DiCerbo: Final Steelers Mock Draft

Yinzer Crazy Contributor Anthony DiCerbo. Follow him on Twitter @SnarfVenom

The NFL draft is nearly upon us. With the big event just a handful of days away we have entered the home stretch of mock draft season. 

Despite the persistent reminders that making mock drafts is an incredibly futile effort, the end of the season is a bittersweet one as I do actually enjoy the theory crafting. With that being said, and with this being my final mock, I’ve decided to take things a step further and introduce another level of difficulty by throwing in some trades. 

The feeling coming out of Pittsburgh is strange, as the team seemingly wants to trade up from 17 and down from 32. I’ve done my best to make that happen with a little help from Jimmy Johnson’s famous draft pick value chart. 

One last little disclaimer, I did this mock draft in the ESPN analytics simulator, so if you’re convinced someone wouldn’t be there with a certain pick take it out on them. Plus they added in some percentages that clear that confusion up a little bit, which I liked. 

Without further delay let’s get into it! 

Starting things out with a TRADE! 

Pittsburgh receives: Picks 11 and 147 

Tennessee receivers: Picks 17 and 49 

As for the previously mentioned value chart, the Steelers picks that they sent equal 1360, and the picks they received work out to be 1283. The Titans get the edge in perceived numerical value here since it is up to the Steelers to sweeten the pot enough for them to trade down. 

The Titans feel like a logical partner here. They could use someone with pick 11, but their roster needs as much talent as it can get, so trading down 6 picks and adding another top-50 pick makes sense for them. 

Round 1, Pick 11: Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State 

As we inch closer and closer to the draft the reality that a top tackle will fall into the laps of the Steelers continues to shrink, so they make the deal. 

Paris Johnson Jr. is my favorite tackle in this draft class, he edges out Skoronski because I think his potential at tackle is higher, you may have to deal with some growing pains to get there, but the Steelers should feel fantastic about this pick.

Johnson Jr. checks a ton of boxes for the Steelers here. The 21-year-old tackle has experience at multiple positions, and his best football is ahead of him. Once he settles in at the NFL level Johnson figures to be an above-average tackle, which feels like something that the Steelers have lacked the past couple of seasons. 

With the trade and this pick, the Steelers offensive line is set up well to protect Kenny Pickett in year two. 

We have another TRADE to announce!

Pittsburgh receives: Picks 50, 82, and 153 

Tampa Bay receives: Pick 32 

Since it is now the Steelers trading down, they get the edge in numerical value. The picks they get add up to 610 while pick 32 is worth 590. There were a few teams I considered here to trade with, but the thing that they all had in common was a stop-gap quarterback of varying degrees. Tampa has Baker Mayfield, but I also thought about the Lions and the Seahawks here as I imagine getting to develop Hendon Hooker sounds pretty appealing. Anyway, I ended up going with Tampa Bay as they are probably the most desperate of the group. 

With that trade now completed the Steelers now own picks 50 (from Tampa), 80, 82 (from Tampa), 120, 147 (from Tennesee), 153 (from Tampa), 241, 251, and of course, the pick already used to select Paris Johnson Jr. via the Titans. 

With trades out of the way, let’s get back into the mock draft. 

Round 2, Pick 50: Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami 

After trading down the Steelers get to draft just one spot behind the pick they traded to the Titans earlier, and they get to grab a physical corner that they have shown plenty of interest in. 

A corner who is not quite in the first tier of players in this draft, Stevenson still has a lot of tools that can make him a successful corner in the NFL. 

He is athletic enough to keep up with quick receivers, and he has demonstrated excellent recovery speed to get himself back in position if he is beaten. 

There definitely some weaknesses to his game, but the Steelers have put themselves in a good position to take and develop a young corner early, and Patrick Peterson can surely teach Stevenson a thing or two.

Round 3, Pick 80: Keeanu Benton, DL, Wisconsin 

In this mock Benton falls, and the Steelers should be quick to pounce on that opportunity. This offseason has seen the team make some moves to attempt to address the defensive line depth, but there still aren’t many long-term answers. Selecting Benton changes that. 

The Wisconsin senior has shown flashes as a pass rusher and has a wealth of experience, starting games as a freshman for the Badgers. 

