The Pittsburgh Steelers Final 2015 NFL Mock Draft

While I try to make the picks as realistic as possible, I do have to say I am HOPING BEYOND HOPE that we pick KJ at 22.  But I cant get his rating to mesh with the grid.  Heres hoping he breaks new ground.  That said, here we go...

(Player reviews below grid as usual)

With the 22nd pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select...

4/30/15	First Round	Second Round	Third Round	Fourth Round	Fifth Round	Sixth Round	Sixth Round	Seventh Round
FINAL MOCK	22	56	87	121	160	199	212	239
						COMP
NAME	PETERS	MAULDIN*	GRANT*	COOPER*	GARCIA*	UZOMAH	HALL	EMANUEL*
POS/SCHOOL	CB/WASHINGTON	EDGE/LOUISVILLE	CB/OHIO STATE	DL/WASHINGTON STATE	OL/FLORIDA	TE/AUBURN	WR/UCF	EDGE/N.DAKOTA STATE
OVERALL RATING	26	74	93	79	227	211	238	199
2014 +/-	-4	(+9)	-3	(+38)	-77	(+61)	(+61)	(+54)
2013 +/-	-1	-27	0	-4	(+27)	-21	-21	(+62)
2012 +/-	(+14)	(+16)	0	(+21)	(+34)	TRADED	TRADED	-129
2011 +/-	-5	-18	(+26)	-48	(+85)	(+4)	(+4)	-176
2010 +/-	-13	-24	-82	(+38)	-73	-110	-110	-91
	LAKE PD	MT & PORTER PD	MT & KC PD	1/30	MUNCHAK PD	COLBERT PD	COLBERT PD	1/30
	1/30		BLOODLINES 1/30			1/30

22 Peters- yes he was kicked off the team, and yes he said he was sorry, but aside form fitting into the grid perfectly Ive found a few notes.  KC said on monday they ignore the media as well as mock drafts.  He then went on to say that a players character is still a major key; however if they have "history of drugs, violence or being kicked off the team" they deserve the chance to explain their side.  Why did he specifically mention "kicked off the team"?  Its a direct reference to Peters.  Along with that he is a solid CB, both in coverage and run support.  Hands are made of glue.  Lake was at his pro day and Peters was also a 1/30 visitor.  I still hope its KJ, but I have to be realistic.  It doesnt help that KJ might be #1 on some teams boards.

56 Mauldin- this was Orchard all morning.  We brought Nate in and he had a good meeting with Porter.  However, while his stats for sacks are stellar, his tape and tackling numbers show otherwise.  Many of Nates sacks were coverage sacks.  Why?  See Eric Rowe.  On the flip side MT and Porter were both at Lorenzo's PD.  His inside swim move is off the charts.  His motor NEVER stops be it for a sack or run support.  Hes very fun to watch.  He just looks like a Steeler.  Or a Raven for that matter.  He belongs in the AFC North, and I expect Porter to look deeper than just a 1 yr sack record and look at the entire player.  He was also a team captain.

87 Grant- I said the other day that I found a trend for CB in the 3rd.  If the pick at 22 is indeed Peters, the pick at 87 MUST BE GRANT.  Hes a bigger faster DeShea Townsend.  IE, hes smart as all hell and can easily step in if Peters gives Lake some flack.  Blood lines help w dad setting MSU records and his cousin being drafted in the 1st round in this very draft.  Smooth backpedal, change of direction, and a 4 year captain on the national championship team.  He was also a team captain.  Need I say more?

121 Cooper- this is a new DC Butler pick.  His new defense will have a 4-3 spin to it, even if its a down or distance type filler.  We met with 2 other 3 techs at the combine and while I love Michael Bennett from OSU he will be long gone by now.  Xavier is a terrific plan B.  He can and has flexed all thru the Rice Dline at 1, 3 and 5 tech.  While he dosnt have the longest arms, and the fastest off the snap, like Mauldin his motor also never stops.  He was 1/30 visitor.  He was also a team captain.

