My April Steelers Mock in March

[SmarterThanU]

ROUND1- Chris Williams OT VAnderbilt
Jeff Otah or even Brandon Albert would both be good picks also. Marvel Smith is going to be a free agent and when healthy has not been anything special. Williams has the best feet of any tackle in the draft and great size and arm length. He also is a Vandy guy so he should be pretty smart. This protects our 100 million dollar QB.

ROUND 2- Trevor Laws DL Notre Dame
This 49-0 State Champ wrestler really took his game to a whole-notha-level when he switched to DE in the 3-4. Over the last two years he has 174 tackles, 18 of them for loss, and 8 sacks. Pretty good numbers for a 3-4 DE. And OL and DL are the steelers top concerns. Also, possible 4-3 DT for a tampa 2 defense.

ROUND 3- Jordy Nelson WR Kansas St.
Blew up last year with 122 catches for over 1,600 yards. He has soft hands, elusive speed, and a great passion and desire for the game. Reminds me a lot of Hines Ward. Willing to do whatever is needed for the team to win. Very driven always gives 100% and is a big body receiver at 6-3 217lbs.

ROUND 4- Tyrell Johnson S Arkansas St.
Small School safety that really impressed in workouts. He has all the tools and really dominated his small division. Anthony Smith has not blown me out of the water with his talent and with Ryan Clark a question mark this gives the position some competition.

ROUND 5- Chevis Jackson CB LSU
His poor 4.58 forty time hurts his stock. But a three year starter in the SEC for LSU says a little something. He's a gamer not a workout warrior. He had 30 PBU's in the last two years and 7 INT's. Not shabby.

ROUND 6- Jacob Hester RB/FB/HB LSU
Everyone was on the Brian Leonard bandwagon last year. Well, Hester is this years Leonard. Does everything good not exceptional. Runs, catches, blocks, plays special teams. And is a relative of Terry Bradshaw. What a fit.

ROUND 7- Curtis Johnson OLB Clark Atlanta
In 21 games at Clark Atlanta he had 182 tackles 45 TFL and 18.5 sacks. I know it's a small school but he also runs a 4.6 forty a 4.46 short shuttle a 6.78 cone drill with a 10 foot 1 inch broad jump and threw up 25 reps of 225lbs. He obviously has all the tools. Will be a project. But at this point I say take talent. No matter what any player walking into the 3-4 after playing the 4-3 will need at least a year or three to grasp the system. So the only thing he doesn't have is all the bad habbits a polished DE would have at this point in his football career. I nice peice of Clay for Dick LeBeau to mold into something.

[TheWood56]

The first 3 rounds are very, very good, though at the same time very, very unrealistic. No way Williams will be available at 1.23, and no way Laws will be available at 2.23, and even though a few people have had us taking Nelson in the 3rd, I think there's a good chance that he won't be available at 3.23, but Nelson in the 3rd isn't that unrealistic, as I could see it happening. The rest of your mock doesn't really do too much for me honestly.

Nice try but. :)

[SpottedCow]

TheWoods56 is right that Williams falling to us at 23 would be nice but probably not going to happen. Of course you say "Jeff Otah or even Brandon Albert would both be good picks also." Probably meaning you are saying best available linemen at that point. Which I agree even with the Hartwig signing is our biggest need. Hartwig is a journeyman not a starter. Just a depth move. So there's a chance none of those three are there when we pick but there's also a chance that all three are there. I agree the best of them left would be a nice pick.

Trevor Laws in the second I think is a great pick and has a pretty good chance of being there for us. NFLDRAFTCOUTDOWN.com has him going 54 after us. And WalterFootball.com has him going 54 after us. So great pick good value and even a nice fit in the system.

Jordy Nelson in the third I like only because OL and DL have already been filled. Those are our two biggest holes and that allows luxury picks. Don't know much about Nelson just that he and a huge year last year and is a sizeable guy that had a pretty nice combine running a 4.5 forty. But if what you say is true. He's a team player and is a lot like Ward it might be nice to take a guy to learn from Ward for a couple years to replace him.

Tyrell Johnson. Don't know much about that guy either put a safety is a must I believe with the way Smith played last year and the team not knowing what they will get back out of Ryan Clark. I might go safety with that third round pick if I were you just because it is a bigger need than WR.

