Steelers Mock Draft 2.0: Steelers Double Dip at Cornerback
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As we are now less than a month away from the NFL Draft, this mock draft will be predictive in nature. This means these picks are less about what I think that they should do but instead, more so trying to predict what direction the Pittsburgh Steelers will take.
With the NFL Combine and Pro Day circuits complete, top 30 visits are rolling in, meaning we are starting to get a better feel for prospects/positions that the team is interested in.
Here we go.
Round 1, Pick 17: OT Dawand Jones (Ohio State)
I'm not sure that there is a single prospect in this entire class that the Steelers have been more visibly interested in than Dawand Jones. From his brief Senior Bowl appearance to meeting with him at the NFL Combine, sending the house (Mike Tomlin and Pat Meyer included) to his Pro Day while also bringing him for a top-30 visit - the interest is very, very real.
Thanks to his ridiculous wingspan, Jones can routinely establish first contact on opposing pass rushers and effortlessly controls reps by engulfing defenders with his length. With his rare, gigantic frame, Jones plays the position with an aggressive mindset by getting out of his stance quickly and taking the fight to the opponent.
He's also fairly effective when asked to get out on the perimeter, and when he gets an enemy lined up in his sights, he can deliver some punishing blows.
The main areas for improvement stem from his lack of recovery ability when he needs to get himself out of compromising positions by changing directions and his processing ability on stunts and games up front. With Andy Wiedl in town, Pittsburgh seems to be showing heavy interest in improving the trenches, by adding size and length up front, and Jones certainly checks those boxes.
Admittedly, this is a tad early for him in my eyes, but there's too much smoke to simply ignore the possibility at this point. Jones can compete for the RT job as a rookie and, at the very latest, step into a starting role in year two.
Round 2, Pick 32: CB Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State)
If ball skills are the number one trait that the Steelers are looking for in the secondary, Forbes has a good shot to be near the top of their list.
Forbes had a formal meeting with the Steelers at the NFL Combine and also reportedly had a top-30 visit scheduled with the team. Forbes is blazing fast with impressive recovery speed to bail him out of missteps early in the rep. He has notable instincts and play recognition skills while showing the ability to play the football in the air like a wide receiver. His 14 career interceptions are impressive on the surface, but he's also the FBS record holder for pick sixes (6).
Forbes' tall and lanky frame is certainly unique and to call him a historical outlier would be selling it short, as he's the second lightest cornerback ever in the mockdraftable database. He's a playmaker in every sense of the word but you have to take the good with the bad, meaning living with his grabbiness and over-aggressiveness at times.
Pittsburgh lost Cam Sutton in free agency and signed Patrick Peterson as a stop-gap replacement, but that move likely won't prevent them from addressing cornerback early in the draft. Forbes's experience in the SEC against top competition should help his transition, but he'll require patience early on and even then, it's possible that he'll always be a high-variance player at the next level.
Round 2, Pick 49: DT Gervon Dexter (Florida)
Sticking with the theme of addressing the trenches early, Gervon Dexter has all of the tools that the Steelers could possibly want in a defensive end. Dexter met with the Steelers formally at the NFL Combine and is one of their reported top-30 visits.
The athleticism jumps off the tape as Dexter has flashes of throwing offensive linemen out of the way or simply being too quick to slice into the backfield to produce negative plays. There's legit twitch to his frame and he's the type of athlete who offers plus range, whether that be running down running plays from the back side or chasing quarterbacks down outside the pocket. For a taller player, Dexter plays with pretty solid leverage and can use his hands to defeat blocks quickly.
The biggest concerns for Dexter are centered around his lack of pass rush plan and toolkit as a rusher. Too often, he's found tardy off the snap without a noticeable game plan of how he plans to defeat the man across from him. There's a lot to work with, but the flashes aren't nearly consistent enough right now, which makes him a bit more of a project early on.
Pittsburgh gave Larry Ogunjobi a three-year deal meaning they view him as a piece of their core moving forward but Cam Heyward can't fend off father time forever. Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar will be more than happy to get his hands on someone this talented and the rewards down the line could be plentiful.
Round 3, Pick 80: ILB Dorian Williams (Tulane)
It's pretty obvious that Pittsburgh was rather unhappy with their inside linebacker play last season as they've completely revamped their group this offseason. The one missing piece might be Dorian Williams, who they met with at the NFL Combine and also sent new linebackers coach Aaron Curry to his Pro Day.
