There was a huge shift in the balance of power in the AFC North on Saturday night when the Cincinnati Bengals sent the No. 10 overall pick to the New York Giants in exchange for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. This gives the Bengals the best pass-rushing interior defensive lineman in the NFL and frankly it's not close as to who is No. 2.

This immediately got us thinking about how the Pittsburgh Steelers and where this puts them in terms of the roster and how they should account for such a huge change in the makeup of the division. The Steelers are heading into the 2026 NFL draft with several top draft needs, led by wide receiver, offensive line and cornerback. With this huge trade, this could force the Steelers to make interior offensive line the top pick by any means necessary.

In the first round, if the Steelers want the top guard to start on the left, it is former Penn State guard Vega Ioane. But to be sure the get him, the front office would likely need to trade up ahead of the Detroit Lions at No. 17 but could mean they have to move up ahead of the Baltimore Ravens at No. 14.

If the Steeler don't want to leverage picks for Ioane, it could mean at pick No. 21 they go with Alabama's Kadyn Proctor or Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon. The team could always roll the dice and hope to land a guy like Texas A&M's Chase Bisontis or Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge in the second but with Lawrence in the division, the team cannot ignore this need.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Do Steelers respond to shift in balance of power in AFC North after trade?