160 Garcia- we blew it trying to sneak Wes onto the practice squad last yr.  I hope we learn from that mistake.  Like Wes Max has the history playing C, LG and LT.  History also shows we thrive on Gator olinemen. Munchak worked him out at Gator PD.  He was also a team captain.

199 Uzomah- another late round TE, now being typical of Tomlin.  This is a true diamond find as Auburn used him mostly as a blocker.  But when he did get to run routes he showed very soft hands, extending from his body.  He will need to tighten up his route running, but other than that he and Blanchflower would make a great tandem in the next yr or 2.

212 Hall- sleeper slot WR that can return kicks showed what he can do at the Senior Bowl.  At UCF he flexed all over the offense even lining up paired with their RB in the back field.  Decent speed, decent height, and great hands.  Colbert attended his PD and we also worked out his teammate Perriman.

239 Emanuel- here is the small school pick that Tomlin also likes to have.  In Division 3 he basically was an ass kicker.  Very smooth from the outside on 2 feet, but attacking and in some coverage.  His numbers are tremendous but his competition was not.  That said, he will need either ST or the PS to stick around.

2015 Draft Rankings

So, I ranked every player I have as being draftable.  All 255 players.  From Jameis Winston to Mr. Irrelevant. 

Quarterbacks

1 Jameis Winston FSU
2 Marcus Mariota ORE 3 Brett Hundley UCLA 4 Bryce Petty BAY 5 Garrett Grayson Colo St 6 Brandon Bridge S Ala 7 Sean Mannion Ore St 8 Shane Carden ECU 9 Bryan Bennett LA Laf 

Running Backs

1 Todd Gurley UGA 2 Duke Johnson MIA 3 Tevin Coleman IU 4 Melvin Gordon WISC 5 Ameer Abdullah NEB 6 Jay Ajayi Boise  7 David Cobb Minn 8 TJ Yeldon BAMA 9 Javorius Allen USC 10 David Johnson N Iowa 11 Mike Davis SCar 12 Jeremy Langford Mich St 13 Terrence Magee LSU 14 Cameron Artis-Payne AUB 15 Matt Jones FLA 16 Dominique Brown Lou 17 Malcolm Agnew SIU 18 Malcolm Brown Tex 19 Josh Robinson Miss St 20 Michael Dyer LOU 21 Karlos Williams FSU 22 John Crockett NDSU 23 Terrell Watson Az Pac 

Wide Receivers

1 Amari Cooper BAMA 2 Kevin White WVU 3 DeVante Parker LOU 4 Devin Smith Ohio St 5 Philip Dorsett MIA 6 Dorial Green-Beckham Mizz 7 Sammie Coates AUB 8 Jaelen Strong Ariz St 9 Nelson Agholor USC 10 Breshad Perriman UCF 11 Tre McBride W&M 12 Devin Funchess Mich 13 Rashad Greene FSU 14 Stephon Diggs MD 15 Justin Hardy ECU 16 Tyler Lockett KSU 17 Tony Lippett Mich St 18 Jamison Crowder Duke 19 Antwan Goodley Bay 20 Deontay Greenberry Hou 21 Bud Sasser Mizz 22 Kenny Bell NEB 23 Mario Alford WVU 24 Darren Waller GT 25 Rannell Hall  UCF 26 Vince Mayle Wash St 27 Josh Harper Fresno 28 Ty Montgomery Stan 29 Chris Conley UGA 30 Dezmin Lewis C Ark 31 Dres Anderson Utah 

Tight Ends/Fullbacks

1 Maxx Williams Minn 2 Clive Walford Mia 3 Jeff Heuerman Ohio St 4 Jesse James PSU 5 Tyler Kroft RUT 6 Ben Koyack ND 7 MyCole Pruitt SIU 8 Nick O'Leary FSU 9 Blake Bell Okla 10 Rory Anderson SCar 11 Gerald Christian Lou 12 Wes Saxton S Ala 13 James O'Shaughnessy Ill St 14 Nick Boyle Del 15 Jalston Fowler Ala 

