Mark Madden's Hot Take: Steelers' need to improve transcends NFL Draft

The NFL Draft begins Thursday.

Good. It’s so tiresome to discuss. Get it over with. “Experts” pretend the draft is an exact science. But it’s a crapshoot.

The Steelers have the 24th pick in the first round.

If the Steelers want to help their team now, take a running back.

If the Steelers want to help their team for the long run, take a tackle.

If the Steelers want to do something that’s typically Steelers, take a center.

If the Steelers want to do something that’s even more typically Steelers, take the best athlete available.

If the Steelers want to do the most typically Steelers thing possible, take a bad cornerback. Hopefully, he won’t be armed.

Cornerback Justin Layne was a third-round pick in 2019. He has since put the “crap” in crapshoot. But he is poised to get a chance to play in 2021, at least in subpackages.

Layne prepared by driving 89 mph in a 60 mph zone with a suspended license, according to Ohio court records. Layne allegedly was in possession of a firearm. He had an outstanding warrant for a traffic violation. He made incriminating comments on his phone while inside the police car and on camera.

Does this get Layne cut? Probably not. (It could get him suspended by the NFL.)

Does it make Layne stupid and immature beyond description? Absolutely. I bet he signs his autograph using block letters.

Collapsing at the end of three straight seasons. No playoff wins since the 2016 campaign. Taping the TikTok equivalent of a reality show during pregame warmups. Dancing nitwits. Layne putting the “duh” in dumb.

This is what the Steelers are now.