Pittsburgh Steelers Pre-Combine 7-Round Mock Draft
With players being weighed, measured and interviewed in the early days of the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine, draft season is officially underway. There are only two months to go until the Pittsburgh Steelers begin adding to their roster via rookie players, and the team is expected to acquire eight new faces in the draft.
Here's a look at who those eight players may be. This is the Steelers' pre-Scouting Combine mock draft.
Round 1, Pick 30: LB Haason Reddick, Temple
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A defensive end in college, Temple's Haason Reddick will likely be an outside linebacker in a predominantly 3-4 base defense like the Steelers' when he enters the NFL this spring. This is due to his non-prototypical size for the defensive end position, but this switch from end to linebacker is neither an anomaly in the sport nor a knock against Reddick's draft stock.
With speed and athleticism that NFL.com's Lance Zierlein likened to Steelers inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, Reddick would be a good fit in a Pittsburgh front seven that has spent the past several years getting both faster and younger. And Reddick certainly knows how to find the quarterback, with 18 career collegiate sacks (and 10.5 in 2016), as well as find the ball carrier (46 career tackles for a loss).
Bud Dupree is the future at one outside linebacker position for Pittsburgh, but they have yet to find their second young starter to take over for elder statesmen James Harrison and Arthur Moats in the coming years.
Reddick could easily go from a situational pass-rusher as a rookie to a full-time starter in a year's time, a typical progression for a top Steelers' defensive draft pick.
Round 2, Pick 62: CB Cordrea Tankersley, Clemson
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Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley has a lot of what the Steelers look for in their defensive backs. He's a willing and solid tackler, with 52 tackles and six for a loss in 2016. He has good size, though at 6'1", he's a bit taller than corners they've signed or drafted in recent years, but most importantly, he's versatile.
NFL.com's Zierlein noted that he has "experience in a variety of coverages," and "gets desired depth in Cover-2 responsibilities, balancing between high and low," something notable for Pittsburgh, who likes to use Cover-2 schemes in the secondary on a regular basis.
But what's even better is that Tankersley knows how to constantly be around the football. Though only a two-year starter, he notched nine interceptions and 17 passes defensed in that time and achieved a bit of a "lockdown" corner reputation.
The Steelers like cornerbacks with ball-hawk tendencies who can shake receivers off their routes, and Tankersley has those abilities. He's just a little small-framed and has drawn a lot of pass interference calls as it is, two notches against him that have him dropping to the second round.
Round 3, Pick 94: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC
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The third round has been fertile ground for the Steelers when it comes to finding wide receiving talent, which makes it a sweet spot for the team to target the position in this year's draft.
USC's JuJu Smith-Schuster meets a number of the Steelers' needs at receiver this year and for seasons to come; if he's on the board at No. 94, he'd make an excellent selection.
The Steelers have a No. 1 wideout in Antonio Brown, but they don't have much to surround him with on the field. Markus Wheaton is expected to ply his trade elsewhere after free agency begins next week, while Martavis Bryant remains under suspension.
Sammie Coates struggled through broken fingers in 2016 and should have a bigger role on offense this year, given he is healthy, but the Steelers' receiving ranks are thin, and most importantly, they lack a true possession receiver such as Smith-Schuster.
Though Smith-Schuster isn't known for his speed, the Steelers don't need him for that—they need him for his size (6'2", 220 pounds) and how physically he can play.
NFL.com's Zierlein described him as a receiver who "plays to his size and has plus route strength," and who "shows no concern working over the middle." And though he isn't the fastest player on the field, he does know to get the most out of after-catch opportunities.
Last season, Smith-Schuster had 70 receptions for 914 yards and 10 scores and has totaled 3,092 yards and 25 scores over three years at USC. He would be a solid complement to the speed-based Steelers' passing attack, giving them a physical dimension that could allow the offense to evolve even further.
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Round 3, Pick 105 (Compensatory): TE Jake Butt, Michigan
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Michigan tight end Jake Butt may have been a second- or even first-round draft pick this year, had he not suffered a torn ACL just over two months ago. But this injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Pittsburgh Steelers; the talented receiving tight end could still be available when they make their second of two Round 3 picks this spring and ready to play come the fall.
Butt is mostly a receiver who needs to improve his blocking, but with the Steelers also boasting Jesse James (a blocker who can also catch), Butt's weaknesses can be minimized.
He has reliable hands and does not fear getting physical to make contested receptions. And at 6'6", he'd be an effective red-zone target for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, hopefully increasing the Steelers' ability to earn touchdowns in scoring situations (an area in which they have struggled).
