Steelers have slew of NFL draft needs
It's time to mock NFL teams again.
Not for their awful unform color schemes or equally laughable personnel decisions.
It's time to mock their picks in the first round of the draft Thursday night.
It will be hard to mock a Steelers' pick because, well, any pick will probably plug a hole.
Here. We. Go.
1. Jacksonville — Trevor Lawrence, QB. This is about as big of a no-brainer as it gets.
2. New York Football (allegedly) Jets — Zach Wilson, QB. The Jets signaled this pick when they traded Sam Darnold.
3. San Francisco — Mac Jones, QB. The 49ers moved up this spot. Teams don't move up this high for just anybody. They move up for a franchise quarterback.
Is Jones that kind of player? It is one of the biggest questions in this draft. The 49ers seem to think so.
4. Atlanta — Kyle Pitts, TE. Pitts is a generational talent at tight end and he will make the Falcons offense scary dangerous.
5. Cincinnati — Ja'Marr Chase, WR. The draw to take Chase will be too big to pass up, even though perhaps the smarter move would be to take LT Penei Sewell. Chase is reunited with Joe Burrow.
6. Miami — Jaylen Waddle, WR.
7. Detroit — Micah Parsons, LB. The Penn State star, who opted out this fall, had slid in some mocks, but the Lions have big needs on defense.
8. Carolina — Trey Lance, QB. The Panthers traded for Darnold, but this is an insurance policy in case that doesn't work out. Lance is kind of a project that may need time to season.
9. Denver — Justin Fields, QB. It seems the Broncos are always taking first-round quarterbacks.
10. Dallas — Jaycee Horn, CB. The Cowboys are deficient at every level of defense. This helps.
11. New York Football (allegedly) Giants — Kwity Paye, Edge.
12. Philadelphia — Patrick Surtain II, CB.
13. L.A. Chargers — Penei Sewell, OT. Need to keep Justin Herbert upright.
14. Minnesota — Rashawn Slater, OT.
15. New England — Justin Fields, QB. Cam Newton is just a shell of his former self.
16. Arizona — Alijah Vera-Tucker, OG.
17. Las Vegas — DeVonta Smith, WR. Because Jon Gruden can never have too many wide receivers.
18. Miami — Jaelan Phillips, Edge.
19. Washington — Teven Jenkins, OT.
20. Chicago — Elijah Moore, WR. The Bears need weapons for ... who is their QB now?
21. Indianapolis — Christian Darrishaw, OT.
22. Tennessee — Greg Newsome, CB.
23. New York Jets — Najee Harris, RB.
24. Pittsburgh — The Steelers may move down from this spot because, well, every player of impact at need-positions for the Black and Gold will be gone by the time they are on the clock.
The Steelers have a ton of holes and getting more picks to fill them may be the smart move.
If they stay here, they'll take Landon Dickerson, C.
25. Jacksonville — Trevon Moehrig, S.
26. Cleveland — Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Edge.
27. Baltimore — Caleb Farley, CB.
28. New Orleans — Kadarius Toney, WR.
29. Green Bay — Rashod Bateman, WR. Aaron Rodgers gets another weapon.
30. Buffalo — Gregory Rousseau, Edge.
31. Baltimore — Jayson Oweh, Edge.
32. Tampa Bay — Kyle Trask, QB. Because Tom Brady isn't going to be able to drain the lifeforce out of lost souls forever.
Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.
