Open Rants by Cletus

For as long as I can remember, I have always been enthralled with the NFL Draft, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even as a little kid, I would watch the draft by myself instead of cartoons- captivated by the highlights and stories of the college kids making it big; watching the fans in New York ridicule all of the other picks while high-fiving and hugging each other regardless of who the Jets picked. I remember Al Davis picking the most athletic player each year while my Raider fan friends sighed in disgust. Now I take pleasure in Roger Goodell getting booed non-stop every time he gets near the stage..... the NFL Draft is GLORIOUS; every year teams get new hopes and dreams of a Super Bowl- especially when teams "need" a Quarterback- even though very, very few of them become superstars. 

So here it is- my annual Steelers mock! This is a combination of who I feel they should pick (the Rooneys never listen to me despite my stalker-like letters every draft season), who I feel they will pick, and positions of need.

Round 1- Pick 17- Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State. Yes, this is a bit of a homer pick. For those of us old enough to remember Joey Porter Sr. menacingly roaming the mid-field line talking smack while the opposing team warmed up- of course we want to bring his son home! This also happens to be a position of need. While Jr. may not have the interception numbers some of the other corners in this class do, he has the size and physicality to match up with today's NFL wide receivers. Yes they brought in Pat Peterson- but Tomlin has discussed possibly playing him at safety at times. Tomlin is a defensive minded coach- who lost his best corner in Cam Sutton. While I still believe there is a strong possibility they trade up for Paris Johnson, Jr., if they do stand pat and Porter Jr. is on the board, I feel it's just too much of a fit here and should be automatic.    

Round 2- Pick 32- Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma. In my humble opinion (as well as the rest of the known universe), the Steelers two biggest needs are CB and OT, followed closely by DL. While I also like Walt's pick of Mazi Smith- DT, Michigan I feel that there is a back-up plan. More on that later. If Harrison is here at 32 and they go CB in round 1, this is a no-brainer. At 6'4 and 315 lbs., Harrison is actually a freak athlete at his size. He has a great punch and good feet; his lateral movement affords him the ability to cover ground with quicker and smaller edge rushers, and he also possesses the power to handle larger DEs. The Steelers management has done a good job upgrading the guard spots, but OT is a need- even though I still feel Dan Moore Jr. has room to improve. Harrison, if available, would be an asset too good to pass up.

Round 2- Pick 49- Joe Tippman, C, Wisconsin. The second round should be the most exciting for us Steeler (or Stiller, if you're from the area) fans. Drafting a center is probably not something you are seeing in your standard mock draft; however the Steelers historically have had talent galore at the center position over the history of the franchise. I still cannot get over the drafting of Kendrick Green, especially when there were real centers still on the board at the time. I also like John Michael Schmitz and feel like he would also be a great pick, but he may be gone here. Joe Tippman is larger than our typical Pittsburgh center at 6'6, 315 lbs. But he has the same type of athleticism and quickness that I talked about with Anton Harrison. Plus, wouldn't it be fun to have a center that's bigger than our OT? Tippman is also a character. If you have ever heard him interview, he sounds like a Pittsburgh guy. He speaks about loving to pull as a center, to get shots on unsuspecting defenders. He sounds like a guy that would be great to throw back a few Yuenglings with. You gotta love that!

Round 3- Pick 80- Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor. Remember that back-up plan I talked about earlier? This is it. I LOVE Siaki Ika as a player. In fact, I love him as much as Mazi Smith if not a little more; especially at this value. Let's be honest- we need defensive line youth. Let's be even more honest- we have even more need at Nose Tackle. Remember Casey Hampton and his too-small-for-his-melon helmet? We miss that type of guy. While we have been filling in players pretty well- Tyson Alualu did a good job for us the past few years- we need that Atlas Ball to anchor the middle of our 3-4 defensive line in which NT is HUGE (no pun intended. Or was it......?) This is the gr-animal we need there. "Only" 6-2, but 335 lbs. of angry Polynesian. He plays with passion, power, and rage- even Cam Heyward loves this guy. If this goes down, it may be my favorite pick of the draft.

Round 4- Pick 120- Jordan Battle, S, Alabama. There was a time that I had considered Jordan Battle in round 2. The fact that he is getting mocked this low now has me pretty baffled; maybe it's because of the play of Brian Branch that has him overshadowed a bit. Battle is a pretty stout safety at 6'1, 210 lbs. yet still has great burst and athleticism. He's not afraid to play in the box and also has good coverage skills. Which is why he is very hard to slot in the draft. I originally thought about putting Ronnie Hickman from Ohio State here as he is more of your typical strong safety type. But Battle would give us options in the secondary in today's passing NFL that we have not had. Joey Porter Jr., Jordan Battle, and Minkah? That would be a good way to fix the secondary Mikey Tomlin. Comment below if you would like me to apply for the scouting department...

Round 7- Pick 241- Nick Herbig, EDGE, Wisconsin. We like brothers on this team, am I right? Besides, we need Edge depth. I thought we could bring Dupree back and get some more episodes of Bud's Buddies on YouTube, but alas, it was not meant to be. The younger Herbig is a 6'2, 240 lb. throwback outside linebacker. Throwback like an epic win in James Harrison, and an epic failure in Jarvis Jones. Where Harrison was Deebo strong and was built like a tank, Herbig is more slippery and quick. He has a good dip, and plays with a great motor. At worse case this guy could be a special teams demon. But I think he has the ability to become a quality starter. Alex Highsmith has surpassed expectations, and the Steelers may not be able to afford him next season. Edge depth is a must.

Round 7- Pick 251- Cory Durden, DT, NC State. This is another guy that I feel would add some quality depth as well as youth, and would be a good fit as a 3-4 DE. Durden is 6'4, and weighs in at just under 300 lbs. He's a scrappy guy, and has a good set of skills and pass rush moves. The knock on him are missed tackles; but seriously how hard is it to teach someone how to wrap up and play with better leverage? Because of that Durden is somewhat of a project. At this junction in the 7th round he could be a potential steal with the right coaching, particularly in the 3-4..

Before I go, there are a few things I have to address...

*Jack Campbell is my Draft Crush this year. Draft Man Crush? Man Draft Crush....? So confusing. Anyway, I would love to find a way to fit him in here somewhere, but I just don't know how they would do it.

*No Wide Receiver drafted? No, no, no. The Steelers not only have 17 million WRs on the roster, they have others readily available. Yes, in the past they have found gems in the middle rounds. However, there is a new GM and Assistant GM, and the focus is on building from the trenches. Johnson, Pickens, Allen Robinson, Calvin Austin III (still mad he didn't pick number 16- Austin III 16? Come on....), and Myles Boykin will be just fine....

*QB could be a late round pick or a possible priority UFA signing. I really liked Max Duggan, but I think he will go higher than expected. The Steelers have had a tough time finding late round QBs; hopefully the new GM will fix that.

Thank you guys for reading- and have a happy draft night! If Walt does the live comment board, I will be the guy who is drunk and belligerent by pick 4...... Hope to see you then and BOOOOOO Roger Goodell!!!

Ya boy, Cletus