Steelers Seven Round Mock Draft (Final Edition)

Hello fellow brothers and sisters of TheSteelersFans and welcome! AskQuestionsLater here, bringing you my final mock draft before the official 2019 NFL Draft commences in two days! Before ongoing, if you have not checked out the previous two post combine mocks, they will be below:


Post Combine Mock #1


Post Combine Mock #2



"High Noon In Nashville" rapidly approaches and the anticipation among #SteelersNation is already high. As such, I will waste no more time with the intro so before we dive into the mock draft itself; a disclaimer:


These written statements by the author do not reflect nor are shared opinions of members of TheSteelersFans Message Board, Staff Members and/or Site Administrator.



Now everyone, with all our conditions now set, onto the mock!



Round One: Devin White: Linebacker from Louisiana State University (10th Overall; Acquired from Denver)

• Pittsburgh concedes pick number 20, pick 66 acquired from Oakland, the third round pick in 2020 and pick 142.

Round Two (52nd Overall): Julian Love: Cornerback from Notre Dame.



Round Three (84th Overall): Gary Jennings: Wide Receiver from West Virginia University.



Round Four (123rd Overall): Christian Miller: Linebacker from the University of Alabama



Round Six: (176th Overall): Ugo Amandi: Defensive Back from the University of Oregon.



Round Six (194th Overall): Matt Gay: Kicker from the Univeristy of Utah.



Round Six (209th Overall): Benny Snell Jr. Running Back from the University of Kentucky.



Round Seven: Alize Mack: Tight End from the University of Notre Dame.




Now that we have established our final mock for the 2019 Steelers Offseason, it is time to dissect why the picks were made the way they were. Onto the post analysis.




Post Analysis:



Round One:




Unlike in my previous two mock write ups, the selection and, how Pittsburgh acquired Devin White, deserves a section of its own this time around. To start out, before the proverbial torches and pitchforks come out against me, please, hear me out on this one. Trading this high is truly unreal; Steelers or otherwise. However, someone like Devin White, widely reputed as the best overall Linebacker and a top 5 talent no less, would be worth the asking price. Now, I am assuming that Tampa Bay takes Ed Oliver and the likes of New York, Jacksonville, Detroit and Buffalo either trade their picks due to the likes of Cincy and/or Washington or stand pat and acquire their own needs. Is this unlikely?! Sure. Will Kevin pick up that phone though by pick 10 if Devin White is still available?! Most definitely. Yes, to me, Devin White is still no RoQuan Smith in terms of the instincts and mental processing. That being said, he is a freak athlete; Myles Jack without the now infamous "time bomb" of a knee injury.



Moreover as to why I believe such a trade can happen is this; Le'Veon Bell. How does Le'Veon Bell play into all of this you may ask?! Due to him being picked up before the commencement of the new league year, the likelihood of acquiring third round compensatory pick is immense; certain at that. Due to this development in it of itself, coupled with the fact that Pittsburgh REALLY needs that impact playmaker, Devin White being at 10 could be too difficult to pass up for John Elway and the Broncos. In addition, having another top 75 pick to his collection will do more good than harm in terms of boosting his roster or he can trade back up to acquire Drew Lock if Washington stands pat via with the Atlanta Falcons.



As for Devin White himself... what he lacks in instincts and mental processing, he makes up for in everything else.... and I mean EVERYTHING ELSE. Granted, he is no Tremaine Edmunds either but he close. As I said, Myles Jack. Rather, he is a "Limited Edition Wind Up Toy". Just watch him go and make plays; something this defense so desperately needs.




Rounds Two to Four:



This is where the draft gets a bit dicey as a whole. Yes, you finally have that impact playmaker. That being said though, you now have cost yourself resources to move up in the early stages of Day Two. However, this also indirectly works in you favor. Players who could have been taken in Round One, like every year, can now be taken in Round Two. I suspect the run on corners to begin at pick 43; Detriot. That being said though, I do believe that, given the amount of critique that DeAndre Baker, the other member of the "Big Three" of Corners, haa received, will likely push him into Day two. To that end, this is where we find Julian Love, whom I personally have come to enjoy these past couple of days. Sure, he is not the biggest corner, possess the absolute best insticnts nor the fastest but he is the jack of all trades with some seriously good ball production to match. Given the fact that Artie Burns is well on his way out in addition to Joe Haden being on his final year of his contract, having someone like Love who has gone up against some tough competition will aid the Steelers for the present and future.




