It’s Draft Week Steelers fans! Last week, Ian, Steeldad, Aaron, Dom, and yours truly started our first-round mock draft. This took us several days and was before the Cincinnati/NYG trade was announced. Additionally, there has since been some injury news that could potentially impact the draft process as well, but without further ado here’s how it turned out:
| 1 | Raiders | Fernando Mendoza | 17 | Lions | Kadyn Proctor | |
| 2 | Jets | David Bailey | 18 | Vikings | Dillon Thieneman | |
| 3 | Cardinals | Arvell Reese | 19 | Panthers | Kenyon Sadiq | |
| 4 | Titans | Sonny Styles | 20 | Cowboys | Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | |
| 5 | Giants | Caleb Downs | 21 | Steelers | Chris Johnson | |
| 6 | Browns | Carnell Tate | 22 | Chargers | Peter Woods | |
| 7 | Commanders | Jeremiyah Love | 23 | Eagles | Monroe Freeling | |
| 8 | Saints | Rueben Bain Jr. | 24 | Browns | Blake Miller | |
| 9 | Chiefs | Francis Mauigoa | 25 | Bears | TJ Parker | |
| 10 | Bengals | Mansoor Delane | 26 | Bills | KC Concepcion | |
| 11 | Dolphins | Spencer Fano | 27 | 49ers | Omar Cooper | |
| 12 | Cowboys | Jermod McCoy | 28 | Texans | Caleb Lomu | |
| 13 | Rams | Makai Lemon | 29 | Chiefs | Akheem Mesidor | |
| 14 | Ravens | Vega Ioane | 30 | Dolphins | Denzel Boston | |
| 15 | Buccaneers | Keldric Faulk | 31 | Patriots | Zion Young | |
| 16 | Jets | Jordyn Tyson | 32 | Seahawks | Brandon Cisse |
If I had to make a calculated guess, I would think that Delane would still be in play for the Giants at #10. They could also consider Fano, who best case improves your offensive tackle position or worse case kicks inside to guard, which remains a top need. Or should they choose to go with a little more flash, Tyson and Lemon are still available to pair with Malik Nabers.
In this scenario, we had the Cowboys selecting Jermod McCoy. Recently there were reports that McCoy has had a separate knee issue discovered that could require surgery. He already missed last season with a torn ACL but it was thought that after running a 4.38 40-yard dash McCoy had moved past these concerns. In this case Keldric Faulk could be a name to watch, but knowing how Jerry Jones likes to operate I have a hunch that Kenyon Sadiq might be on his radar as well.
Finally, the reason we’re all here: the Pittsburgh Steelers. At pick 21, in a bit of a surprise move they go with CB Chris Johnson from San Diego State. We all agreed that the best case is Vega Ioane but he went off the board at 14. There was some discussion about Emmanuel McNeil-Warren but here he was snatched up by the Cowboys one pick earlier. We also thought that a trade down at this junction would be a great move, but we did not make any trades in our mock so Johnson was the pick. All of us think highly of Johnson and don’t think he’ll be on the board at 53.
This is always a fun exercise for us, so we hope you enjoyed what we came up with. We also realize there is a chance we probably only got Fernando Mendoza at first overall correct. This is what makes the draft interesting. It also gives us the chance a few years later to say things like “I told you they should have taken Trent McDuffie instead of Kenny Pickett! Idiots!” (For the record I said that in my Napolean Dynamite voice.) Enjoy the draft everybody! Go Steelers!