Offensive Tackles

1 La'el Collins LSU 2 Ereck Flowers MIA 3 Jake Fisher ORE 4 DJ Humphries FLA 5 Cedric Ogbuehi aTm 6 Andrus Peat STAN 7 Donovan Smith Penn St 8 Ty Sambrailo CSU 9 Daryl Williams Okla 10 TJ Clemmings Pitt 11 Rob Haverstein WISC 12 Jeremiah Poutasi Utah 13 Tyrus Thompson Okla 14 Sean Hickey CUSE 15 Corey Robinson SCar 16 Austin Shepherd Bama 17 Laurence Gibson VT 18 Chaz Green FLA 19 Andrew Donnal Iowa 20 Eric Lefeld Cin 21 Cameron Clear aTm 22 Tayo Fabuluje TCU 

Interior OL (Guard/Center)

1 Brandon Scherff Iowa 2 Cameron Erving FSU 3 AJ Cann SCar 4 Laken Tomlinson DUKE 5 Hroniss Grasu ORE 6 Tre' Jackson FSU 7 Arie Kouandijo BAMA 8 Reese Dismukes AUB 9 Ali Marpet Hob 10 Max Garcia FLA 11 Shaq Mason GT 12 Andy Gallik BC 13 Josue Matias FSU 14 John Miller Lou 15 Robert Myers Tenn St 16 BJ Finney KSU 17 Mark Glowinski WVU 18 Jamon Brown Lou 19 Greg Mancz Tol 20 Jamil Douglas ASU 21 Jarvis Harrison aTm 22 Antoine Everett Mc St

Edge Players (4-3 DE/3-4 OLB)

1 Vic Beasley CLEM 2 Alvin Dupree UK 3 Randy Gregory NEB 4 Dante Fowler FLA 5 Shane Ray MIZZ 6 Owam Odighizuwa UCLA 7 Preston Smith Miss St 8 Eli Harold UVA 9 Zadarius Smith UK 10 Anthony Chickillo MIA 11 Nate Orchard Utah 12 Markus Golden MIZZ 13 Trey Flowers ARK 14 Lorenzo Mauldin LOU 15 Jake Ryan Mich 16 Deontrez Mount Lou 17 Danielle Hunter LSU 18 Shaq Riddick WVU 19 Hauoli Kikaha WASH 20 Davis Tull Chatt 21 Cedric Reed TX 22 Kyle Emanuel NDSt 23 Deion Barnes Penn St 24 Max Valles UVA 25 Lynden Trail NSU 26 Jordan Jenkins UGA 27 Obum Gwacham Ore St 28 Geneo Grissom Okla 29 Alani Fua BYU 30 Tony Washington ORE 

Interior DL (4-3 DTs, 3-4 DE, 3-4 NTs)

1 Leonard Williams USC 2 Malcolm Brown Tex 3 Arik Armstead ORE 4 Danny Shelton WASH 5 Michael Bennett Ohio St 6 Carl Davis Iowa 7 Eddie Goldman FSU 8 Mario Edwards Jr FSU 9 Grady Jarrett Clem 10 Jordan Phillips Okla 11 Xavier Cooper WSU 12 Henry Anderson Stan 13 Marcus Hardison ASU 14 Gabe Wright AUB 15 Darius Philon Ark 16 Xavier Williams N Iowa 17 Bobby Richardson IU 18 Tyeler Davison Fresno 19 David Parry Stan 20 Christian Covington RICE 21 Louis Trinca-Pasat Iowa 22 Rakeem Nunez Roches So Miss 23 Ellis McCarthy UCLA 24 Kaleb Eulls Miss St 25 Joey Mbu Hou 26 Leterrius Walton C Mich 27 Travis Raciti SJSU 28 Derrick Lott Chatt 29 Angelo Blackson Aub 30 Corey Crawford Clem 31 David Irving IA St 32 Ryan Russell Pur 

