The stalemate between the Steelers and RB LeVeon Bell is on goining for a second straight off season. They are unlikely to come to an agreement. Expect a repeat of last off season when Bell waited to sign his franchise tender until just before the regular season. This makes a slow start a distinct possibility. Despite the unfortunate circumstances Bell should still be strongly in play to be the top pick in fantasy drafts. The Steelers parted ways with disgruntled WR Martavis Bryant on draft day with a trade to the Oakland Raiders for a third round pick. Bryant was under contract for one more season because of his year long suspension in '16. He was highly unlikely to stay in Pittsburgh after his contract expired.

The draft at the end of April brought several surprises. No inside linebacker was taken. A trio of offensive players were selected on the second day when the defense clearly needed more help. Of course the biggest surprise was the first round reach for S Terrell Edmunds.

1 ( 28) Edmunds - Virginia Tech

Edmunds joined his younger brother Tremaine as the first brothers selected in the first round of the same draft. Terrell showed incredible athleticism at the combine.

2 ( 60) WR James Washington - Oklahoma St

The ultra-productive Washington is built more like a back than a receiver. GM Kevin Colbert reportedly likes his long arms and ball skills. One thing Colbert has proven adept at is drafting receivers. Washington should slot in immediately as the third receiver, a more versatile replacement for Bryant.

3 ( 76) QB Mason Rudolph - Oklahoma St

The Steelers almost always keep three quarterbacks. They were said to be enamored with Rudolph and did a nice job of waiting until the middle of the second day to trade up using the pick obtained by the Raiders and a swap later in the draft to target him. Should either Rudolph or last year's fourth round QB Josh Dobbs show they are ready to be the backup then both will be kept. Otherwise veteran backup QB Landry Jones will have to remain on the roster. The 29 year old Jones has no upside beyond being a short term backup fill in for QB Ben Roethlisberger with experience in the system.

3 ( 92) OT Chukwuma Okorafor - Western Michigan

Okorafor is a project born in Africa with limited experience in football. Off the field he looks like the perfect prospect. His play on the field was not always exemplary. Offensive line coach Mike Munchak will try to get the most out of his physical skills. The loss of OT Chris Hubbard to the Browns in free agency opened up a spot for a backup tackle.

5 (148) S Marcus Allen - Penn St

Allen is very similar to Edmunds and free agent signee S Morgan Burnett. With the dearth of talent at inside linebacker expect the Steelers to use much more dime defense than nickel with OLB TJ Watt and perhaps OLB Bud Dupree as the only linebackers on the field and a safety playing inside linebacker.

5 (165) RB Jalen Samuels - North Carolina St

A swiss army knife that can contribute as a backup to Bell if RB James Connor is slow to recover from a torn MCL, a backup or replacement for FB Roosevelt Nix, a move/slot tight end and on special team.

7 (246) NT Joshua Frazier - Alabama

A two gap run stuffing nose tackle to compliment more athletic NT Javon Hargrave. Basically direct competition for the backup spot with the underwhelming recently resigned NT Dan McCullers.

End.