Chevis Jackson would be a helluva pick. A three year starter at LSU that those kind of production numbers falls this far because on a bad forty time! That would be a nice steal. I might say he won't draft this far but teams do seem to over analyze workout numbers and there is a lot of CB's in this draft pushing a guy like this down even farther. I would be happy to have him in the mix at CB. Couclough was a wasted pick and Townsend isn't getting any younger. Though I am a big fan of that William ***. I think he has some upside. But you need 4 CB's in this league anymore.

Jacob Hester. I was a huge Brian Leonard fan last year. Really wanted the Steelers to draft him when he was rated as a third or fourth round pick. Then his stock soars and he's a 2nd round pick. I didn't even realize that Hester ran for 1,103 yards last year. Whitey has some wheels. Looking back at his game stats he played well against the big boys of Auburn, VT, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee. And his one bad game against Alabama he still scored two TD's and picked up five catches for 33 yards.

I would be very happy with this draft. I don't think it is a reach in anyway. The only disapointment is you dont have the Steelers taking a pass rushing OLB. Haggans is gone Harrison beats his old lady and is going on 30. I understand we only have a limited number of picks but that's my only concern is who's going to back up those guys. Timmons I feel is a better replacement for Farrior in the middle. And Woodley is a stud and will start this year but if Harrison or he get hurt or incarcerated we really have no one behind them that can start. But all in all I would love to see the draft fall this way.

[SmarterThanU]

TheWoods56 I just went by this sites rankings. And I did mean any of the top OL with Otah, Albert, Williams, Clady, or even Chelirus wouldn't be a bad first pick. Roethlisberger ran for his life last year and Parker only scratched the surface of what I feel he can do with better blocking. And the same with Trevor Laws. I just went by what this site said. They have him ranked with the 2nd and 3rd rounders.

I mean yes all three might be gone but all three could still be there when the Steelers pick. I don't think I reached that much on any. I obvously want us to get good value. But it's not like I have Jake Long falling in the first and Kentwan Balmer falling in the second.

SpottedCow good name... but a bad beer. Thanks for all the remarks. A lot to look at but you seemed to like my draft for the most part. I agree with you on needing another pass rusher. I would love to get Shawn Crable to make it an all Michigan pass rush. Kinda like when we had an all Colorado State one with Porter and Haggans. But I actually took Nelson because I felt Crable will be long gone by the time we pick. But according to the draft order thread the Steelers do have a 7th round pick. So I am going to edit my mock and throw in a 7th rounder. And if we don't I will use that guy as an undrafted free agent signing.

[TheWood56]

TheWoods56 I just went by this sites rankings. And I did mean any of the top OL with Otah, Albert, Williams, Clady, or even Chelirus wouldn't be a bad first pick. Roethlisberger ran for his life last year and Parker only scratched the surface of what I feel he can do with better blocking. And the same with Trevor Laws. I just went by what this site said. They have him ranked with the 2nd and 3rd rounders.

Yeah, that's cool. That's what a lot of people do when they're doing a mock draft, just go through other sites and see where they have certain players projected to go. But I can't see any scenario where Chris Williams would fall to 23. If somehow he's available at 23 though, he could be the steal of the draft. Trevor Laws may fall to 2.23, but again, I can't see it happening. I could be wrong though, but that's just my opinion. Nelson I think has a decent chance of being at 3.23, but since he's a player I'd really like to see is pick up in the 3rd, I just have a feeling he'll be just out of our reach.

Oh, and I like how you added Curtis Johnson in the 6th. I think that's a good selection if he's still on the board.

[DeathbyStat]

I like it a great deal but I doubt Williams falls that far and even Laws could go alot higher if a team fell in love with him at the senoir bowl

[AgentM]

I love the Jacob Hester pick. That kid has such a huge heart and is always thinking team first. I'd love to see the Steelers snag him if he's still around in the 6th round!!

[mikehop05]

yeah im a huge hester fan as well

[terribletowel39]

I love the draft. Making it more realistic, I would do Groves in the first and some G/T guy in the second. I don't think the first two are going to be there when we pick. Williams is talked about going at 11-14 range and there has even been talk of Laws making it into the first. I love the rest of the picks. I think Chevis can be a really good back up safety. And everyone here knows I love me some Hester. Watched that guy play football since he was a freshman in HS.