Steelers Mock Draft 1.0: Pittsburgh Lands Top Center, Rising QB
It's never too early to start making mock drafts, especially if your favorite football team is coming off two straight losses to two-win teams. When the vibes around this team have reached cataclysmic levels of depressing, it's time to look inward to a brighter future, just off the horizon. It's time to think about the NFL draft and what directions the Pittsburgh Steelers could go in.
Round 1: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Center, Oregon
The last time the Steelers took a player with the initials J-P-J, it worked out fairly well, so why not try it again? In all seriousness, Jackson Powers-Johnson is very likely to be the top center prospect in this upcoming draft class due to his scheme versatility that stems from his incredible skillset to handle diverse blocking schemes in the run game.
Not only is Powers-Johnson athletic enough to make those difficult reach blocks you see from outside/wide zone schemes, along with being able to make blocks out in space with ease, but he is also one of the strongest, most powerful players you'll see. In a mostly top-heavy center class that will fall off after the top four, that type of power and nastiness is what will separate Powers-Johnson from the rest.
According to Pro Football Focus, Powers-Johnson finished the regular season with the top pass-blocking grade among all centers and finished third in run-blocking grade. He also played a ton of right guard the previous year and has a wrestling background from high school that shows up quite often with his hand usage and consistent leverage.
It's been easy to note the defensive impact a player like Keeanu Benton has had so early, and much of that is due to his ready-made hand usage from his wrestling days. Also helps that he is among the younger players in this class, as he'll be turning 21 around the end of January. If the Steelers could get that type of day-one impact from the center position, it would be hard to pass up that type of player. Expect to see him in a ton of mocks going forward.
Round 2: Malachi Corley, Wide Receiver, Western Kentucky
Receiver is simultaneously a need and a luxury pick for this team. When it comes to certain positions like cornerback that are deemed to be more pressing, there is a good opportunity to address that in free agency with a player like Jaylon Johnson. This receiver class, on paper, is a position group that looks to be special at both the top and in terms of depth.
Enter Malachi Corley; possessing a rocked-up build of 5 foot 11, 210 pounds, Corley is among the stronger yards after-the-catch threats in this class, having forced 40 missed tackles during his 2022 season, which is the highest by a receiver since 2016, according to Pro Football Focus' charting data. It also aids in his ability to play through contact throughout the entirety of the route.
There is so much good attention to detail here from Corley. Watch the release where he squares and tries to sell inside before two hand wiping his way to win the outside release. This cornerback knows he's beat and tries to hold onto him for dear life. Many receivers would have lost their balance and drew pass interference here. Corley actually has the strength to maintain his footing, fights back with an inside arm extension to stack over, and tracks the ball beautifully for a touchdown.
Functional strength is such a huge asset to have as a receiver, but this type of strength and balance is pretty rare. Without too much exposure to Corley's 2023 film, it's best for this writer to hold off on making claims about where he stands among his peers in this class, but one thing is for certain: this is the type of receiver the Steelers would love to have.
Round 3: Michael Pratt, Quarterback, Tulane
This is probably the most unrealistic pick of this mock because it is very likely that Michael Pratt could jump ahead of some more well-known names in this class. The reason for that is how translatable many of his traits and film are compared to some of his contemporaries. The processing, both pre and post-snap, along with his manipulation traits, are very apparent the moment you turn on the film.
The bottom play showcases the post-snap processing and manipulation beautifully. Pratt has a hi/lo read situation where the pre-snap leverage would indicate a favorable man-to-man look. The boundary cornerback, however, ends up sitting down on the quick out, but Pratt recognizes this and smartly elects to pump, which he then understands how this opens the back shoulder ball on the vertical route.
The top play is excellent because it showcases Pratt's ability to throw with timing and anticipation while staying calm in the face of the pass rush. These are key traits every quarterback needs to be able to play in the league. Pratt can play with a bit of a narrow throwing base, though, which can cause some of those outside routes to hang a bit short. It shows up a little bit here, but the ball is placed just well enough that it leads to a good result.
Pratt is someone who might not be considered the sexiest pick in the world, but his translatable traits are something the Steelers could desperately need right now at quarterback. They are not just going to give up on Kenny Pickett, but with his injury history and uneven play, they would be foolish not to entertain a plan B.
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