Steelers mock draft: Kendall Fuller?
By Tim Weaver
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the middle of a playoff race but the NFL Draft has become a 365 days a year kind of circus of its own.
With the season winding down speculation about which prospects will go where and when come May is really heating up, and we’re now starting to see our first 2016 mock drafts.
For example, today Mel Kiper of ESPN came out with the results for his first mock, and he’s projecting that the Steelers select Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller.
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Fuller missed much of the 2015 college season with a knee injury but when healthy he is considered one of the best cover corners of this class.
Walter Football ranks Fuller the second best corner of 2016. Here’s a sample of what they’re saying about him:
“…looking back at his sophomore tape has teams extremely excited. They feel that Fuller was a true lock-down corner that season, and some teams have given him a first-round grade based on his sophomore year tape.”
The Steelers could certainly use some help in their secondary, which is the weak point of their defense. While Pittsburgh defends the run well (they allowed the fifth fewest rushing yards) and gets to the quarterback (third in total sacks) they have a tough time covering their opponents’ receivers downfield. For the season, only the Saints and Giants gave up more passing yards than Pittsburgh.
That means getting a lockdown corner in the first round is a smart idea and Kiper is on the right track.
However, we still think that Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey is a better option. He’s taller and longer than Fuller and did not suffery a major injury last year, which can often set a rookie back in his development the next season.
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Of course that’s not to say that Fuller would be a bad choice. He comes from a strong football family and he does appear to be more polished than Ramsey in some ways.
We will have plenty more to come on the cornerback prospects as well as the other positions soon.