Pittsburgh enters the 2023 NFL draft with seven selections. That could always change if a trade occurs leading up to or during the event itself. There are plenty of quality players that should be available when the Steelers make their picks in the draft. Plenty of holes to fill across this roster, and this organization seems primed to make those weaknesses history.
Steelers mock draft round 1: OT Dawand Jones
Night one of the draft comes around and the Steelers decide to sit still after failing to trade up for Paris Johnson Jr. Another prospect they really like, Joey Porter Jr. was also taken a couple of picks before they even had the chance of selecting him. They play it safe and wait their turn at pick 17 before using the selection on Dawand Jones out of Ohio State.
Plenty of interest has been shown to this tackle prospect throughout the draft process. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan met with him and his teammates over dinner and it seems more likely than not that he could be a top choice for Pittsburgh. He is a mountain of a tackle and should be able to switch sides at the next level without too much concern.
Dan Moore Jr. would then be ousted as the starting left tackle and this group in the trenches would be turning a new leaf. This would allow Moore and Chuks Okorafor to battle for the starting right tackle position on the offensive line. The loser of that battle will then handle the swing tackle role, which is still an important job for this group.
Steelers mock draft round 2: LB Trenton Simpson
It will be interesting to see how the black and gold handle the middle linebacker position in the upcoming draft. They added two veterans with plenty of starting experience in free agency, but they are not top-level players. Picking someone in the draft with a high selection should be under consideration leading up to the event.
Trenton Simpson is the pick here as he falls out of the first round. He would be a nice value at pick 32. His speed and coverage ability would infuse something into the linebacker group that is currently missing. They have run stuffers, but they need a guy that can match up against some speedy weapons on the opposition's offense in certain instances.
Steelers mock draft round 2: DT Keeanu Benton
Another player that Pittsburgh has shown a lot of interest in is Keeanu Benton out of Wisconsin. They met with him plenty of times, but Tomlin and Khan were not able to make his pro day. Normally, that is a damning statement for taking a prospect this early in the draft for the Steelers, but he did visit the team for one of their top 30 visit slots.
Defensive line is a spot where the black and gold will likely target early in the draft if the picks in front of them shake out a certain way. Benton would slot in perfectly as the starting nose tackle and grow his role from there. He is a talented player coming out and his name seems to be in high demand as the draft is less than a month away.
Steelers mock draft round 3: CB Darius Rush
Many might not like the thought of waiting until the third round to add a cornerback to the roster, but that is the way things went in this simulation. It was hard to pass up on certain prospects before, and Benton was not going to last until this pick. The Steelers decide to continue their focus on the trenches on offense and defense before looking at the secondary conundrum.
Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson could very well be the top starters on the outside cornerback spots. Trying to figure out who will be the main slot corner might just be simple as expanding Arthur Maulet's role. Hopefully, that is not the case, but they get Darius Rush who has impressed in every pre-draft event that he has participated in.
Steelers mock draft round 4: S Ji'Ayir Brown
Another position that had some interesting news during the free agency process was strong safety. Terrell Edmunds went across the state after signing a prove it deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers responded by signing a safety that plays a similar style with a harder hit with Keanu Neal. He is starting to become a journeyman starter in recent years.
Neal could very well be the starter moving forward, but drafting Ji'Ayir Brown here provides some options. This pick allows Pittsburgh to have an open competition in camp and Brown has a ton of experience playing the box safety role. He did that at Penn State and had good results overall. He did not test well during the pre-draft process, but he has looked good on the field.
Steelers mock draft round 7: QB Malik Cunningham
The black and gold will either draft a quarterback or re-sign Mason Rudolph during the offseason. Taking one in the draft still seems more likely than retaining Rudolph at any price. That leads to the seventh-round selection here of Malik Cunningham to hopefully become a reliable backup by his second season in the NFL.
Mitch Trubisky will depart the team after his contract runs out after the 2023 season concludes. Cunningham has a lot of exciting tools to work with, most notably his speed and explosiveness. He needs to work on his throwing mechanics in the NFL before he can become a more well-rounded signal caller. His strength is with his legs right now, but he could grow into a special talent if he can clean up his accuracy issues.
Steelers mock draft round 7: WR Puca Nacua
Here is the receiver that many have been clamoring for as draft weekend inches closer. Puca Nacua might not be the name everyone is looking for, but he would make a lot of sense for what the Steelers are looking for at the position. They wanted Chase Claypool to become a dominant receiver in the slot by utilizing his size, but that did not pan out.
Nacua has shown issues in college with showing separation, but he should be able to settle into the slot role well. He has some size to him that should help in that instance. Nacua is not as big of a target as Claypool, but he is more used to making tighter catches since he does struggle to separate at times. This would be a solid addition with the Steelers final pick in the draft to battle for a starting spot on this roster.