Immediately Benton would be a welcome piece in the rotation before hopefully taking on a larger role alongside DeMarvin Leal in the future. 

Whether he is on the board at pick 80 is certainly debatable, but if the scenario happens to arise, the Steelers should make the most of it. 

Round 3, Pick 82: Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State 

This is where the benefits of trading down are seen, grabbing two prospects at positions of need just two picks apart. 

After gutting the inside linebacker position, apart from Mark Robinson, the team could still use a young player to develop with Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts only under contract for 2-3 seasons. 

Henley is a true sideline-to-sideline type of player and has the speed to back that type of playstyle up. He started his college career on the other side of the ball before eventually switching to linebacker. 

As one might expect, there will be some growing pains, especially while transitioning to the speed of the NFL game. The Steelers haven’t shown any issues with this type of player in the past, selecting Mark Robinson, who did the same thing, last year. 

Round 4, Pick 120: Luke Wypler, IOL, Ohio State 

With all of the additions to the interior of the line one position that has been slightly neglected is center. While the team could shuffle everyone around and make it work should there be an injury, I’d prefer if there was simply a capable backup on the roster. Enter Wypler. 

After grabbing his teammate in the first round the Steelers double-dip on Ohio State linemen and grab another quality player. J.C. Hassenauer is gone, and with him goes the only backup center.

Wypler is more than capable of holding down that role early on in his career before eventually putting himself in a position to take the job from Mason Cole should the team decide not to re-sign him in the next couple of years. 

Round 5, Pick 147: Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue 

Some might think that trading for Allen Robinson rules the Steelers out from drafting a receiver, and I just don’t think that's true. It does what so many of the other offseason moves have done for the Steelers, give them flexibility. 

Here though, the Steelers find themselves a productive guy who can help bridge the hole in the slot. 

After transferring to Purdue from Iowa, Charlie Jones put together an excellent season with the Boilermakers. He led the FBS in catches, broke the Purdue record for yards, and added 12 touchdowns. 

His main concern is his size, but he should be more than capable of providing enough value to overlook his height. Additionally in 2021 at Iowa, Jones was named the conference returner of the year, which would fill yet another need for the Steelers following the departure of Steven Sims. 

Round 5, Pick 153: Nick Herbig, EDGE, Wisconsin 

The Steelers wait quite a while to grab an edge player in this draft, but it works out, grabbing the Wisconsin product and brother of current Steeler Nate Herbig. 

We all know that the Steelers like to get players from football families, and Herbig is no exception to that trend, but he has the skills and stats to back the pick up. 

Last year at Wisconsin Herbig led the way on defense, racking up an impressive 11 sacks in the process. With the current edge depth being incredibly thin, Herbig would be a sight for sore eyes in the Steel City, instantly providing a boost as the third guy off the edge behind Watt and Highsmith. 

Round 7, Pick 241: Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State 

After waiting almost 100 picks the Steelers grab a sneaky offensive weapon in the seventh. 

Right now the Steelers running back room is full of bruisers. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren sit at the top two spots of the depth chart, and Anthony McFarland Jr. hasn’t shown enough to come into camp without competition.

At this point in the draft, Vaughn is a low-risk pick. You know what you are getting with him. He was very productive during his time at Kansas State and just needs the ball in his hands to be effective. 

He can come into camp and compete with guys like McFarland Jr. and Master Teague. With a best-case scenario being a valued role player and worst-case scenario being stashing him on the practice squad for a year that is a risk you can take at pick 241. 

Round 7, Pick 251: Brandon Hill, S, Pitt 

The team closes things out with the safety from across the hall in the building they share. At this point, the safety depth isn’t the worst, but Hill’s value early on as a special teams player is appealing. 

There is enough to work with in his game to see something there potentially as a backup down the road, but for now, he could come in and try and push someone like Miles Killebrew off the roster, and that's enough upside at this point. 

Conclusion 

I really tried to be aggressive in this last mock since it feels like the Steelers are open for business on the trading front, and I have to admit I like the way things turned out here. 

As previously mentioned, the ESPN analytics mock gives some unique numbers with their mock drafts: