Steelers final mock draft: Pittsburgh settles for a QB at pick 20

Steelers round 4

I struggled to find a good fourth-round pick here. While a safety would make the most sense, most of the names available in the fourth aren’t that great. The team seemingly has their eyes on a later round safety with some starter potential long-term. That leaves linebacker as a potential fit, as the Steelers have seemingly done their homework on some of the top linebacker names.

Double-dipping at Cincinnati prospects makes sense, as their defense was one of the better ones in college football. Darrian Beavers has some issues as a prospect, but he plays with impressive size and speed. As a former safety, he has some positive coverage skills, and he uses his size to make plays in run defense.

Beavers is lacking in terms of lateral ability, as his sideline-to-sideline speed is mediocre. While he has some decent coverage skills, the further he plays from the line of scrimmage the worse he typically plays.

Finally, his ability to read an offense isn’t great, as he is more of a reactive player as opposed to an anticipatory defender. That said, he can develop into a capable starter down the road, and his size and run defense specifically could make him a fine player in a few years.