2021 Steelers 1st Round NFL Mock Draft: Who the experts are picking

Alex Leatherwood, Tackle, Alabama

In this mock draft, Nick Farabaugh of Pro Football Network has the Steelers selecting an offensive tackle with pick 21. This makes sense because their starting left tackle has his contract expiring after this season. Al Villanueva will be tough to re-sign due to the cap crunch that the team will be flustered with come the new league year.

A replacement will need to be found and it could be found here with Leatherwood. He is a prospect that will be on the rise come draft day and as many have noticed in the past couple drafts, a lot of linemen go in the first round. Leatherwood is a great physical prospect that can do it all. He is coming out of Alabama with a nice ceiling that the Steelers will really like.

He will need to show what he can do throughout this season to cement his draft stock as one of the best tackles in this class. Farabaugh breaks down this selection by saying, “Enter in Alex Leatherwood, who is smooth and quick on his feet. Leatherwood is extremely polished and brings a plug-and-play starter at the left tackle to help protect Ben Roethlisberger.” This prospect is held in high regard with the scouting community and could be a possible selection come draft day.