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Steelers Mock Draft: First Round Pick

By Remy Retro

Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Houston Cougars cornerback William Jackson III (3) breaks up a pass intended for Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Travis Rudolph (15) in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Houston Cougars cornerback William Jackson III (3) breaks up a pass intended for Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Travis Rudolph (15) in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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And with the twenty fifth pick of the 2016 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select….

The Draft kicks off at 8:00 PM tonight and teams and fans alike will see the landscape of the league change with new faces and new potential. This is my third Mock Draft installment here on Still Curtain and it is strictly a look at tonight’s Steelers first round pick.

I do think the Steelers could greatly benefit from trading the 25th pick to move down somewhere between pick 30 and 40 and with that adding a 3rd round pick or more to their total number of selections. Depending on which Big Board you are following, many players that appeal to them like Safeties Karl Joseph and Vonn Bell are lined up to be picked in the top to middle of the second round.

That being said here is the latest First Round pick with alternative selections.

Eli Apple was always my pick here but I think he is off the board and they take the next best Corner. Jackson is a ball hawk and he is quick with good size. His build is very close to Apple’s.

He may not have played against the same level of competition every week as Apple did but he does have better ball instincts. It is also notable that he enjoyed dinner with Coach Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert after his Pro-day workout.

The thought of Billings at the Nose with Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward on either side is just way too exciting to pass up in my mind. Billings is a beast who put up 31 bench reps at the NFL Scouting Combine and his 40 yard dash was under 5 seconds. Couple that in with a 6’1, 311 pound frame and you have a great body at Nose tackle and potentially the best three man front in football. Colbert mentioned the depth on the defensive line in this Draft so it is highly likely they see greater value at the position in later rounds. With their strong need in the secondary they may very well stick with two defensive backs in the first two rounds, but this is still fun to imagine.

I think Bell is high on Pittsburgh’s Draft Board and this is where they may trade down to the top of the second to get him and an additional pick, possibly in the third round if they are lucky. Bell is the type of player that doesn’t let the big play go by him and fans know this is what is most urgently needed in Pittsburgh.

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