With the 2017 NFL Draft set to begin Thursday night, fans and experts alike are wondering where players will land. Below is a final Pittsburgh Steelers mock draft.<\/p>\n
With so much depth at the cornerback position in this year\u2019s draft, it\u2019s likely that a top-talent defensive back, like Marlon Humphrey<\/strong>, could end up falling to the 30th<\/sup> pick and right into the Pittsburgh Steelers lap.\u00a0The Steelers need a lock-down cornerback as well as a slot corner and Humphrey would be an excellent choice.\u00a0He could even challenge Artie Burns<\/strong><\/a> for the number one cornerback position if the Steelers are able to draft him.<\/p>\n If Humphrey happens to get taken before the Steelers select at 30, Chidobe Awuzie<\/strong> is a solid back-up choice.\u00a0Awuzie excels at the slot cornerback position and has great reaction time and closing speed.\u00a0He\u2019ll need to improve some as a tackler, but could step in and play right away on the Steelers defense.<\/p>\n Along with a cornerback, the Steelers other top need in this year\u2019s draft is an edge rusher.\u00a0 James Harrison<\/strong> <\/a>is nearing the end of his career, and the Steelers need to start considering replacing him on the starting defense.\u00a0Along with replacing him in the future, Pittsburgh needs to find a player to split time with Harrison\u00a0right now.\u00a0Harrison is much more effective with limited snaps because he can put his full effort into every play he’s on the field,\u00a0instead of pacing himself,\u00a0which makes\u00a0him a much more disruptive pass-rusher.<\/p>\n The Steelers have shown a lot of interest in Derek Rivers<\/strong>.\u00a0Joey Porter<\/strong> <\/a>talked to him a lot at his Pro Day and many believe that he\u2019s the best fit for the Steelers because of his combination of size and speed.\u00a0If Rivers is already taken though, Carl Lawson <\/strong>may still be available and would also be a great fit for the Steelers defense.<\/p>\n The Steelers need to start looking for a quarterback to replace Ben Roethlisberger<\/strong> <\/a>whenever he decides to retire.\u00a0If other NFL teams go quarterback crazy in the first two rounds, expect the Steelers to draft a quarterback with their first third-round pick.\u00a0Landry Jones <\/strong><\/a>has shown to be a decently dependable backup, but he\u2019s clearly not the franchise quarterback of the future.\u00a0The Steelers have shown a good bit of interest in Brad Kaaya<\/strong> and\u00a0Kaaya have time to develop behind Roethlisberger, assuming Roethlisberger doesn\u2019t retire after this season.<\/p>\n If a good tight end is available here, the Steelers may decide to wait to draft a quarterback.\u00a0What the Steelers decide to do depends heavily on what the other 31 NFL teams decide to do.\u00a0Basically, if a lot of tight ends have been drafted at this point, expect the Steelers to take a quarterback.\u00a0On the other hand, if a lot of quarterbacks have been selected by this point, then the Steelers may decide to wait to take a quarterback and decide to go with a tight end here.<\/p>\n If Adam Shaheen<\/strong> is still available, the Steelers would love his size.\u00a0 At 6-foot-6 and 278 pounds, Shaheen is a monster of a tight end.\u00a0He would surely be a solid red-zone target for Roethlisberger, something\u00a0the talented signal caller has\u00a0been looking for ever since Heath Miller<\/strong><\/a> retired.<\/p>\n If there aren\u2019t any tight ends remaining that are worthy of a third-round pick in the Steelers opinion, then look for them to take Carroll Phillips<\/strong>.\u00a0The Steelers have shown a lot of interest in Phillips, and with his long arms and exceptional run-stopping ability, he could potentially play at inside or outside linebacker.\u00a0Don\u2019t be surprised if the Steelers take Phillips in the third round regardless of who they\u2019ve already selected.<\/p>\n With the departure of Lawrence Timmons<\/strong> <\/a>the Steelers need depth at inside linebacker and Ben Gedeon<\/strong> has shown to be a great run-stopper that flies to the ball on every play.