Steelers Mock Draft: Pittsburgh is done messing around on offense

Steelers mock draft round 3: Johnny Dixon, CB, Penn State

There's a strong case to be made that cornerback is the most pressing need on the Steelers roster this year, and it's not hard to see why. Though Pittsburgh may have knocked it out of the park with the Joey Porter Jr. selection at the top of the second round last year, they are still in desperate need of an answer next to him in the secondary.

Levi Wallace, Chandon Sullivan, and James Pierre are all free agents this offseason, and with the performances we have seen from each of these players, it might not be worth bringing any of them back in 2024.

Meanwhile, Patrick Peterson struggled with quicker and faster wide receivers. He's got a questionable contract situation, and if he does stick around on the roster, it's possible that he could transition to safety as a 34-year-old player at this stage of his NFL career. The only other hopeful options on the roster include soon-to-be second-year players like Cory Trice Jr. (who suffered an ACL injury in training camp) and Darius Rush (who barely saw the field for Pittsburgh this year).

There have been mixed reviews about Penn State cornerback Jonny Dixon in the early going. Dixon wasn't as consistent in 2023 as he was as a junior in 2022. However, at roughly 6'0'' and 195 pounds, Dixon has good size for an outside cornerback. The third round might be a bit rich for where he should go, but the Steelers just had success drafting a Penn State cornerback, and they could do it again in 2024.