Mock draft season is upon us as you can't seem to scroll through any website that covers the NFL without seeing their latest and greatest 2022 NFL Mock Draft.
Each Monday, Steeler Nation will be putting out our 3M's Mock Drafts by three writers (Mike Stiffler, Matt Papiernik, and Ben Michaelian) who will be rotating through three mock draft simulators. We all coincidentally have a name leading with the letter M, hence the catchy title.
The three simulators we will be rotating through are Pro Football Focus', Pro Football Network's, and The Draft Network's. By doing three different simulators and rotating through them all, it will give everyone a good feel of who will be available and how the Pittsburgh Steelers draft could shake out this April.
Below are the three mock drafts for this week. We started with Mike taking PFN, Ben taking PFF, and I took TDN. Here is a link to last week's as well.
Here is Mike's Steeler Nation Mock Draft:
Mike wrote: "I ran through a couple simulations for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the 20th spot seems to be a hot commodity. In some scenarios I received offers such as the 32nd and 34th pick from the Detroit Lions in exchange for the 20th and 84th pick. Another offer was the 51st, 83rd, 101st, and a 2023 2nd and 3rd round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles just for the 20th pick alone! Unfortunately for SteelerNation, I decided to go the “Steeler Way” and stay put.
Safety Daxton Hill out of Michigan is the pick for the Steelers at the 20th spot. Hill is a more of a hybrid safety/nickel corner where he could be used in a multitude of ways. This follows the same skillset the Steelers have coveted in All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and 2nd-year player Tre Norwood. Hill is slightly undersized for a safety at 6’0” 191lbs and has some concerns in run support, but has unreal athleticism that is too hard to pass up with a division that has some of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. With their 2nd round selection, wide receiver Jahan Dotson out of Penn State is picked by the Steelers. Dotson, while slightly undersized at 5’11” 178lbs, was able to overcome his slight frame and have a very successful collegiate career finishing with 91 catches 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior season. His ceiling comparison would be Antonio Brown as he possesses great route running, the ability to succeed at all three levels of the passing game, and dynamic run-after-catch ability. Dotson would be the perfect addition to help bring this group to the 'Young Money' days. In the 3rd round, the Steelers go back to the secondary and select cornerback Martin Emerson out of Mississippi State. Emerson is a lengthy corner who has NFL ready coverage skills, but leaves a lot to be desired in run support. Too often he has trouble disengaging blockers and when he does, isn’t a reliable tackler. Ideally he would come in on passing downs to utilize his strengths early on. Running back Kyren Williams out of Notre Dame is the pick in the 4th round. Williams will come in and immediately earn back up/rotational duties underneath Najee Harris. Williams could best be described as Austin Ekeler-like given he has every trait needed to be a successful running back, but would be best served in a 10-15 touch role. Edge Tyreke Smith out of Ohio State, wide receiver Emeka Emezie out of NC State, and tackle Bamidele Olaseni out of Utah are the last three selections to finish out the draft. Smith, a 4-3 defensive end at Ohio State, was arguably their best pass rusher last season. While he will need time to adjust to a 3-4 outside linebacker role, Smith has a high potential to be effective as a rotational edge rusher and to possibly play in 3-edge rusher packages. Yes, the Steelers double dipped at the receiver position, but they absolutely need to. Emezie is the opposite of Dotson possessing a larger build but not having the fine-tuned route running. He will primarily come in as a big body possession receiver who will have to battle to make the 53-man roster. Olaseni is the next massive tackle project for the Steelers. At 6’7”, 348 lbs, he can be their next 'reporting eligible' if he is able to avoid the practice squad. ”
Now let's take a look at Ben's Steeler Nation Mock Draft:
Ben wrote: "This may be one of my favorite mocks I’ve done so far. First, Malik Willis fell to me at 20; complete no-brainer there. The 2nd round is where I was torn on the next priority position. I decided to take Christian Harris who I think is a first round pick. The Steelers are desperate for good, young talent at ILB and Harris could even win the starting job. In the 3rd, I may have reached a bit for Zyon McCollum. I like what he brings as an outside cornerback and there is no way he was going to be available in the 4th. Following that, I bolstered up the offensive skill positions. I love Josh Johnson as that strong, reliable slot receiver who is willing to pick up those tough yards. After Johnson, I took a great gadget player in Ty Chandler. Chandler is a jack of all trades where he’s simply an ‘offensive player’; if you need to convert a 4th down, get the ball in his hands and let him make a play. He’d pair well with either Mitch Trubisky or Willis. Then, I went back to defense in assessing the strong safety position. Kenderick Duncan is my value pick here as he has the right attributes to give him a solid floor in terms of production, he just needs to work on coverage skills and technique to get him to that next level. Finally, I took a big defensive tackle with DJ Dale. Dale is definitely a late round flyer, but he’d be a solid depth piece along the defensive front; we saw how critical that has been with the absence of Stephon Tuitt. Dale could be groomed into a steady rotational player in the NFL."
Lastly, let's take a look at my Steeler Nation Mock Draft:
What I had to say about my mock: "Every time I do one of these mocks, I am waiting to see what player could potentially be falling into the Steelers' lap like it has happened in the past. Regardless, even if no one falls, there is an exceptional amount of talent in the first round. With that said, I have the Steelers snagging Trent McDuffie in the 1st round, which has happened quite often through this series. Steelers have very good depth at the corner spot, but there is no proven #1 on the team. McDuffie has the chance to be that as there are very few weak spots in his game and he can start either on the inside or outside day 1. Next might be a bit of a shocker this late in the 2nd, but I see the Steelers being more likely to trade up for a QB with their 2nd pick than take one at 20th overall. Sam Howell is someone that both Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert have shown a liking in, as they have given him a lot of attention last season and during this off-season. He would be a very good value in the 2nd round for a team that has question marks at quarterback long term. Darian Kinnard is someone who can fill that OT/OG spot for the team year 1, and potentially become the team's right tackle in future years. Chukwuma Okorafor signed an extension, but the Steelers could move on after 2022 without much dead cap if they would like to get a cheaper option. Kinnard is a mauler and is better suited for guard, but started three years on the right side for the Wildcats. Next up, I have Hassan Haskins, someone who is capable of handling a three-down workload and is an excellent pass blocker. It is no secret that the Steelers will feature a heavy running attack in 2022, so finding a consistent presence behind Najee Harris is a must. My next two picks are both long term, high upside defensive players that should be able to show well on special teams. Amare Barno is a speed rusher with elite twitch, but lacks much size to take on blockers, especially in the run game. Smoke Monday, who should be a candidate for the All-Name team, is someone the Steelers will typically fall in love with. He loves the game of football as much as anyone, electing to play in his bowl game when most of his team opted out of it, and he embraces the physicality of the game in all facets. Lastly, the Steelers can snag a potential sleeper wide receiver in Charleston Rambo. He shows some very good skills in terms of separation and route running, but struggled this past year in the stat sheet due to a lack luster passing attack."
All of these simulators obviously rank people in very different locations, but you can see trends, as well as some overlapping names. These different simulators now have all the same picks as the compensatory picks have finally been announced!
Let us know below what you think of all of our mocks we did this week and who you think would be good prospects to look into! Click to comment below!
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