Mock Draft

This is a non-simulation game Mock Draft. The simulation games are fun, but players are ranked all over the place depending on which one you use. I have been following which Pro Days Steelers staff have been attending, and more importantly which players at those Pro Days are being worked out by Steelers coaches.

So this mock is more or less a prediction of what I think the Steelers are going to do, and not necessarily what I would want the Steelers to do. I am going to assume there will be no trades, and the Steelers will be retaining all of their current draft capital.

Round 1

Desmond Ridder*, QB, Cincinnati

Let's face it. Whether any of us like it or not, the Steelers want to draft a future franchise QB in this draft. They would love to draft Malik Willis but they may very well have to trade up past the Lions to do so. I believe Pickett, Willis, and Corral will all be gone by pick 20. This leaves the Steelers with a choice between Ridder and Howell. I am not sure if Ridder got to eat chicken wings with Tomlin, but he did get dinner which gives him the leg up on Howell.

Round 2

Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota

New Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer was on hand to check out Faalele at Minnesota's Pro Day. The Steelers beefed up their interior offensive line in FA. I definitely think they want to add a Tackle early on to solidify the exterior.

Round 3

George Pickens*, WR, Georgia

Not only did the Steelers key in on Pickens at Georgia's Pro Day, but he was also put through his workout by Wide Receivers Coach Frisman Jackson. Pickens easily could have been a 1st round pick had it not been for the ACL injury. This is exactly the kind of value pick Colbert usually looks for.

Round 4
Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati

This may be a bit of wishful thinking. I personally think Cook likely goes in the 3rd, but I have read many mocks that have Cook going in the 4th and even beyond. The Steelers desperately need a safety. Colbert recently eluded to that fact. If Cook isn't here this pick could go to Nick Cross out of Maryland.

Round 6

Josh Ross, ILB, Michigan

The Steelers heavily attended Michigan's Pro Day, and Ross earned himself a dinner with Tomlin. Lots of production on a solid Michigan team. He could go earlier than this, but a lot of sites have Ross rated as a UDFA. If Ross is here, and the Steelers haven't secured a LB yet in the draft, I think he is the pick.

Round 7

Leddie Brown, RB, West Virginia

There is no question the Steelers need better guys behind Najee Harris. Here is a guy the ran for over 1000 yards in both his junior and senior years, while averaging 5 YPC and double digit TDS. His 40 time hurts him, but a pretty good lottery ticket to scratch in the 7th round.

 

I sure hope we get Faalele in the second. He's 6'8", 380 lbs and is very athletic.

 

Would love to see Faalele in black and gold ..

 

That's the bad thing about our spot in the 2nd. I have a funny feeling we are going to see a lot of brand name guys get drafted in the 2nd just before we pick.

I hope Faalele makes it to us as well. Guy is a monster.

 

Pickens will not be there at 52 talk less 84. If we are set on taking Ridder, best we trade back for 2 2nd round picks and use one on Pickens and the other for Ridder.

All that said, I think the Steelers will be making a mistake if they force into a QB just to say they did it.

Trade back. Take a ,WR, DL, SS, CB, WR.Edge, Tackle, Edge

We can do this

 

I think Ridder is a huge reach at 20. I think we can get him at 35-45 or even at our 2nd round spot of 52. Trading down from 1st or up from our 2nd to around 40ish, and we should land Ridder. Ridder or Strong are probably our safest bets to be drafted by the Steelers.

 

Im not opposed to trading down. I do think most teams rate Ridder above Howell. If the top 3 guys are drafted early, then the Steelers can't move back too far and still land Ridder if thats their guy. If he last until the 2nd it would be very early 2nd IMO.

 

I agree about potentially trading down. But like I said in the OP this is a draft with no trades. The Steelers seem to be Hell bent on taking a QB. Keeping with the original draft format Ridder won't be there at 52.

As for Pickens, he is an athletic freak, but he has extremely limited production. This is a guy who only had 5 catches last year. This is also a guy coming off a knee tear. He could go in the 2nd, and maybe the Steelers are considering him there. But I think there is a very good chance he ends up in the 3rd, especially with a deep WR pool.

