Steelers mock draft Monday results split between two players

The Steelers have a few obvious positions they will be targeting this offseason. Here’s why recent mock draft results have them choosing one of two players.

With the Los Angeles Rams defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, the 2021 NFL season is officially over… which means you are going to be seeing a lot of mock drafts flooding in.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have no shortage of needs in 2022, and how they spend their ample salary-cap space in free agency could dictate their biggest needs in the 2022 NFL Draft. As of now, most assume that they will focus on offensive line help while trying to find their next franchise quarterback.

On this mock draft Monday, four major NFL sites took a stab at predicting the first-round picks of all 32 teams this April. For the Steelers, the results were split right down the middle:

Both Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report had Pittsburgh taking Liberty QB and Senior Bowl standout, Malik Willis, while The Draft Network and FanSided’s NFL Spin Zone had the Steelers going with Texas A&M offensive lineman, Kenyon Green.

Would Steelers draft either of these two players?

Of the two players, Green seems more likely to fall to Pittsburgh with the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, as this is a strong OL class. However, I’m not yet convinced that he’s a player that is going to be high on their radar.

While the Steelers could obviously use offensive line help across the board, Green is from a school that is outside of Pittsburgh’s typical scouting region (in Texas). Though this might not seem like a big deal, this team has only drafted one player in the first round west of Missouri since Mike Tomlin was named the head coach back in 2007 (David DeCastro from Stanford in 2012).

Regardless of this draft trend, Kenyon Green is a young, versatile offensive lineman the Steelers must consider, and most would view him as good value if he fell to the 20th pick.

However, Malik Willis seems like more of a possibility for Pittsburgh this year, as they made no effort in hiding their interest in the Liberty quarterback during Senior Bowl week. If the Steelers do have their sites set on Willis, however, it may require a trade-up in order to acquire him, as there are several quarterback-needy teams selecting before them this year.

This is exactly what Pro Football Focus NFL Draft analyst Michael Renner predicted, as he has the Steelers trading with the Broncos to move up to the 9th overall pick and select Willis.

One thing is for sure: the NFL Draft media is on the same page when it comes to Pittsburgh’s needs this year, and it’s interesting that four major sites have them selecting just one of two players in the first round. Both Malik Willis and Kenyon Green should certainly be considered candidates this April.