Steelers mock draft: Unspectacular, yet realistic selections

Round 4:

No single player suffered a worse 2020-21 season than Shaun Wade. At one point, he was projected as a top ten pick, but injuries and inconsistent play have tanked his stock. While taking a stab on him here may seem curious, it should be noted that most of his bad games came as a result of him playing on the outside and because he had turf toe. The Steelers should move him inside to the slot from the get-go and consider him a potential safety long term.

Adding Wade would give the Steelers a lot of flexibility in the secondary. Sutton can play outside full time if Wade shines early on. If not, Sutton can move to the slot in subpackage if James Pierre is showing more as an outside corner. Better yet, the team could scheme around their opponent, using Pierre more against bigger and physical offenses and Wade against smaller and faster offenses. As an outside corner, Wade would be a mistake, but he projects well in the slot. Add in Tomlin and Colbert being present at his pro-day and he seems like a good fit for the team.

Leave it to the Steelers to target a receiver earlier than they need, but in a class so deep, I don’t think Colbert can resist. To be fair, Anthony Schwartz has plenty of issues as a receiver, but what he isn’t lacking is speed. Schwartz is a deep threat in the mold of Mike Wallace. His route tree is severely underdeveloped making him a one-trick pony. That said, he does that one trick (winning deep) extremely well.

The Steelers haven’t hidden their infatuation with Schwartz well either. They had an early zoom call with him before sending Tomlin, Colbert, and receivers coach Ike Hilliard to Auburn’s pro day. While his forty time was a tad slower than some expected (4.27 was “slow” considering how fast he looked in school), he also weighed in almost ten pounds heavier than his listed weight. He would be an instant deep threat and could run a few end-arounds in Matt Canada’s new offense. He is a good fit, and the team will likely not leave this draft without a receiver.

Others considered: Trey Hill (OC), Elerson Smith (EDGE), Robert Rochell (CB)

If the Steelers wait on a center, Hill has to be on their radar. He is another big mauler, but injuries would likely make him available in the fourth. Smith is an oversized edge rusher from a small school, but the team showed quite a bit of interest in him. The same goes for Rochell. Frankly, Wade gets the nod due to his slot capability. If the team wants more of an outside option Rochell would have gotten the nod.