i think there are a few reasons for the bigger role in free agency.
1. They have not had cap space for years. They made some bad investments which coincided with the bad timing of the cap not going up at it's normal rare for a few years. They just didn't have the cap room. Now the steelers have cap room and the cap itself has gone up quite a bit.
2. They see a closing Super Bowl window with Ben. The steelers know that when you lose a franchise QB, it's hard to find a new one. Especially today when college coaches don't even teach football anymore.
3. They saw last year that this flawed team can beat any team in the NFL. There is no great team in the NFL now and the steelers are just a few players away from being a favorite. If Antonio Brown didn't get cheap shotted and intentionally injured by the Bengals, the steelers may have been in the Super Bowl.
It will be amazing if Okung signs. This will be like getting Farrior. Okung is a top talent who has not always played like it. We've seen what Munchak can do with spare parts, what can he do with Pouncey back healthy and an all pro talent like Okung at LT?
As i start to look more at the draft, i've been thinking that OT could be the 1st round pick. Of course we want pass rusher and DBs, but picking at 25, you may have to reach. This draft is deep at pass rush and DB. Not so much at OT so if they can land a top OT in the 1st, then they can still address pass rush and DB in rounds 2 and 3.
EVen thought i understand how that is logical and smart, it's still frustrating because that is how DB has not been addressed for several years in a row. Each year they draft a higher rated player at a different position instead of DB.
If you sign Okung, now you remove another obstacle from taking that pass rusher or DB in the 1st, even if you have to reach just a bit. I'm not talking draft a 3rd rounder in the first. but if you have a pass rusher or DB rated maybe the 35-40th best player, you can justify taking him at 25 because you won't be leaving a more immediate impact player on the board.
What i mean is, let's say that the steelers are high on an OT like Spriggs of Indiana. Maybe they have Spriggs rated as their 28th best player. Also on the board is say Noah Spence who they have rated the 30th best player and Eli Apple as the 35th best. If they did not sign Okung or Beachum then maybe they have to take Spriggs because he's their last shot at an OT who can start as a rookie and they can get a pass rusher or DB later.
Same scenario and they did sign Okung, then they can skip over Spriggs. Maybe they have Spriggs as the top guy on their board but they don't have him rated as an elite talent so passing on him to take a lower rated guy like Spence or Apple now makes sense because of the much larger need at those positions.