Steelers 7-round mock draft: OL and LB rebuilt instead of QB
By Andrew Falce
Steelers round 7:
Now comes the huge wait, as the Steelers don’t have a pick between the fourth and seventh-round as of now. Unfortunately, needs will have to be passed on as a result, with one such need being strong safety. Assuming the team has a plan in place before the draft there, taking a developmental player will do the trick. Juanyeh Thomas is one such player.
Built-in a similar mold as safety/linebacker hybrids such as Kyle Dugger and Jeremy Chinn from a few drafts ago Thomas is an oversized strong safety that will thrive as a sub-package linebacker. He has great athleticism for his size, but his coverage skills are lacking. He will be a core special teams player and has the traits to develop into a role player on defense. Not a new starting strong safety by any means, but one that can be a valuable addition to this defense.
Rounding out the draft, the Steelers add a tackle to aid their rebuilding offensive line. While Myron Cunningham won’t be a top name in this draft, he is an intriguing prospect coming out of Arkansas. While not as flashy as most in this class, Cunningham held his own every week against top-level college competition. He wasn’t perfect, but he showed enough that he may be able to develop into a capable right tackle down the road.
His pass blocking is fine, and he run blocks with a lot of physicality. Bigger edge defenders will give him fits but adding some bulk to his frame should help with that. He honestly reminds me of Dan Moore from a season ago, as he was a similar, unflashy prospect that held his own every week. While ideally, Cunningham doesn’t have to see as much action as Moore, there is a chance he could become a starter eventually. At worst, he should be a capable swing tackle.
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The Steelers have a lot of holes to fill and not a lot of picks to do it. Free agency will be key for this team as well since they will likely need to add a starter or two before the draft gets underway. While there is still a long way to go before the draft is played out, this early prediction fills as many needs as I could for this team.