Steelers worst-case Mock Draft: Pittsburgh makes desperation moves early

Steelers mock draft round 2: Christian Haynes, OL, UConn

Plenty of tough things occur for the Steelers at this point in the mock draft simulation. They wait for their second-round pick and both of their top center targets come off the board. They decided to gamble by taking Nix in the first round instead of Jackson Powers-Johnson. They not only see him selected early in the second round, but they also see Zach Frazier come off the board.

They pivot to potentially reaching for someone like Sedrick Van Pran at this point, but they don't want to do that. Instead, they decide to go outside the box and take a guard by the name of Christian Haynes. He is a quality prospect and should have a solid career at the next level. The main issue with this pick is that Haynes has not played a ton of center during his career at UConn.

Many fans are going to imagine this being another version of Kendrick Green when the Steelers took him. Those comparisons would only exist because both play primarily guard in college and were shoved into the center spot coming into the NFL. Haynes is a much better player and possesses better size than Green carried coming into the league.

No matter how good Haynes is, there are two quality starters at both guard spots on the roster for the black and gold. He would have to try and challenge Mason Cole for the starting center spot, which will be an uphill battle. Haynes did some snaps at center during the Senior Bowl, but the Steelers have to take a prospect who is a real center with plenty of starting experience at the position.