Rounding out this section I have selected Gary Jennings Jr. and Christian Miller; two players who sadly have to have their values artificially boosted here. For the board I made that was used for this mock, neither garner a Top 100 selection. That being said though, both are good enough to be used sparingly without having to be put into harms way. For Gary Jennings Jr., here is that big play option that can be used in conjunction with James Washington and JuJu Smith Schuster. Some might worry that the time it takes Jennings to be ready will be too difficult but I disagree. Keep in mind that James Washington hurt himself during the preseason, slowing his development. I am certain that Jennings Jr. will not enact on those same set of issues. As for Christian Miller, he is primarily built for one thing currently; hunting down the Quarterback. Miller does have a good arrary of counters and attack plans at his disposal. Add his length and he can be an efficient pass rushing specialist year one. That rare amount of length and overall control will serve its purpose after an NFL Offseason of conditioning; perfect because Bud Dupree is as good as gone come 2020.



Rounds 6 and 7:




Not too much to get into here but again, this is where the draft truly takes an unusual turn of events. The acquisition of Devin White means that Pittsburgh has to be efficient in drafting here; depth being the name of the game. To start out, Ugo Amandi is not a bad place to start out. Given the fact that he lined up everywhere for the Ducks, he is a multi role weapon who can learn the ropes on Special Teams. Due to his ballhawking abilities though, having him as a Free Safety would probably benefit him the most. Matt Gay is, again, reaffirmation for Cris Boswell. Boswell needs it and he knows it. Furthermore, a kicker who has a 72% rate on kicks 50+ yards no less is enticing to a team that might not know who there kicker is yet. As for Benny Snell Jr., while I personally am unsure if he does last this long, Snell does bring a lot of value here. Run the ball, catch and pass protect; all endearing qualities to the Steelers.



To round out this list, Alize Mack from Notre Dame completes this draft. Yes, I personally would have liked to go for a Tight End sooner. However, due to the acquisition of Devin White, that could not fit overall into the selection. Besides, while Alize Mack is not say, a Foster Moreau or even a Dawson Knox, he is still a top notch athlete; 8th overall in the SPARQ ratings system found on 3sigmaathlete.com. Granted, he is limited overall mainly due to his stiffness and limited route tree. While McDonald is never a sure thing to stay healthy a full 16 game season, I do believe that, if called upon, Mack can spot start with Grimble when needed.



Okay everyone, now that the Post Analysis for this draft is complete, it is time for the final notes.



Final Notes:



Intially, when I started this whole trade up scenario, I thought it would not make sense. Heck, even now, would John Elway bite at such an offer?! It is difficult to say all together given the current set of circumstances. What is known here is Dwyane Haskins; the secret weapon to acquire Devin White. Should he be gone before then, Denver likely will not be intrigued enough to take Drew Lock. However, Denver could essentially trade up in front of New York to grab him. If not them, Washington is just as likely a candidate. Either way, a team could end up with the 10th overall pick due to this; White likely to fall. Should this happen, be it Tampa Bay, Detriot or otherwise, I would imagine that Colbert is on the phone.



Talents like White while, not as seen like a RoQuan Smith, are still too difficult to pass up. How I see it, Pittsburgh's First, two three's and a fifth should be more than enough for the team who has the 10th pick by then; Denver or otherwise. With such a deep draft on Interior Defensive Lineman, Wide Receivers and Tight Ends, settling on those needs sooner sets teams like Denver and the like for the better. In return?! Pittsburgh finally nabs their "replacement" for Ryan Shazier and a playmaker the same.



Closing Statements:




I understand that such a trade does seem truly asinine. For all intensive purposes, Devin White himself could backfire in our faces. That being said, I do not think Kevin is going to enact the 2018 NFL Draft all over again and hope that his guy falls. As I stated numerous times in the past week, it is all about finding the right trading partner. The value charts themselevs are either outdated or nugatory. I myself do not hope we give up a kings ransom to acquire White as there are other holes to address in the roster. However, if White is on the board at 10, I seriously doubt Colbert will have much of a choice.



Another wonderful year of mocking in the books! This time though, a lot more mocks were done this time around. Accounting for the Pre Combine and post, five total!! Much better than I thought initially! Hopefully for next year I can reach seven; the Steelers the same!



Now, before I go though, I would like to give a special thank you to all of you who have been on this mock draft experience with me since the beginning on February 15th, 2019! This inaugural debut of this mock season of mine has been a great experience for me as I have learned far more than I have in the past. I also hope you enjoyed as well! I do apologize certain prospects did not make the final cut in my five mocks from the beginning but I appreciate every form of feedback and critque as they have helped me throughout!



Alas, all good times must come to an end. To that end, This concludes the 2019 AskQuestionsLater Mock Season. However, no reason we cannot return for 2020 and I hope you accompany me with on the next journey!!


Until next year's mock season, that will do for 2019! Take care everyone! Until we mock the draft together again!



Less than 48 hours remain until "High Noon In Nashville"!



Go Steelers!!

 

That seems like a cheap price to move up 10 spots in the first. I know every team has different values so you never know.

 

Wow..... I'm pretty sure you were the only one anywhere that predicted the Steelers trading up to #10 and you got benny snell...
Care to share some Powerball numbers next