Steelers Land Georgia Pass Rusher Nolan Smith In CBS Sports 1st Round Mock Draft

With the NFL combine officially coming to a close, Steeler Nation is just that much closer to finding out what the Pittsburgh Steelers' plans are for their immediate future. Although there may be some more pressing needs on either side of the football, the Steelers are currently sitting pretty with two first-round draft picks at their disposal (acquired a Chicago Bears first-round pick in a trade for Chase Claypool) which means they either have the ability to trade up into the first half of the first round to select a particular player or they can keep both the 17th and 32nd pick and come away with two first-round selections. 

Obviously, who the Steelers will select remains in question but we have heard a few "big name" prospects attached to the black and gold. 

What If Smith Is Available To Select When The Steelers Are On The Clock?

Although you may disagree, it seems like a decent amount of front offices prefer to go the route of selecting the best available player on the board for the team's first-round selection and that very well could be the case with the Steelers as well, especially if a player of Nolan Smith’s quality still remains on the board once the 17th overall selection is announced. 

The senior pass rusher from the University of Georgia garnered a lot of attention this past weekend after posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.39 seconds. That made him good for the second-fastest combine mark by a defensive end since 2003 and was the fastest of any linebacker or edge rusher at the 2023 NFL combine.

A pass rusher is definitely not on top of the Steeler's priority list as they already have a tandem of All-Pro TJ Watt and his counterpart Alex Highsmith on opposite sides of each other, but depth at that position is crucial, and drafting a young player with the potential Smith possesses might be too hard to pass up on. In fact, CBS Sports released a first-round mock draft on Sunday night that predicted the Steelers' would go this route, pairing the 6’3 235-lbs edge rusher with the Steelers' 17th overall selection.

“Nolan Smith missed part of the 2022 season with a pectoral injury, but he's an electric pass-rusher when healthy,” CBS Sports Ryan Wilson said. 

“He's also a freakish athlete. He ripped off a 4.39 40 at the combine. That motor is all over his tape, and while the Steelers have other needs, Smith might be too good to pass up here," Wilson echoed.

Smith’s current draft stock still does remain in question after suffering from a torn pectoral muscle in November of 2022, but he did more than help himself and his overall stock with this past weekend's performance at the combine turning heads no matter what the obstacle was. In fact, the reason we are talking about him being selected as high as 17th overall is somewhat based on just the combine results alone. 

The fact is, the Steelers don't need immediate help as far as pass rushers are concerned, but they do need depth at that position. Of course, all of Steeler Nation is lucky enough to say that we have Watt locked up for at least another four years, but we have yet to see what the front office will decide to do with his counterpart as we haven't heard much movement on the potential future of Highsmith. If Smith is sitting there, available to select once the Steelers are on the clock, shouldn’t they at least consider making the move? 

Would you be okay with the Steelers selecting Smith with the 17th pick in this year's draft? Or would you rather see them address more pressing needs that early in the draft?

Comment below!

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