Let me start off by saying I am against trading down in almost any scenario. In this case though, I think it would be wise for the Steelers to think about moving down and acquiring more picks. With all the craziness involving trades leading up to the draft on Thursday, I think there is an opportunity for Pittsburgh to take advantage of teams behind them needing a quarterback. Cleveland and Denver in particular would be very interested in a quarterback if the right one should still be on the board at 25.
If the draft were to play out where Paxton Lynch were to fall to 25, the Steelers would be in an extremely advantageous spot. Lynch is far and away the best quarterback after Jared Goff and Carson Wentz go off the board at picks one and two. The Browns need a quarterback they can rebuild around, and Robert Griffin III is not the long term answer. The problem for Cleveland is Lynch will not get past Denver, who picks one spot before them. This is where the Steelers should pounce. Cleveland is only six slots behind Pittsburgh, and a swap of their picks could land an extra third or fourth round draft choice. The Browns have multiple picks that they acquired from the Eagles when they traded down from the second pick in the draft. Denver could also be coerced into a trade to keep the Browns from leapfrogging them in the draft. The Broncos need a quarterback in the worse way after losing Brock Osweiler to free agency. The same scenario could play out if Lynch is gone, and Michigan St. quarterback Conor Cook is still available. After Cook, there is a big drop off for quarterbacks at this point in the draft.
From the Steelers perspective it all depends on if there is a player they like is there at 25, would that player still be there 5 or 6 spots later. If the player is William Jackson III, he probably does not get by Arizona or Carolina at picks 29 and 30. Both teams are likely to draft a corner, especially the Panthers who lost Josh Norman recently. Karl Joseph on the other hand, would likely fall to Pittsburgh with no teams in front of them having safety as a top priority. There is a scenario where several players like Joseph, Jackson, Noah Spence, and Andrew Billings are all on the board at pick 25. In that case, Pittsburgh would love to trade down knowing at least one of these players would still be available. The opposite could be true as well, if all those players are gone why not trade down and add another selection or two later on in the draft.
It is well known the Steelers have several needs on defense. A trade to acquire more picks makes a lot of sense to fill some of those needs. There is a real opportunity in this draft to make moves and take advantage of other teams desperation for quarterbacks. If Pittsburgh works the draft right, they could come away a big winner in the 2016 NFL draft.