Off Line of Scrimmage LBs

1 Shaq Thompson WASH 2 Eric Kendricks UCLA 3 Paul Dawson TCU 4 Stephone Anthony CLEM 5 Denzel Perryman MIA 6 Benardrick McKinney Miss St 7 Hayes Pullard USC 8 Jordan Hicks TX 9 Kwon Alexander LSU 10 Taiwan Jones Mich St 11 Ben Heeney Kan 12 Zach Hodges Harv 13 Martrell Spaight Ark 14 JR Tavai USC 15 Mike Hull Penn St 16 Bryce Hager Bay 17 Trey DePriest BAMA 18 Ramik Wilson UGA 19 AJ Tarpley STAN 20 Jake Luc Cin 21 Damien Wilson Minn 22 Junior Sylvestre Tol 

Cornerbacks

1 Marcus Peters WASH 2 Kevin Johnson WF 3 Trae Waynes Mich St 4 PJ Williams FSU 5 Jalen Collins LSU 6 Ifo Ekpre-Olomu ORE 7 Byron Jones Uconn 8 Quinten Rollins Mia OH 9 Josh Shaw USC 10 Ronald Darby FSU 11 Kevin White TCU 12 Alex Carter STAN 13 Doran Grant tOSU 14 Senquez Golson Miss 15 Justin Coleman Tenn 16 D'Joun Smith FAU 17 Quandre Diggs TX 18 Steven Nelson Ore St 19 Tray Walker TX Sou 20 Charles Gaines Lou 21 Nick Marshall Aub 22 JaCorey Shepherd Kan 23 Jacoby Glenn UCF 24 Julian Wilson Okla 25 Craig Mager Tex St 26 Ladarius Gunter Mia 27 Deshazor Everett aTm 28 Imoan Claiborne NW St 29 Lorenzo Doss TUL 30 Damian Swann UGA

Safeties

1 Landon Collins BAMA 2 Eric Rowe Utah 3 Cody Prewitt Miss 4 Damarius Randall ASU 5 James Sample LOU 6 Jarquiski Tartt SAM 7 Gerod Holliman LOU 8 Ibraheim Campbell NW 9 Anthony Harris UVA 10 Derron Smith Fresno 11 Adrian Amos Penn St 12 Donald Celiscar W Mich 13 Kurtis Drummond Mich St 14 Durrell Eskridge CUSE 15 Chris Hackett TCU 16 Clayton Geathers UCF 17 Cedric Thompson Minn 18 Nick Perry BAMA 19 Anthony Jefferson UCLA 20 Jordan Richards STAN

2-3 weeks into the pro days...

And a lousy late 7th round comp.  Eh, we got Beachum as a 7th round comp, so there's that.

Anyhow, Ive been working on this all night, and Ive come to realize 1 thing...

I really wish we didnt draft Curtis Brown.  Hes put this funk in my head re Texas CBs.  That said, we interviewed one at the combine (though Im not a fan), and just like the drafting of Shark (trading up using a future 3rd rd pick- asinine) but alas, Im here to be realistic.  And I have yet to get an offer to work for the Steelers front office, though in the last month or so theyve brought in 4-5 players I had tagged as picks in their draft years.

That said, here we go (short write up below grid as usual)...