\u00a0 He\u2019s a natural leader and has a very high football I.Q.<\/p>\n If the Steelers have only selected one edge rusher to this point, it\u2019s likely that they\u2019ll decide to pick another one here.\u00a0Vince Biegel<\/strong> has been somewhat overlooked by college teammate T.J. Watt<\/strong> in the lead up to the draft, so he could easily fall to the fourth or fifth round.\u00a0It\u2019s unlikely that Biegel will still be around in the fifth round when the Steelers pick though, so if they decide that they want to take him, this would likely be the time to do it.<\/p>\n Le\u2019Veon Bell<\/strong> <\/a>needs a dependable back-up.\u00a0DeAngelo Williams<\/strong> <\/a>still hasn\u2019t been\u00a0re-signed, but the Steelers went out and signed former Kansas City Chiefs running back, Knile Davis<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0Davis was likely signed for depth more than anything else, so the Steelers still need to find a solid second option behind Bell.\u00a0James Conner<\/strong> would be a wonderful choice because of his well-rounded ability, and of course the fact that he went to school at the University of Pittsburgh.\u00a0Conner has also been working out with Roethlisberger leading up to the draft, which shows the chemistry between the two is already building.<\/p>\n If Kaaya or another quarterback isn\u2019t taken by the Steelers earlier, then it would make sense for them to take Jerod Evans<\/strong> here.\u00a0Evans could very well already be gone by this point, as his draft value fluctuates anywhere from being a third-round talent to maybe not even being drafted.\u00a0If Evans is gone and the Steelers haven\u2019t yet taken a quarterback to this point, then they might not even draft a quarterback at all.<\/p>\n The Steelers need depth at the safety position and Lorenzo Jerome<\/strong> is another local player from St. Francis.\u00a0Jerome can develop in the Steelers secondary behind safeties Mike Mitchell<\/strong><\/a> and Sean Davis<\/strong> <\/a>and contribute on special teams in the meantime.<\/p>\n Elijah McGuire<\/strong> is a home-run hitter with exceptional speed and quickness.\u00a0He\u2019s got great hands and could even line up as a wide receiver.\u00a0McGuire would be a nice change of pace to Bell, mixing Bell\u2019s power and patience with McGuire\u2019s speed and explosiveness.<\/p>\n At this point in the draft, teams are just filling their needs and looking for players who could potentially make the roster.\u00a0Depending on what the Steelers do earlier in the draft, expect them to address a defensive need here. Pittsburgh\u00a0will likely have already taken an inside linebacker, so Keionta Davis<\/strong> would be a solid edge rusher\u00a0who could\u00a0develop and could be a consistent special teams player.<\/p>\n If the Steelers haven\u2019t taken an inside linebacker yet, Hardy Nickerson<\/strong> would be a solid pick in the seventh round.\u00a0It\u2019s unlikely that the Steelers still haven\u2019t selected an inside linebacker to this point, but even if they have, they still might take Nickerson to play on special teams because of his tackling ability.<\/p>\n Main Photo<\/p>\nRound 2, Pick 62: Derek Rivers EDGE, Youngstown State<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Carl Lawson EDGE, Auburn<\/h4>\n
Round 3, Pick 94: Brad Kaaya QB, Miami (FL)<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Jake Butt TE, Michigan<\/h4>\n
Round 3, Pick 105: Adam Shaheen TE, Ashland<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Carroll Phillips EDGE, Illinois<\/h4>\n
Round 4, Pick 135: Ben Gedeon LB, Michigan<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Vince Biegel EDGE, Wisconsin<\/h4>\n
Round 5, Pick 173: James Conner RB, Pittsburgh<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Jerod Evans QB, Virginia Tech<\/h4>\n
Round 6, Pick 213: Lorenzo Jerome S, St. Francis (PA)<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Elijah McGuire RB, Louisiana-Lafayette<\/h4>\n
Round 7, Pick 258: Keionta Davis EDGE, Chattanooga<\/h3>\n
Back-up Plan: Hardy Nickerson LB, Illinois<\/h4>\n