Butt caught 46 passes for 546 yards and four touchdowns in 2016, and without seeing him run at the Scouting Combine (and likely also not running at his pro day), it's hard to tell just how the knee injury will physically affect him moving forward. But that shouldn't scare the Steelers away; Butt has the exact skill set they need out of a tight end.
Round 4, Pick 135: DE/OLB Derek Rivers, Youngstown State
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Derek Rivers played as an edge-rushing defensive end for Youngstown State but could easily transition to outside linebacker for the Steelers as a situational pass-rusher who can provide depth alongside Anthony Chickillo behind the likes of Dupree, Harrison and Moats.
Though a mostly unknown, small-school prospect, there's a chance that Rivers could prove to be a standout at the Scouting Combine, given that he understands the fundamentals of his position.
As NFL.com's Zierlein put it, Rivers has "good burst out of stance as pass rusher." He also "rushes with lean and dips low to propel himself around the edge at his fourth step," and, "creates speed-to-power push with a second gear into contract."
While a developmental player, Rivers' 58 tackles, 19.5 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks in 2016 are standout numbers (his sack total was second in the country last year). Pittsburgh loves their pass-rushers, and it's not hard to imagine Rivers at least being on their draft board if not already a bona fide draft target.
Round 5, Pick 173: CB Corn Elder, Miami
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Miami cornerback Corn Elder clocks in at only 5'10", which is one of the handful of reasons that he appears destined to be a third-day draft pick. Still, height is never much of a concern for the Steelers when adding players—either projected starters or developmental depth—to the ranks of their secondary.
After all, as NFL.com's Zierlein pointed out, "Elder has the three Cs—composure, confidence and competitiveness," and he "doesn't realize he's undersized," as evidenced by a physical style of play, the ability to disrupt receivers' routes and his willingness to be "aggressive in run support, striking through his target and running his feet through completion."
In 2016, Elder notched 76 tackles, one interception and had 12 passes defensed. But it's hard to ignore that beyond his small height he also is slight in frame, weighing in at 179 pounds.
He'll doubtlessly have to play in the slot at the NFL level and will struggle with larger receivers (and tight ends) working in the middle of the field. This makes him somewhat of a niche player, but his style and attitude is of the sort that could draw the Steelers' attention.
Round 6, Pick 213: QB Alek Torgersen, Penn
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Until and unless the Steelers re-sign quarterback Landry Jones or add some other passer via free agency to back up starter Roethlisberger, it's nearly a must to pencil in the position being in the team's draft plans this year.
Granted the Steelers make no moves, as of the start of the league year on March 8, Roethlisberger will be the only quarterback on the team's roster, with Jones and Bruce Gradkowski both set to hit free agency.
An interesting late-round option for the Steelers this year is Penn's Alek Torgersen, the Ivy League's all-time leader in completion percentage (67.4 percent), whose strong collegiate performance still did not earn him a spot at the Scouting Combine.
Torgersen is an incredibly accurate passer, completing 66.9 percent of his passes in 2016, and also very efficient. Though he threw only 296 passes last season for 2,231 yards, he had 17 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He's also a scoring threat on the ground, with eight rushing touchdowns in 2016.
Accuracy and efficiency are two things the Steelers would love to see out of their backup quarterback position after four years of not-quite-that out of Jones. That Torgersen is somewhat hidden away as an Ivy-Leaguer with no combine stats to speak of could make him a diamond in the rough for Pittsburgh in the sixth round.
Round 7, Pick 248: S Tony Conner, Ole Miss
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Ole Miss safety Tony Conner would likely be a much higher draft pick than a seventh-rounder this year had he not suffered a torn mensicus in 2015 that not only required surgery but also affected his on-field production in 2016.
He had 69 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, one interception and seven passes defensed in 2014 but had only 17 tackles in five games in 2015 before suffering the injury. In 2016, he had only 41 combined tackles and five pass breakups.
However, there is upside in Conner's versatility that could have the Steelers giving him a chance via their final pick of the draft.
Though WalterFootball.com said strong safety would be Conner's home in the NFL, they also point out that he's played all over the field for Mississippi, including inside and outside cornerback, strong and free safety, and even has had some edge-rushing duties that may compel the Steelers to see what he can do in blitzing situations.
That may be getting ahead of ourselves, though. Conner would have to start out as a key member of the Steelers' special-teams unit to stick around for the long term. But there is little risk in using such a late-round pick on him. At one time, Conner was an up-and-coming defender; the Steelers may be able to coax that back out of him and, if not, missing on the pick would not be a fatal mistake.
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