CJ Lester’s 7- Round Mock Draft

[Steeler Nation]

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 season came to a close with another first round playoff exit. The Steelers go into the offseason with many holes to fill along the offensive line, middle linebacker, cornerback, defensive line, and for the 1st time in 18 years, quarterback. A lot of fans are hoping the Steelers will draft the successor to Future First Ballot Hall of Fame QB Ben Roethlisberger. If I’m being honest with myself, this quarterback draft class just doesn’t give me a lot of hope that the next franchise quarterback to don the black and gold will be picked this year. There are only two guys in the class that I personally think can be developed into NFL franchise quarterbacks and those guys are Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis and I’m not even sure either of those guys will pan out. Only time will tell. The last thing a franchise wants is to feel like they have a franchise quarterback on the roster with no one to protect him and let’s face it, offensive line play this past season was abysmal and that is the first thing that needs to be addressed, rather it be through the draft or through free agency. (The Steelers do have some money they can spend this offseason.) There are reports that teams that are interested in those two quarterbacks I mentioned will most likely have to trade up in order to get one of those guys. It happens every year, teams will reach for a guy if they feel strongly about him being THEIR guy. The quarterback position is that important in the NFL. Do I think the Steelers should mortgage their future and send a bunch of high draft picks to another organization to trade up to get Pickett or Willis this year? I think it’ll be a veteran guy in 2022, whether that guy is already on the roster or somewhere else in the league. With those things in minds, here is what I did with my first mock draft on thedraftnetwork.com.



Round 1: Pick 20

The Pittsburgh Steelers select OT Tyler Linderbaum (6’3” 290 lbs.) from Iowa.

Ladies and gentleman, here is your starting center! Linderbaum is just too good of a prospect to pass on here! He is a home-run pick and the Steelers can move Kendrick Green to his more natural position of guard and I think he would excel there!



Round 2: Pick 52

The Pittsburgh Steelers select CB Kaiir Elam (6’2” 193 lbs.) from Florida.

The Steelers have a big need at the cornerback position. Joe Haden is aging and will be a free agent this offseason. It should be on the Steelers’ priority list to re-sign Ahkello Witherspoon, who played extremely well once he got into the groove of things with the defense. The Steelers don’t have the best track record with drafting corners, and most fans probably prefer the Steelers look into free agency this offseason to add to the CB room, but Elam is a solid second round option with a lot of talent and potential.

Round 3: Pick 84

The Pittsburgh Steelers select OT Abraham Lucas (6’7” 324 lbs.) from Washington State.

The Steelers need to add some more youth and starter capable players on the offensive line. I think the Steelers can do that with this 3rd round selection of Lucas. He plays with a nasty streak and that’s something this offensive line has lacked. The Steelers add some competitive toughness to the OL room with this pick, and he has the potential to start in 2022 at right tackle.

Round 4: Pick 137

The Pittsburgh Steelers select IDL Eyioma Uwazurike (6’5.5” 319 lbs.) from Iowa State.

Uwazurike is a physical player who is capable of getting down and dirty in the trenches. He plays extremely well against the run and the Steelers’ defense really struggled against the run without Stephon Tuitt all season, especially once NT Tyson Alualu went down with an injury. With Tuitt’s football future up in the air, this selection becomes that much more valuable if Tuitt decides to call it a career.




Round 7: Pick 222

The Pittsburgh Steelers select LB Ellis Brooks (6’1” 240 lbs.) from Penn State.

This is another position the Steelers could probably address earlier on in the draft. This team’s inside linebackers were probably one of the biggest weaknesses of the defense in 2021. They struggled against the run, against the pass, and they struggled tackling. Hopefully, Devin Bush has a bounce back year this year, but the Steelers will still need to add to the room regardless. Brooks is an underrated prospect in my eyes. He has the tools to be an excellent middle linebacker, he just has to be more consistent.



Round 7: Pick 238

The Pittsburgh Steelers select WR Velus Jones Jr. (6’0” 190 lbs.) from Tennessee.

