Pittsburgh Steelers 7 Round Mock
By Editorial Staff
Georgia left tackle Cordy Glenn is best suited to play inside at guard. Could Pittsburgh be Glenn’s home in the NFL? Pittsburgh has 7 draft picks.
1st Round Pick Cordy Glenn Right Guard Georgia Senior In even numbered years the Steelers have a tendency to draft offensive players. With Max Starks solidifying left tackle the only offensive hole is the right guard spot.
Georgia offensive lineman Cordy Glenn plays left tackle at Georgia. The 6 foot 5 348 pound offensive lineman lacks the footwork to play tackle at this point. Even if Glenn kicks inside to guard Pittsburgh will like Glenn as an offensive line prospect because Cordy Glenn has the size that the Steelers look for in an offensive lineman.
If Chris Kemoatu or Max Starks gets injured Glenn can stabilize the offensive line by moving to the left side. Marcus Gilbert better equipped to start at right tackle Jonathan Scott is about as reliable as Levi Brown so Scott has no business starting.
2nd Round Pick Jayron Hosley Cornerback Virginia Tech Junior Pittsburgh has most of the pieces to #1 secondary in place. Field cornerback check. You got Ike Taylor who can cover an opposing #1 receiver very effectively. Strong safety check. Polamalu need I say more. Free Safety check. Ryan Clark can be an effective starter while Ryan Mundy can be a serviceable backup. The potential weakness if finding a boundary corner who can cover a #2 secondary receiver effectively.
William Gay is a nickel corner starting at the #2 boundary corner role. Bryant McFadden moved down on the depth chart. Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen are better suited for dime and quarter roles at cornerback. Both rookies are nickel corners at best even if they maximize their potential. Pittsburgh needs a #2 boundary cornerback. Hosley may not be the corner in terms of potential. Even if Hosley flops Pittsburgh has the depth at cornerback and can take a flyer on Hosley to succeed. Pittsburgh has to keep drafting cornerbacks until they get a #2 boundary corner who can play next to Ike Taylor. Until your set with what you got long term you have to keep making upgrades.
Pittsburgh has bigger needs to address like nose tackle, 3-4 middle linebacker, and 3-4 right outside linebacker. The problem is none of the players based on Pittsburgh’s other key needs will be available. That is why I gave the Steelers Hosley here.
3rd Round Pick Baker Steinkuhler 3-4 Left End Nebraska Junior Redshirt Evander “Ziggy” Hood only has 14 tackles in 10 games while filling in for Aaron Smith. Pittsburgh needs to add a replacement to compete with Hood.
4th Round Pick Korey Williams 3-4 Middle Linebacker Southern Miss Senior Redshirt Southern Miss runs a 3-4 defense. Williams can be used as a 3-4 middle linebacker. Williams could compete with Stevenson Sylvester to be the successor to James Farrior in Pittsburgh. Farrior turns 37 in January so Pittsburgh has to draft a successor with this pick because the Steelers need a 2nd linebacker to compete with Sylvester for the starting job.
5th Round Pick Mike Martin Nose Tackle Michigan Senior Mike Martin plays nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. Martin can be groomed as a successor behind Casey Hampton and Chris Hoke.
6th round Pick Darius Fleming 3-4 Right Outside Linebacker Notre Dame Senior Darius Fleming plays next to Manti Teo a first round prospect in Notre Dame’s 3-4 defense. Flaming is the pass rusher that makes Teo’s job a lot easier. Fleming would be a good successor behind James Harrison. Jason Worilds and Chris Carter have yet to progress. Fleming has the potential to become a special player with the proper development.
7th round Pick Jonas Gray Running Back Notre Dame Senior Pittsburgh adds a second back to split carries with Mendenhall.