Steelers mock draft: Pittsburgh ignores RB and OT until day three

Round 4

For those that haven’t been paying attention, Trey Sermon has gone from a decent committee back to playing one of the most dominant stretches of offensive football in the history of college football. He was nearly unstoppable for Ohio St. once they turned to him, and the Steelers have to be considering him as their future starting back. While waiting until the fourth round isn’t ideal, Sermon is far from a bad pick.

While he would likely begin the year in rotation with Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland, don’t be surprised to see him run away with the starting role sooner than later. He has obvious talent, but he will have to learn to pass block and become a better threat out of the backfield. That said, the value he provides as a runner in the fourth round is great. The Steelers need some better bodies at running back, and Sermon seems like a great fit in this scheme.

While I understand the clamoring for a tackle early, the value of this draft falls in the middle of the rounds. Sure, a top prospect would be nice, but the Steelers will likely resign Zach Banner to be their right tackle while Chukwuma Okorafor makes the move to left tackle. Both can be relied on to start, so getting more of a developmental player later makes sense.

This makes Tyler Vrabel a great option, as he is a younger player who will need a season to bulk up and work on his technique before being relied on as a starter for any team. The Steelers could take a shot on him in the fourth and allow him to have a redshirt year. If he looks better than advertised, the team could even make him their swing tackle. He would be solid depth at worst, and with the right coaching, he could become a fixture at either of the tackle spots.