After winning the first 11 games of the 2020 campaign, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 12-4 as AFC North champions — yet faced an early exit at the hands of division rival Cleveland in the opening round of the 2020 NFL playoffs.

With the 2021 NFL Draft coming up this week, Steelers officials will almost certainly look to tweak and add depth, rather than nuke this roster heading into the offseason. They'll want to stave off the Browns, while keeping distance against the ever-daunting Baltimore Ravens and Joey Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals.

So, what will the Steelers most assuredly do when it's decision time in the 2021 NFL Draft?

1) Pittsburgh will select a RB within the first two rounds

With longtime bell-cow running back and Pennsylvania native James Conner off to new horizons on a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers now find themselves a bit thin in the ground attack.

Currently on the roster? A lot of younger legs in former New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers veteran Kalen Ballage (91 carries, 303 yards rushing, three TDs; 29 catches, 166 yards receiving in '20), Trey Edmunds (zero carries in '20), Anthony McFarland (33 carries, 113 yards rushing; six catches, 54 yards rushing in '20), Jaylen Samuels (nine carries, 28 yards rushing; nine catches, 46 yards receiving in '20) and Benny Snell Jr. (111 carries, 368 yards rushing, four TDs; 10 catches, 61 yards receiving in '20).

Of those five, Ballage and Snell bring the most “proven” experience to the table — with Snell heading into year three of Pittsburgh's system. And there's no doubt they'll have a chance at their moments in '21.

But the 2021 NFL Draft is replete with running back talent, and it's no secret the Steelers front office covets both Alabama asset Najee Harris and Clemson cruiser Travis Etienne. Understandably interchangeable as the top two backs in this year's pool, the Steelers have been linked to both at the No. 24 spot. If Etienne is gone, they'll take Harris, and vice versa.

Per Los Angeles Times NFL reporter Sam Farmer, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac:

If Harris and Etienne are both off the board by No. 24, the Steelers could shuffle the cards and select a running back at No. 55 in the second round. Say, North Carolina's junior back Javonte Williams, or Memphis' redshirt sophomore Kenneth Gainwell? Both are graded as late second/early third round selections, and both are a shade younger than Harris/Etienne. And they're both exceptional.

Williams exploded in 2020, rushing for a career-best 1,170 yards and 19 touchdowns on just 157 carries, and he popped off for another 305 yards receiving and three more scores on 25 catches. Gainwell had 2,069 all-purpose yards (1,459 yards rushing, 610 yards receiving) in 2019, before opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.

2) Pittsburgh will trade down more than once

It's not uncommon for NFL teams to maneuver within the confines of the draft, and truth be told, teams often tip their hand in order to ward off potential suitors of coveted talents, or to drive up the price of their own pick. It's a fun, fun game of cat-and-mouse.

That being said, the Steelers haven't traded down within the first round since 2001, per Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko, which landed them an elite nose tackle in Casey Hampton. Since then, however, Pittsburgh has traded up thrice: for Devin Bush in 2020, for Santonio Holmes in 2006, and for Troy Polamalu in 2003.

Still, it seems more likely the Black & Gold brass will move down before moving up — especially after the first round — but perhaps during the first round if Harris and Etienne are off the board:

“Again, we're always going to value quality over quantity,” Steelers GM Kevin Colbert told press on Monday. “But if we're not comfortable with what we're looking at with the 24th pick, we'll trade back. Do we want to do it with a division team? That wouldn't be our preference, but we won't discount that completely. Because we have to weigh what the potential tradeback will do for us, and not worry where those picks may go.”

It absolutely helps that the Steelers seemingly have some combination of Etienne/Harris on the top of their draft board, which creates a strong “if, then” scenario. If both running back targets are gone before Pittsburgh can feasibly attain either of them, then the front office plans to navigate elsewhere with some fluidity. And zero regrets.

3) Steelers will select a QB in the fourth or fifth round

Ben Roethlisberger's storied career is nearly long enough to have its own driver's license.

Now, the Steelers have to figure out who's behind the wheel for 2022 and beyond. Will it be Roethlisberger for another season? Or former first rounder Dwayne Haskins Jr., recently acquired after a tough start with the Washington Football Team? Will it be Mason Rudolph, who's appeared in 15 games over the past two seasons and thrown for 2,089 yards, 15 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions in that span?

Or will it be someone else, who's not currently in the mix just yet?

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The latter seems the most plausible, and the 2021 NFL Draft comes giftwrapped with three quarterbacks who will likely go 1-2-3 for the first time since 1999 in Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, BYU's Zach Wilson and North Dakota State's Trey Lance (or Alabama's Mac Jones? or Ohio State's Justin Fields? Lord, the 49ers don't even know.).

So while it's noted the best of the best are going to be leaving the board early and often, there are three particular quarterbacking candidates with some sterling skills that could be available in Pittsburgh during the fourth/fifth rounds in Florida's Kyle Trask, Texas A&M's Kellen Mond and Notre Dame's Ian Book.

Trask spent a considerable amount of the 2020 college football season as a Heisman candidate and ended up as one of three finalists alongside Lawrence, Jones and Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith. And much like Roethlisberger, Trask comes into the 2021 NFL Draft at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds — prototypical size for this Steelers offense. His 4,283 passing yards was second in the nation, his 43 touchdown passes were first, and it was all done on a career-high 68.9% completion rate. The tough question: is he mobile enough to escape pressure?

Mond is a little smaller — listed at 6-foot-3, 217 pounds — but finished his four-year career at College Station, Texas with more than 9,500 yards passing, 1,500 yards rushing and 93 career touchdowns (71 passing, 22 rushing). He had a career-low in rushing attempts per game in 2020, perhaps trying to showcase he could remain in the pocket while under duress, but leaves Texas A&M as the school's leader in passing yards, total touchdowns, completions, attempts and total offense. Tons of athleticism here, but is there consistency?

Book is the smallest of the three, and has drawn some admiration from recent retiree and San Diego/New Orleans legend Drew Brees. At 6-foot even and 206 pounds, the Fighting Irish phenom still finished with more than 10,000 yards of career offense, and only increased his rushing attempts with each successive season — culminating into 485 yards and nine rushing touchdowns on 116 attempts in 2020. Size at the position is always a concern, but again — the athleticism is there. And the ability to get out of the pocket consistently is something Roethlisberger surprisingly showcased in his career.