Williams is an undersized linebacker, but he makes up for it with incredible sideline-to-sideline speed and has a really good feel for zone coverage as well. In addition to his plus length, he's a tenacious player who brings some pop as a tackler and showcases a ton of effort on a play-by-play basis.
Due to his light frame, Williams is a player that you must keep clean in the box because he's never going to be a consistent stack and shed threat. At this moment, Pittsburgh doesn't quite have a cover linebacker on the roster and Williams could certainly come in right away to fill this role. As a rookie, he could contribute on obvious passing downs and his coverage ability, combined with his athleticism, indicate that he could become a starter during his rookie contract. In a pretty weak inside linebacker class, Williams is one of the few guys that I'm pretty interested in and it's obvious that the Steelers are as well.
Round 4, Pick 120: WR Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss)
Omar Khan hasn't been shy about the fact that the Steelers will look to add to their wide receiver room in an effort to find a solution in the slot. With Pittsburgh bringing in Jonathan Mingo for a top-30 visit, it's possible that they're looking for a "power slot" to complement the skill set of Calvin Austin III, among others.
At 6-2, 220 pounds, Mingo is absolutely rocked up from a physique standpoint and it shows up whenever he gets the ball in his hands, as he's a load for smaller defensive backs trying to get him on the turf. He was able to lower his drop percentage this past season while increasing his overall production across the board. He's a real asset as a blocker, whether that be in the perimeter run game or when he's tasked with being the point man on wide receiver screens.
It took longer than expected for Mingo to break out and the production never quite matched his talent level. The route tree that he was tasked with was rather bland and he's a bit of a work in progress as a route runner but there's perhaps some potential in this regard moving forward. Mingo got more work in the slot this past season, and he's a near-perfect compliment to what Calvin Austin III brings, which could create some really interesting competition come training camp time. Pittsburgh might not wait this long to take a receiver, but having two playmakers who excel after the catch could be a pretty fun dynamic for an offense that needs to create more splash plays in 2023.
Round 7, Pick 234: CB Starling Thomas V (UAB)
If there was ever a time when the Steelers needed to double down at cornerback, it's this year, thanks to an incredibly deep class at the position.
Full disclosure: I'm higher on Thomas than this range, but predicting day three is a crapshoot each and every year, and with Thomas not invited to the NFL Combine, this is the range where he is likely to come off the board. I was really impressed by Thomas at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he was able to show off his man coverage ability in one on one drills. Thomas is an insanely fast player, who clocked at 4.28 40-yard dash at his Pro Day last month and the short area burst out of his transitions is very evident on film.
Thomas is only 5-10, 190 pounds, and he's played almost exclusively on the boundary in college, but a transition into the slot is likely due to his lack of size. Thomas is also grabby throughout routes and might be a penalty magnet early on because of this. However, the fit between Thomas and the Steelers makes sense because as of right now, they don't really have a trustworthy cover man in the slot with Cam Sutton walking in free agency and Arthur Maulet being an early-down run specialist. As a day three pick, your best bet is to contribute on special teams if you hope to make the 53-man roster, and Thomas has some experience returning both and kicks in college. Thomas is an intriguing late-round flier, and this potential pairing makes quite a bit of sense on the surface.
Round 7, Pick 241: S Daniel Scott (California)
Now it might seem like we're getting pretty crazy here, predicting a player from the west coast, but Scott was brought in for a top-30 visit making this selection more logical.
Scott is one of the oldest players in this entire class, as he'll turn 25 during his rookie campaign. His role on defense grew significantly over the past two seasons, picking off three passes in both 2021 and 2022. He offers plus athleticism as evidenced by his freaky testing numbers, including a 4.45 40-yard dash and 39.5-inch vertical jump.
Along with being a team captain, his main intrigue might stem from his special teams experience, as he was a four-phase guy in college over the course of his career. In order for him to make an impact here, however, he must improve drastically as a tackler as he's frequently seen flailing or flying by ball carriers due to being out of control.
He had a solid week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile and will come off the board at some point on day three. Tre Norwood's role was essentially eliminated last season and Scott could push for his roster spot mainly because he offers more athleticism while still being able to contribute on special teams.
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