Steelers mock draft round 2: Patrick Paul, OT, Houston
Night two of the draft finally kicks off and the Steelers hold one pick in the second round and another in the third. They decide to sit still and wait until their pick in the second round. Eventually, it comes and they want to add a tackle. There are a couple of quality options on the board both at tackle and center, but they decided to select Patrick Paul out of Houston.
He had a strong week at the Senior Bowl and is someone that should be able to slide into the starting right tackle spot. The biggest concern going with this pick here would be Paul only having experience at left tackle during his college days. Broderick Jones should get the first crack there as the Steelers traded up in the first round last year to get him.
The best way to sort out the solution would be to have Jones, Paul, and Dan Moore Jr. battle for both starting spots on the left and right sides. The winner will get the starting spots, but Paul is someone who should be able to make that transition to the right side. Or if he becomes the upgrade over Moore on the left and Jones stays on the right, then that would be ok too.
Paul has only allowed one sack in the past two seasons as the starting left tackle at Houston. That number is extremely impressive. It gets even better when you realize he was credited for surrendering four sacks throughout his college career. Paul would be a nice value get at this point in the draft and the Steelers find another tackle upgrade on offense.