The Steelers scouting staff and coaching staff have been pretty busy this week with meeting with potential new Steelers players at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been especially busy watching players on the field during practice, and paying close attention to players that would help build this team to win a seventh super bowl.
Among the players Mike Tomlin has been watching are Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson and Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl is finally here, this is where the draft begins. Today I’m going to be watching these players that have a good chance to be on the Steelers big board.
There are a few on this list that are going to be moving up several boards after today. Just a couple to keep an eye on running back Tyjae Spears (Tulane) and wide receiver Jayden Reed (Michigan State).
Let’s get into the players.
National Team
Offense Ronnie Bell, WR Michigan Josh Whyle, TE Cincinnati Dawand Jones, OT Ohio State Blake Freeland, OT BYU Jayden Reed, WR Michigan State
Offense Tyjae Spears, RB Tulane Xavier Hutchinson, WR Iowa State Derius Davis, WR TCU Darnell Wright, OT Tennessee O’Cyrus Torrence, G Florida
Defense Zachh Pickens, DL South Carolina Will McDonald IV, EDGE Iowa State SirVocea Dennis, LB Pittsburgh Tyrique Stevens, CB Miami (FL) Jay Ward, DB LSU
It’s that time of the year when the Reese’s Senior Bowl start to send out the invites for their game. So far fifty-three players have accepted an invite to the game. Some of the players that have accepted an invite are Houston QB Clayton Tune, Michigan WR Ronnie Bell, Oregon OL Alex Forsyth, Texas Tech DL Tyree Wilson, and Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown.
Running Backs Camerun Peoples, Appalachian State Chris Rodriguez Jr, Kentucky Chase Brown, Illinois Roschon Johnson, Texas Hunter Luepke, FB North Dakota State
Wide Receivers Derius Davis, TCU Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State Jayden Reed, Michigan State Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss Rashee Rice, SMU Elijah Higgins, Stanford Michael Wilson, Stanford Andrei Iosivas, Princeton Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia Ronnie Bell, Michigan
Tight Ends Luke Musgrave, Oregon State Dalton Kincaid, Utah
Offensive Line Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland Cody Mauch, North Dakota State Ryan Hayes, Michigan Alex Forsyth, Oregon Nick Saldiveri, Old Dominion Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse Steve Avila, TCU McClendon Curtis, UT-Chattanooga Blake Freeland, BYU
Defensive Line Cameron Young, Mississippi State Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern Dylan Horton, TCU Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin Siaki Ika, Baylor Yaya Diaby, Louisville Fabien Lovett, Florida State
Linebackers Nick Hampton, Appalachian State Eku Leota, Auburn Aubrey Miller Jr, Jackson State DeMarvion Overshown, Texas Dorian Williams, Tulane Owen Pappoe, Auburn Will McDonald IV, Iowa State Daiyan Henley, Washington State
Defensive Backs Jammie Robinson, Florida State Chamarri Conner, Virginia Tech Devon Witherspoon, Illinois Sydney Brown, Illinois Jakorian Bennett, Maryland Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford Anthony Johnson, Virginia Jartavius Martin, Illinois Daniel Scott, California
Special Teams Chad Ryland, PK Maryland Bryce Baringer, PT Michigan State Alex Ward, LS Cental Florida Adam Korsak, PT Rutgers
The 2021 NFL Draft is just 91 days away. So I thought it’s time to start to do my Steelers Mock Drafts again. The Steelers had a great start to the 2020 Season going 11-0, but the last 6 games of the season they didn’t seem to have the same fire they did to at the start. A lot of this I believe had to do with injuries to key players on both sides of the ball. Along with not being able to get the run game going all season, even though they did have a couple of 100 yard rushers during the early part of the season.
The Steelers need to start to look at building for the future, since Ben probably only has one year left. They do have Mason Rudolph and newly signed Dwayne Haskins at the Quarterback Position. The Offensive Line is another spot where we need to draft some players. Longtime Center Maurkice Pouncey is likely retiring in the coming weeks, and we don’t know if Guard David DeCastro is in the teams plans going forward with his Cap hit.
With that all being said, let’s get in to the Mock Draft. I did make one trade during the Draft with the Bengals. I traded out the 4th (121st) Round to pick up a 5th (135th), 6th (168th), 7th (198th) Round picks, because the player I was targeting was drafted two picks ahead of my pick.
Here is the Draft:
Round 1
24th Pick: Mac Jones, QB Alabama
Mac Jones looks to be the polished Quarterback in this years class behind Trevor Lawrence. He is not the most athletic prospect at the position, but he has a great sense of where the pressure is coming from when in the pocket. He does a very good job going through his reads. He would be a great fit in the Matt Canada offense going forward.
Other players considered: OT Samuel Cosmi, C Creed Humphrey, CB Asante Samuels Jr.
Round 2
55th Pick: Creed Humphrey, C Oklahoma
Humphrey would be a great pick to pair with Kevin Dotson and David DeCastro. This would really help to get the Run game going. Humphrey would be great replacement for Pouncey. He Looks to be the top Center in this years class.
Vincent has a very high Football IQ. He is efficient in and out of his breaks, allowing him to close separation rapidly on shallow routes, He also has displayed an ability to play both Nickel and post safety. He would be a great replacement for Mike Hilton.
Others Considered: WR Nico Collins, RB Chubba Hubbard, G Ben Cleveland
Round 4
121st Pick traded to the Bengals.
Round 5 (from Bengals)
135th Pick: Elijah Mitchell, RB Louisiana
Mitchell has size, build and strong lower half. Along with his ability he can fit in Zone or Gap scheme, and his vision and play speed to find gaps and hit the gas. His Career stats are really good 527 carries, 3,267 yards, 6.2 YPC, 41 TD’s, 49 Receptions, 597 yards, 12.2 YPR, 5 TD. He would be a great fit for Canada’s Offense.
Others considered: G Quinn Meinerz, OT Alaric Jackson, TE Tre McKitty
Round 6 a. (from Bengals)
168th Pick: Quinn Meinerz, G Wisconsin-Whitewater
Meinerz has position versatility where he can play both Guard and Center. At the Senior Bowl Meinerz showed his ability to go up against some of the top Defensive Linemen in the Draft.
Others considered: G Tommy Kraemer, WR Tarik Black, DT Lorenzo Neal
Round 6 b.
192nd Pick: Tony Poljan, TE Virginia
Poljan has a rare frame for the position, great size and length, looks every bit his listing. He also has good hands, reliable safety valve, adjusts well to balls thrown outside his frame, good body control. They did very good the last time the drafted a Tight End from Virginia.
Others considered: WR Frank Darby, LB Garrett Stuad, S Ja’Von Hicks
Round 7 a. (from Bengals)
198th Pick: Tuf Borland, LB Ohio State
Borland would be nice depth at the Linebacker position. He can be a good player on special teams, and also would be a nice rotation player on defense.
Johnson would be a good depth player for the Steelers, since Juju will more in likely not be resigned. Johnson is a low risk high reward pick. He probably will go on day two of the draft.
Others considered: WR Dez Fitzpatrick, OT Josh Bell, P Drue Chrisman