 

I agree , imo I am not seeing Rider as a first rounder.I also believe Howell will be in second round. We may have a shot at Corral

 

I'm just glad someone agrees that we need to get najee some help with our quarterback situation I think we will be a run heavy team.

 

Updated version. As @Dax777 pointed out, the chances of Pickens falling that far into the 3rd round are pretty slim. I also feel like Cook will go higher than round 4. So I have made some tweaks.

Round 1

Desmond Ridder*, QB, Cincinnati

Let's face it. Whether any of us like it or not, the Steelers want to draft a future franchise QB in this draft. They would love to draft Malik Willis but they may very well have to trade up past the Lions to do so. I believe Pickett, Willis, and Corral will all be gone by pick 20. This leaves the Steelers with a choice between Ridder and Howell. I am not sure if Ridder got to eat chicken wings with Tomlin, but he did get dinner which gives him the leg up on Howell.

Round 2

Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota

New Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer was on hand to check out Faalele at Minnesota's Pro Day. The Steelers beefed up their interior offensive line in FA. I definitely think they want to add a Tackle early on to solidify the exterior.

Round 3
Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati

The Steelers need a Safety and the 3rd round is very well where they could find one. If the Steelers go QB early, and I think they will. That would take Dax Hill, Lewis Cine, and Jaquan Brisker off the board for round 2. I think Cook in round 3 would be better value than reaching for someone in the second. The Steelers were all over Cincinnati's Pro Day, and I think Cook is on their radar.


Round 4
Justyn Ross*, WR, Clemson

Just like George Pickens, the Steelers not only attended Ross' Pro Day, they also had WR Coach Frisman Jackson put Ross through his drills. I have seen Ross listed as anywhere from a 3rd to a 5th rounder. Great upside but limited production at Clemson could very well make him available to the Steelers in round 4.

Round 6

Josh Ross, ILB, Michigan

The Steelers heavily attended Michigan's Pro Day, and Ross earned himself a dinner with Tomlin. Lots of production on a solid Michigan team. He could go earlier than this, but a lot of sites have Ross rated as a UDFA. If Ross is here, and the Steelers haven't secured a LB yet in the draft, I think he is the pick.

Round 7

Leddie Brown, RB, West Virginia

There is no question the Steelers need better guys behind Najee Harris. Here is a guy the ran for over 1000 yards in both his junior and senior years, while averaging 5 YPC and double digit TDS. His 40 time hurts him, but a pretty good lottery ticket to scratch in the 7th round.

 

You don't think they will look into the draft at a CB???
I know We brought in Wallace, but We lost Haden, and have No fore sure starter.

 

I think the Steelers should just go with Trubisky this season and see what happens. If he sucks then fine, go get one of the good QB's coming out next year. If he plays really well then you just wasted a high draft pick by taking a QB this year.

 

Winner.

 

I agree. That is the biggest problem with drafting a QB round 1 this year. What do the Steelers do if Trubisky ends up taking the Steelers deep into the playoffs? Do you just throw him away and start the other guy?

 

Too many needs, not enough picks. Wallace, Sutton, and Whitherspoon might be enough to get it done.

 

I think we mostly think this. But the Steeler brass seem hell bent on taking a QB unfortunately.

 

Even though I'd be somewhat unhappy, this seems extremely likely I must admit.

 

Or.....even worse.
We move up ....waste draft pick, and they both suck. We spend money on Trubisky We could have used elsewhere.....We waste draft capital on a Qb that sucks.....We have No 1st round next year, and We could have had the very same thing for cheap with the Qbs that We already had. Thats the worst situation. IMO

 

That would suck no doubt. My guess is that Trubisky is good enough to get to the playoffs with. No more. No less. He is a definite upgrade over Rudolph , but that isnt saying much.

I think Ridder is going to end up the best out of this bunch long term. If he ends up being the Steelers guy, and Trubisky can be a good stop gap, the future may not be so bleak.

 

I think Trubisky can be like Tanehill. If we can improve our defense against the run and lean primarily on the run game we can actually go as far as possible. Tennessee was built similarly with a weaker defense.