With the NFL draft closing in fast — you can tell by all those little clocks ticking down on your favorite websites — the Pittsburgh Steelers will have the 24th pick in the first round.

The three-day event begins Thursday evening, and with that day being a first-round only affair, the Steelers won’t pick until 11:30 p.m. or so.

So, who to pick?

I’m sure the team has played out a lot of scenarios, everything from biggest need to best available athlete. The Steelers have had such a great track record over the past 30 years that picking in the mid-to-late portion of the round makes them resort to the latter.

Still, even with names such as Alabama inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower to Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe being thrown out, I think it’s time the Steelers venture back to the offensive line.

After being impressed with the chunks of yardage Wisconsin churned out last season, I thought last fall, “How great would it be if the Steelers could plug in a couple of those big, corn-fed Midwestern offensive linemen to protect Ben Roethlisberger?”

I saw one football writer — Peter King — pick Badgers guard Kevin Zeitler for the Steelers.

Finally, someone who shares my belief the Steelers need to go to the offensive line first.

In two of the last three drafts, the Steelers went on the defensive with Missouri defensive end Ziggy Hood (2009) and Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward (2011). Both look to be huge pieces of the Steelers’ future and the team also hit a home run with 2010 top pick Maurkice Pouncey, a center out of Florida who started right away.

Zeitler, assuming he’s still available, looks to have the makeup to be a starter right away and along with Pouncey can provide the offensive line with the stability it has missed the past few seasons.

Last year, the Steelers employed nine different offensive linemen and used 25 different combinations — 25! It’s time the Steelers take a hard look at protecting their $100 million investment.

Remember when Roethlisberger went down with an ankle injury late in the season? They felt rushed to bring him back against the Cleveland Browns and he did not play at 100 percent efficiency then or in the first-round playoff game against the Denver Broncos.

If the Steelers need verification that Zeitler is up to the task, walk down the hall at Heinz Field and ask Pitt head coach Paul Chryst, who was the Badgers offensive coordinator from 2005 through last year before accepting the Pitt job.

Perhaps the Steelers feel Hightower or Poe — the latter is attractive if he’s still on the board as a replacement to Casey Hampton — would be a better pick in the first round and the team can get another offensive lineman in the second round. It’s hard to pass up another bona fide offensive lineman, though.

The Steelers can ill afford to keep doing a patch job on the O-line. The past two years have been passable at best, but it’s time for the line to be a priority.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.