Mock Draft: Steelers Select CB Sleeper, Huge OT
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers could find themselves with options at the 17th and 32nd picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and after the NFL Combine, there are a few routes they could take with either selection.
Heading to the combine, you had a feel about which direction the Steelers were headed in the NFL Draft. Leaving the combine, you have a new sense and new names that are likely on their draft board.
Mock Draft 2.0 brings the most up-to-date selections the Steelers will likely make this spring.
Check out my Mock Draft 1.0 here.
Round 1, Pick 17: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
Fans will want Joey Porter Jr., but trying to find a way that all four of the top cornerbacks fall to 17 just isn't likely enough to predict. Some may be upset that the Steelers used their first-round pick on the fifth-best corner in the class, but in this draft, the position is so deep that this is still an instant-starter selection.
Banks is a Steelers cornerback. He's six-foot, 200 pounds, ran a 4.35 and jumped 42" at the NFL Combine. He also met with the Steelers, has a Maryland tie that means Mike Tomlin has seen plenty of his tape, and plays physical football at all times.
Banks has seen NFL talent with names like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr. and others. He's matched up well against all of them during his time as a Terp.
Honestly, Banks is probably much higher on the Steelers' draft board than many think, and if he's there at 17 without another name at cornerback to think about, he's their easy selection.
Round 2, Pick 32: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State
The Steelers are scheduled to bring Dawand Jones in for a top 30 visit this spring after meeting with him at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. There's no hiding the intrigue with a 6-foot-8, 374-pound tackle, and even if Pittsburgh feels comfortable in Dan Moore Jr., at pick 32 it's still the best player available.
Jones will be the player to start the second round.
There are only two true tackles in this draft that are better than Dan Moore Jr. right now; Parris Johnson and Jones. There has to be something in the water at Ohio State.
Jones isn't an instant starter which allows the Steelers to test Moore one more time before deciding on the team's future. Still, he's good enough to provide quality depth and as a "mountain of a human," as he's been described by draft analysts, there's no denying his potential.
Round 2, Pick 49: Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
The inside linebackers are losing steam as the weeks pass, and with the defenders that are in this NFL Draft class, there's no way all three of the big names - Simpson, Drew Sanders and Noah Sewell - are off the board by pick 49.
Simpson brings off-ball linebacker play with the ability to spy a quarterback, cover and play off the edge. Pittsburgh won't use an early pick on an edge rusher and will instead look for their new rookie to step in and fill depth at inside linebacker and outside linebacker his first season.
Round 3, Pick 80: Byron Young, DL, Alabama
Everyone had their defensive lineman they were raving about at the NFL Combine, and while he didn't run a Nolan Smith 4.3 40-yard dash, Byron Young showed he can check all the boxes he displayed on film.
At 294 pounds, Young is a run stuffer and a pass rusher in the middle. This past season, he recorded 23 stops, 25 pressures, 14 QB hurries, seven QB hits and four sacks.
The Steelers need someone to help on the d-line and add depth. Young will walk in as a solidified defensive tackle/end, with more weight than DeMarvin Leal, and be able to learn from the veterans ahead of him.
Round 4, Pick 120: Brenton Cox Jr., EDGE, Florida
This is a defensive-heavy draft for the Steelers, which makes sense since most of their holes are currently on the defensive side of the ball. And even if they draft Simpson to be their off-ball linebacker/edge rusher depth, they'll select a true-blooded edge in this draft.
That edge will be Cox.
Word at the NFL Combine was that Cox is a name that's going to make some team very happy in the middle of the NFL Draft. He met with the Steelers and if he's sitting there at 120, it makes all the sense in the world to add a player behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Pittsburgh could dive into free agency for a name like Bud Dupree, but even if they do, having three pieces they feel comfortable with playing off the edge isn't a problem they'll care much about.
Round 7, Pick 236: Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia
The Steelers have a decision to make with Mitch Trubisky. Even if they want to keep him, not being able to rework his contract will mean he's taking on a $10 million cap hit this season, and saving $8 million is too important compared to a backup quarterback.
Either way, though, Trubisky isn't a long-term solution for the Steelers as he's not going to accept being a career backup at this stage in his career. Pittsburgh could go out and sign another veteran for cheap, or they can try again with a seventh-round QB pick.
This time, two-time National Champion Stentson Bennett will be sitting there and carries a lot more upside than Chris Oladokun brought a year ago.
The fact that Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph won't be taking up all the snaps will help the Steelers actually evaluate this player, and he'll stick.
Round 7, Pick 243: Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati
The Steelers can't help themselves when it comes to draft wide receivers, and this late in the draft, it's hard to find a reason to draft really anyone. Tucker provides some speed, running a 4.4 at the NFL Combine, and being close to Pittsburgh, and that's enough to say he's an option at pick 243.
His path to the Steelers' roster is going to be difficult as Calvin Austin III, Steven Sims and Gunner Olszewski compete for the slot role, but if he can provide some ability on special teams, he's got a shot.
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