Did you really think I was going to do a complete 7-round mock draft and not draft a WR? Juju Smith-Schuster and James Washington are both set to hit free agency and both will most likely leave for other organizations, but it would be nice for the team to retain at least one of those guys if the money is right. Jones Jr. has the potential to be a solid slot receiving option for whoever starts at QB next season. He also has a great skillset to be a return specialist. He can be explosive with the ball in his hands.



The 2022 NFL Draft will be here before you know it! How do you see the Steelers spending their draft picks? Sound off in the comment section below!



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[livingthrudying]

They will not take a center, especially in round 1. Tomlin will not give up on Green that easy. Green will be playing center until his contract is up or he manages to piss Tomlin off for whatever reason.

 

[TDX27]

Moving Green to guard isn't going to happen, at least not right away. It may be his natural position but he needs to put on about 20 lbs to be effective in the NFL. Linderbaum is lighter and taller (so much skinnier) than Green. Sure, C is his natural position but he better be damn good or he will get pushed around his 1st year as Green did. Also, if we don't pick a QB in Rd. 1 (and I hope we don't), we need OL and DL as easily our top 2 needs. We should be taking them in the 1st 2 rounds and maybe double-dipping on one of them depending on how free agency goes.

 

[slashsteel]

Moving Green to guard isn't going to happen, at least not right away. It may be his natural position but he needs to put on about 20 lbs to be effective in the NFL. Linderbaum is lighter and taller (so much skinnier) than Green. Sure, C is his natural position but he better be damn good or he will get pushed around his 1st year as Green did. Also, if we don't pick a QB in Rd. 1 (and I hope we don't), we need OL and DL as easily our top 2 needs. We should be taking them in the 1st 2 rounds and maybe double-dipping on one of them depending on how free agency goes.

Linderbaum is a pure C with fantastic movement skills and solid leverage ability due to his wrestling background. You won't be blowing this guy off the ball. He should be off the board but IMO a no brainer if somehow he finds himself at 20.

(Per the other comment) Green didn't perform well enough to prevent upgrading the position. You don't eval your roster with hopes and dreams. You zero in on performance and weaknesses.

 

[21STEELERS21]

All these mocks seem pointless until free agency hashes out. It would be nice to think we could go BPA, but in the early rounds this year, we are likely filling some immediate needs, with those needs determined based on how free agency goes.

 

[TDX27]

Linderbaum is a pure C with fantastic movement skills and solid leverage ability due to his wrestling background. You won't be blowing this guy off the ball. He should be off the board but IMO a no brainer if somehow he finds himself at 20.

(Per the other comment) Green didn't perform well enough to prevent upgrading the position. You don't eval your roster with hopes and dreams. You zero in on performance and weaknesses.

I hear ya but you still have to laugh when people say Green is too small and in the next breath, oh, just move him to guard. Centers are typically smaller. Guards need to be bigger. Green wouldn't make it as a G right away either. The Steelers should have had other options for Green in his first year if they really wanted him to be C. He needed a year either way. He was not ready to be a starter off the bat but was forced into it and it shows. I actually hope they can grab a free agent C as they are cheaper and use the draft to grab another OL along with DL. I still think we need Davis in Rd. 1 if he is there at our pick. Even if he is only a 2 down player to start, he would be a huge addition (literally and figuratively) to our DL which will help everyone behind him.

 

[livingthrudying]

I hear ya but you still have to laugh when people say Green is too small and in the next breath, oh, just move him to guard. Centers are typically smaller. Guards need to be bigger. Green wouldn't make it as a G right away either. The Steelers should have had other options for Green in his first year if they really wanted him to be C. He needed a year either way. He was not ready to be a starter off the bat but was forced into it and it shows. I actually hope they can grab a free agent C as they are cheaper and use the draft to grab another OL along with DL. I still think we need Davis in Rd. 1 if he is there at our pick. Even if he is only a 2 down player to start, he would be a huge addition (literally and figuratively) to our DL which will help everyone behind him.

