In the first part of our pre-draft podcast with Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling, he outlined how he thought the draft laid out nicely for the Steelers to meet their offensive needs.

Even though they won’t be making a first-round selection.

In part two, we look at the prospects the Steelers could land on defense. And don’t be shocked if the Steelers go in that direction.

With Javon Hargrave (680 defensive snaps) and Mark Barron (750 defensive snaps) both gone via free agency, that’s lot of playing time to absorb. There’s no clear-cut replacement for either player currently on the roster.

“The meat of this linebacker class is going to be in the middle rounds,” Easterling said of the group inside. “Rounds three, four, and five. You can definitely get just as much value in day three there as if you were taking a guy in the second or third.”

Easterling said that this draft features both athletic pass-coverage types in that range as well as big, physical run thumpers.

Shaq Quarterman from Miami, Jacob Phillips from LSU, and Akeem Davis-Gaither from Appalachian State were all names that he mentioned.

Easterling says some high-quality prospects may be available elsewhere, especially at nose tackle. He’s a much bigger fan of LSU’s Rashard Lawrence than most. Many are projecting him into the fourth round, but Easterling insists he is a top-5 interior defensive lineman.

He’s almost exactly the same size (6-foot-2, 308 pounds) as Hargrave (6-foot-2, 305 pounds). So he could potentially handle that swing position of being the nose in the base 3-4 defense and maybe eat some snaps for Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt in the sub-packages.

“He’s a Steelers player in how he plays the game and goes about his business,” Easterling said. “He’s a guy I want as close to the ball as possible, making life miserable for linemen and quarterbacks. A non-stop motor. And an unquestioned leader in that (LSU) locker room.”

Easterling also pointed at Raekwon Davis (Alabama), Marlon Davidson (Auburn), and Jordan Elliott (Missouri) as players who may be good backups for Tuitt and Heyward now.

From there, they may project to be starters in the future.

The Steelers also need depth at outside linebacker. Ola Adeniyi is the only person on the roster with any sort of significant game action and that’s limited (62 defensive snaps in 2019). Plus Bud Dupree may leave after his franchise-tag season in 2020.

Easterling says both Jonathan Greenard and Bradlee Anae from Utah are edge rushers that flashed at the Senior Bowl. They both project between the Steelers’ second-round pick at No. 49 overall and their third-round pick at 102. Both players would then likely be viewed as a bit of a reach in the second round, but a very nice value if the Steelers get them late in the third.

“They showed off great technique, guys that can get after the quarterback,” Easterling said. “When you are looking for depth and not starters, you can afford to take a chance on a guy who needs a little polish, needs a little time to develop.”

Tennessee’s Darrell Taylor is another player Easterling pointed to as a worthy third-round selection. He believes there may be first-round talent there. But durability questions have followed him coming out of college. Taylor is the biggest of that group. At 6-foot-4 and 267 pounds, he’s the same height as Dupree and just two pounds lighter.

In the rest of our podcast, Luke and I dissect the secondary, particularly the back-of-the-draft talent at safety. The Steelers may need some hybrid, swing players that can contribute on special teams. And we talk about two local guys that may draw some mid-round Steelers interest at cornerback.

Listen: Tim Benz and Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling talk about draft picks that could help the Steelers on defense

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