more clear about the top potential target: Georgia's Roquan Smith.

“Roquan Smith is the truth. That kid's a player. In every sense of the word,” former NFL pro personnel director-turned-ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said. “He'll be Pro Bowler very quickly.

“He can run. When he gets there, he gets there with bad intentions. He can cover.”

As DraftWire.com's Luke Easterling told us in yesterday's podcast , the Steelers probably would have to move into the top 10 to get Smith.

Even for the Steelers' second and third picks this year, a team may not be willing to make that deal. It may cost two second-rounders or even next year's first-rounder with the potential of a mid-round pick coming back in return depending how high up the Steelers need to go.

It costs more to move up in the draft than it did when the Steelers swung the deal for Polamalu. Back then, the Steelers just gave up a third-rounder and a sixth-rounder to move up 11 slots.

Now we are talking at least 18.

OK, so that's unlikely. But how about jumping 10 to get in front of the Cowboys if fellow inside linebackers Rashaan Evans or Leighton Vander Esch are still available? Especially Evans, who may also be on Dallas' radar.

How about moving up six in front of the Patriots who are also rumored to have their eyes on Evans? That should be doable. The Steelers should be aggressive about pursuing that option. Be willing to give away a bit more than what feels comfortable at the moment.

Consider a few points before worrying about giving up picks from this year's class, or even next year's:

• You're trading up to secure a starter for this year and likely four more, even if Shazier were to make a miraculous recovery.

• For all the fretting about the defense, there are no other glaringly open starting spots. In fact, given Cam Sutton's return to health and the signing of Morgan Burnett, position battles will already be occurring in the secondary.

• Bud Dupree got his fifth-year option. So, the selection of an outside linebacker would be in a reserve role.

• Aside from the second- and third-layer depth on offense, practically the entire game day roster is already set.

This team is in “win now” mode. Not building for the future. That giant hole at inside linebacker would go a long way towards preventing them from winning now.

“We've traded up in the past, and we've traded down. We're open to both,” Colbert said this week. “We'll be ready. We'll know how we'll pick ‘em. And we'll know at what point we may want to go up.”

Personally, I hope that point is early.