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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Curt Popejoy

Steelers get stars on both sides of the ball in new Draft Wire mock draft

Great teams have a few similarities. Quarterback is the obvious one and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team believes they have their future in Kenny Pickett. The other similarity is they have guys who protect their quarterback and hit the other team’s quarterback.

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In the new two-round mock draft from our friends over at Draft Wire, they address both of those items for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh gets Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski with the No. 11 overall pick. Skowronski doesn’t have ideal NFL length but he’s been a starter since he was a freshman and has been dominant all season long.

Moving to the second round, Draft Wire has the Steelers selecting Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith. The defense has fallen apart with T.J. Watt out of the lineup as Alex Highsmith has not stepped up. Smith would be ideal to push Highsmith as he approaches a contract year and give the Steelers three top pass rushers.

Looking at the picks, this mock works out well for the Steelers. In the first round, Pittsburgh would have its pick of multiple offensive tackles including Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Georgia’s Broderick Jones so it would really come down to which guy the Steelers believe is the best fit.

In the second, Smith is a great option but there are also several very good options at cornerback Garrett Williams out of Syracuse and Utah’s Clark Phillips III as alternatives. Another player sitting there who is s personal favorite is Baylor nose tackle Siaki Ika who goes at pick No. 57. Ika is a throwback who would look great in black and gold.

Let us know in the comments what you think of this mock draft and who you would have the Steelers take in this scenario.

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