Steelers make an unexpected splash trade at cornerback in latest 2023 mock draft

We are roughly two weeks away from the start of the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. The Steelers hold the 17th pick in the top round of the event and will follow that with six other selections. Those will take place between the second and third day of draft weekend. Night one will hold the first round, the second day will be rounds two and three, and the third day will be rounds four through seven.

That will then kick into undrafted free agency as teams try to sign some players to different positions that they could not select in the draft. Pittsburgh still has a lot of preparation to do before the draft starts in the coming weeks. The Steelers could be creative and move back to secure some talent at reasonable locations in the event.

TRADE: Steelers receive pick 25 and cornerback, Adoree' Jackson. Giants receive pick 17.

Pick 17 comes around for the Steelers and some of the receivers start to fly off the board early. Pittsburgh gets a call from the New York Giants, and they covet Zay Flowers enough to move up eight spots to select him. They offer a starting cornerback with Adoree' Jackson and their pick at 25. That offer was too hard to pass on even though Jackson has a high cap number this season, but that astronomically sinks next year.

Getting an extra pick in the draft would have been the icing on the cake for Omar Khan and company but this is a fair deal. It takes away their massive need at cornerback and they upgrade over Cam Sutton after he left in free agency. Jackson has scored extremely well on pro football focus throughout his career and will be the top guy for the Steelers as long as he stays healthy.