ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is sticking with his first-round draft pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers and it is hard to argue with his selection given the situation with Troy Polamalu.

Kiper has the Steelers taking Alabama safety Landon Collins at No. 22 overall just as he had in his second mock draft.

Collins is easily the best safety in the draft and is the only one who is projected as a first-round pick. Kiper has the Steelers bypassing cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Kevin Johnson in selecting Collins.

Safety has become a bigger need for the Steelers since Polamalu is no longer in their plans.

Shamarko Thomas will be given the first crack to succeed Polamalu at strong safety but he is still an unknown after playing primarily on special teams his first two seasons. The Steelers will add a safety to compete with Thomas and could re-sign veteran Will Allen for another season.

Even if they do that -- Allen is set to become a free agent on March 10 -- they could use another young talent at safety.

It is considered a weak draft class at safety and Collins may be the only one in the group who is ready to contribute beyond special teams right away.

Collins tested well at the NFL scouting combine as he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds, third-fastest among all safeties, and the 6-feet, 228-pounder could be a long-term replacement for Polamalu given how well he plays the run.

ESPN analyst Todd McShay said Collins may be the only safety in the draft that is worthy of a first- or even second-round pick.

“There are some limitations in terms of man to man coverage but he has really good range in deep zone coverage,” McShay said of Collins. “He supports the run hard and has very good ball skills. He’s almost a weakside linebacker size and to run that speed and have the workout he had [at the combine] is pretty impressive.”