They really need some veterans to help with all the young players on the line anyways. If they had a vet or two last year it could have made a significant impact.

Honestly the plan for last year on the Oline is a huge indictment of Tomlin if you ask me. Absolutely inexcusable.

 

[bermudasteel]

I'm not onboard with this draft...

 

[bermudasteel]

 

[Litos]

My first mock, from thedraftnetwork.com
20. Jameson Williams WR,

52. Kaiir Elam CB,

84. Ed Ingram IOL

Before you all send me to walk into traffic for not addressing the trenches early let me point out that Cross, Penning and Davis were all gone, same for the top 4 CBs so I had an easy decision drafting a top WR talent in the first round. Let me also say that predicting this situation I put my GM cap and also did the work regarding FA signings, securing a Top G (Tomlinson, Daniels, Corbett, all costing around 10M avg) and a savvy RT (Moses, Fisher, 9M avg) to anchor the Line with the young guys already in the roster.

Now on to the 2nd pick, even though I gave Witherspoon a well earned new contract (8M avg), the CB room still is very shallow so having Elam available there it was almost a perfect match as the kid can compete with Sutton to play outside while Norwood (who I think was a very valuable depth piece with good upside to be the future Nickel) and Sutton complete the Nickel and Dime roles when facing multiple WRs. Elam has the tools and size to become a true talent for us.

Finally I go for OL depth with Ingram who can back up both G positions and be a spot RT when needed, he apparently is a mauler in the run game and might even make Dotson work harder to secure the starting spot . Also considered going with LB Chad Muma here given the problems at ILB and lack of talented depth in free agency, probably I'm bringing back schobert on a cheaper deal while signing a good DL after cutting tuitt, to help the LBs attack with more freedom, akiem Hicks for example.

Othe FA signings are:
Regarding Safety I go for either Whitehead, Kearse, Edmunds, all of them affordable around 6M.
QB I sign trubisky and let him compete for the starter spot.

The rest is depth

 

[slashsteel]

My first mock, from thedraftnetwork.com
20. Jameson Williams WR,

52. Kaiir Elam CB,

84. Ed Ingram IOL

Before you all send me to walk into traffic for not addressing the trenches early let me point out that Cross, Penning and Davis were all gone, same for the top 4 CBs so I had an easy decision drafting a top WR talent in the first round. Let me also say that predicting this situation I put my GM cap and also did the work regarding FA signings, securing a Top G (Tomlinson, Daniels, Corbett, all costing around 10M avg) and a savvy RT (Moses, Fisher, 9M avg) to anchor the Line with the young guys already in the roster.

Now on to the 2nd pick, even though I gave Witherspoon a well earned new contract (8M avg), the CB room still is very shallow so having Elam available there it was almost a perfect match as the kid can compete with Sutton to play outside while Norwood (who I think was a very valuable depth piece with good upside to be the future Nickel) and Sutton complete the Nickel and Dime roles when facing multiple WRs. Elam has the tools and size to become a true talent for us.

Finally I go for OL depth with Ingram who can back up both G positions and be a spot RT when needed, he apparently is a mauler in the run game and might even make Dotson work harder to secure the starting spot . Also considered going with LB Chad Muma here given the problems at ILB and lack of talented depth in free agency, probably I'm bringing back schobert on a cheaper deal while signing a good DL after cutting tuitt, to help the LBs attack with more freedom, akiem Hicks for example.

Othe FA signings are:
Regarding Safety I go for either Whitehead, Kearse, Edmunds, all of them affordable around 6M.
QB I sign trubisky and let him compete for the starter spot.

The rest is depth

And for C ?

 

[Tibs]

from thedraftnetwork.com

 

[Litos]

And for C ?

Because I know Tomlin will play Green no matter what I'm bringing the vets at G and RT.

 

[Litos]

And for C ?

Also Linderbaum was gone too at 1.20

 

[BLITZ]

Lindenbaum wont make it past the Ravens. those jerks will probably trade back to 18 or 19, get an extra 2nd rounder and still take Lindenbaum before us.