Steelers mock draft: 5 first-round targets for Pittsburgh
By Tommy Jaggi
Steelers could target CB Kaiir Elam
The 2022 NFL Draft is shaping up to have an elite cornerback class, and we all know how hard it has been for the Steelers to draft the cornerback position. Since 1994, Pittsburgh has only spent two first-round picks on cornerbacks (Chad Scott and Artie Burns) and neither one of them came close to living up to their billing.
While this might have Pittsburgh shying away from using elite draft capital on a cornerback, that shouldn’t be their reason to miss out on the elite talent in this draft class. According to The Draft Network’s latest big board from Kyle Crabbs, there are 3 cornerbacks inside the top 9 overall players this year, and 5 inside the top 19.
This could come down to preference for teams in who is available. Kaiir Elam could very well go before the Steelers pick, but there’s plenty of reason to believe he could be on their radar if available. Elam is a big-school guy with the size and athletic to be a long-time starting cornerback in the NFL.
The Steelers have Cameron Sutton under contract for one more year, but Joe Haden will almost certainly be gone and James Pierre may just be a stop-gap option at best. Pittsburgh needs to get a cornerback who can match up against players like Ja’Marr Chase and Marquise Brown in a tough division.