Steelers 2015 NFL Mock Draft: 7 Rounds v1.0

Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

One could make a strong argument that the Steelers’ best positional group on the defensive side of the ball is their defensive line. Steve McLendon has been a reliable nose tackle when healthy, Cam Heyward is without a doubt the defense’s best player.

Best of all, Stephon Tuitt came on strong after he was finally allowed to play as the season progressed. Unfortunately for defensive line coach John Mitchell, the defensive line could still stand to use some quality behind his starters is the trenches is extremely thin.

Veteran Brett Keisel sustained a season-ending arm injury in 2014 and the future of his career could be in doubt. Cam Thomas was an utter disappointment during his first season with the team, and he could be a cap casualty this spring.

Pittsburgh also lost Josh Mauro and Nick Williams off of their practice squad last fall, and Dan McCullers remains little more than a role player at this stage of his career.

One player who will likely rise up draft boards and could provide Pittsburgh’s defensive line with a unique set of skills is Marcus Hardison of Arizona State.

Not a typical “five-technique” which the Steelers usually employ along their defensive front, Hardison is more of a gap-shooter when it comes to defending the run along the defensive line. Nevertheless, what Hardison (6’3″ 311 lbs.) does well, unlike most guys who are 300 lbs. or over, is rush the passer.

Not only can the former Sun Devil collapse the pocket from the interior, he matched up with some of the Pac-12’s better tackles and supplied pressure from the outside (2014: 53 tackles, 10.0 sacks, 15.0 tfls, 2 ints, 3 ffs). Putting a player with Hardison’s talents along a sub-package defensive front with Heyward and Tuitt would allow the Steelers to run three defensive linemen sets where all three guys in the trenches could create pocket collapse.

I personally have Hardison graded out as a mid-early third round pick, so I hope for Pittsburgh’s sake that he can slide down the draft board a bit while they address other pressing needs.

Next: Round 5