Steelers mock draft: Pittsburgh dips into QB pool in second round

Steelers fourth-round pick (comp.): EDGE Nolan Smith

The Steelers could use more edge defender depth in a bad way and Nolan Smith is a tremendous value at this point in the draft. Though he wasn’t the most notable player on Georgia’s stellar defense this past season, he was a solid player for the Bulldogs.

At 6’3” and 235 pounds, Smith is very lean for an edge rusher, but he offers terrific flexibility to rush from either side of the formation or to drop into coverage. This is the type of player the Steelers have been missing. Though his first ten games this season at Georgia, Smith earned 38 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss, 2.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception, via Sports Reference.

After Pittsburgh elected to ship Melvin Ingram before the trade deadline, their depth on the edge became a nightmare — especially when T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were banged up.

For the Steelers, Nolan Smith could immediately come in and compete for the job as the team’s third edge defender. Eventually, he could prove to be a solid rotational piece who could spell T.J. Watt of snaps and possibly even push Alex Highsmith for a larger role on defense.