Steelers make a franchise-altering trade in final 2023 NFL mock draft
Paris Johnson Jr.. player. 55. . . Offensive tackle. 1. Ohio State
Steelers mock draft round 1: OT Paris Johnson Jr.
After the trade up, the Steelers decide to go with Paris Johnson Jr. out of Ohio State. There is a lot of smoke around this organization and the potential of them moving up to take a top tackle like Johnson. Rumors have also swirled around about the potential of moving up for someone like Jalen Carter if he falls to this point in the draft. That seems less likely to happen than moving up with Johnson available around this time in the first round.
Offensive tackle is one of the last spots that this team has not been able to upgrade at to this juncture of the offseason. Johnson will be a plug and play left tackle for this offensive line and become an immediate upgrade over Dan Moore Jr. Both Moore and Chuks Okorafor will battle for the starting job at right tackle with this selection.
Others that were considered: Jalen Carter (DT), Broderick Jones (OT), Joey Porter Jr. (CB), Darnell Wright (OT)
Broderick Jones could be a sneaky trade up option if he falls out of the top 11 picks, which could be a cheaper trade up option. Either Joey Porter Jr. or Darnell Wright could be the most realistic options for the black and gold if they stand pat at pick 17. If either of those two are available at 17, then it could be a toss-up.