The Pittsburgh Steelers added two pieces on defense through the first wave of free agency. Cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Mark Barron could both figure heavily into the team’s plans this season. But this didn’t stop the good folks at Draft Wire from hitting defense hard with three of the team’s five picks in their new four-round mock draft.
Let’s take a look at how the picks break down.
First round-Byron Murphy | Cornerback | Washington
Second round-Jaylon Ferguson | EDGE | Louisiana Tech
Third round-Germaine Pratt | Linebacker | North Carolina State
Third round-Andy Isabella | Wide receiver | UMass
Fourth round-Pittsburgh Steelers | Benny Snell, Jr. | Running back| Kentucky
With the addition of Nelson, I’m not sure Pittsburgh is going to commit the No. 20 overall pick to a cornerback with Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton on the roster. As for the rest of the picks, they are fairly chalk for the Steelers. Using their full mock draft, here’s how I’d have laid out the picks.
First round-Noah Fant | TE | Iowa
Second round-Chauncey Gardner-Johnson | CB/S | Florida
Third round-Germaine Pratt | LB | North Carolina State
Third round-Joe Jackson | EDGE | Miami
Fourth round-Mecole Hardman | TE | Georgia
Getting Fant or even wide receiver Hakeem Butler in the first round would give the Steelers a much easier transition to life after Antonio Brown. But aside from this, it is largely the same positions just in different spots minus running back. I don’t think the Steelers could go wrong with either scenario but I’d said even prior to the signing of Nelson I didn’t like the idea of using a first-round pick on a cornerback.
