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NFL Power Rankings: 2017 Pre-NFL Draft Look at All 32 Teams

By Peter Panacy

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a helmet, NFL shield, stage, and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a helmet, NFL shield, stage, and podium before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) runs the ball against New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan (26) during the second quarter in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) runs the ball against New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan (26) during the second quarter in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

. 11-5. . Pittsburgh Steelers. 9. team. 55

The Pittsburgh Steelers take a notable drop in NFL power rankings before the NFL Draft, largely due to all the weird storylines that accompanied the team throughout the offseason.

First, there was the seemingly never-ending worry quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would retire.

Roethlisberger put that worry to rest on April 7:

Still, it prompts a question — how much longer does he have in the tank? More pressing, will any sign of weakness start to show?

Another weird tale was that of wide receiver Antonio Brown, whose Facebook Live postgame locker-room footage sparked a controversy all on its own. And the ramifications from that event certainly carried over into the offseason.

On the field, these two are stellar. Keeping running back Le’Veon Bell around for another year on the franchise tag also helps.

Yet the “elephant in the room” here is the Steelers porous defense. Pittsburgh has tried to make efforts to address this in recent seasons — none of which have really panned out.

At least the 2017 NFL Draft is deep enough, defensively, to hope for the better. And if things go well on both sides of the ball Pittsburgh shouldn’t have much trouble climbing back up in NFL power rankings.