3/24/15	First Round	Second Round	Third Round	Fourth Round	Fifth Round	Sixth Round	Seventh Round	Seventh Round
PD W COMPS	22	54	87	121	160	198	239	252
								COMP
NAME	JOHNSON	KIKAHA	JAMES	JARRETT	GOLDEN	HICKEY	DIGGS	GOODLEY
POS/SCHOOL	CB/WAKE FOREST	OLB/WASHINGTON	TE/PSU	DL/CLEMSON	OLB/MIZZOU	OL/SYRACUSE	DB/TEXAS	WR/KR/BAYLOR
OVERALL RATING	26	70	106	83	151	166	189	231
2014 +/-	-4	(+9)	-3	(+38)	-77	(+61)	(+54)	(+54)
2013 +/-	-1	-27	0	-4	(+27)	-21	(+62)	(+62)
2012 +/-	(+14)	(+16)	0	(+21)	(+34)	TRADED	-129	-129
2011 +/-	-5	-18	(+26)	-48	(+85)	(+4)	-176	-176
2010 +/-	-13	-24	-82	(+38)	-73	-110	-91	-91

22 KJ- this isnt changing.  Ever.  Height, speed, fluid hips and hands.  Also looks to play better in off man with the WR in front of him.

54 Kikaka- we need power and speed, essentially the opposite of JJ, at OLB... or as theyre called now- EDGE.  This kid is insane on film.  Outside arc, inside swim, sometimes even a bull rush- he does it all.  Just gotta put a brace on that left knee.  2 ACL tears in under 2 years.  

87 James- Due to Bengals and Ravens getting a mess of comps in rounds 3 and 4 we MUST draft for BPA/NEED within our 1st 3 picks.  Haley and Munchak were at PSU pro day, as well as our meeting with him at the Combine.  He looks a lot like Speath as a pass catching threat.  Not to mention hes kind of a local boy... and Tomlin loves that.

121 Jarrett- once again, we interviewed at least 2 or 3 3 tech DTs at the combine.  So somethings cooking.  While Jarrett is smaller at 6'1 300 some teams may not know where to use him.  His pass rushing skills are very good, and reading the play is also a plus especially when seeing a toss or screen outside. 

160 Golden- Im unsure if his rating will remain at 151 for long due to his running the 40 again at his pro day, but Ive had my eye on him for months now.  MT took him and Ray to dinner before their PD.  BTW, Ray is this years Jarvis Jones.  Buyer Beware!!!

198 Hickey- met with him at the combine as well as being taught on the side by Tunch.  He can flex thru the Oline, and might be best as Fosters heir.  I hope Tunch can work out the stiffness in his kickslide.  To be honest I prefer Cincy's LeFeld or WVU's Glowinski.

239 Diggs- Ugh.  Damn Longhorns.  On tape he gets the job done both inside and outside, he even started at FS for a couple games, but the reviews of this kid worry me.  "Will get beat in the slot but double moves", "doesnt play to the full length of the field".  But if his tape and his numbers hold true he could be Gays replacement in a year or 2.  We also met with him at the combine.

252 Goodley- if nothing else the comp pick does allow us to double dip at both CB and OLB while leaving the comp itself to chance.  We were at the Baylor PD and really all they had are 2 WRs, Goodley and Norwood.  Goodley is more MTs type as hes 4.4 speed and has played outside as well as in the slot.  It actually looks like he enjoys the slot considering hes rarely caught from behind.  Hes also a kick/punt returner.

Players of interest from the EW Shrine Game w mock...

There were 9 players that caught my eye today.  I have DVR'd the NFLPA game and will watch that later tonight.  Most of them are late round/UDFAs but of those 9 players there were 2 that really caught my interest as potential Steelers...

Terrance Magee, RB LSU
Darius Kilgo, DL Maryland
Sean Hickey, OT 'Cuse
Martin Ifedi, DL Memphis
Josh Shaw, CB USC
Damian Parms, SS Florida Atlantic
Derrick Lott, DE TN Chattanooga
Anthony Chickillo, DE Miami
Bryce Callahan, CB Rice

McGee caught my eye from the first snap of the game.  Hes only 5'9 but at 218 he can take a hit.  His cut backs were impressive and just enough get away speed to get thru the next level.  LSU also uses RB by committee so being Bell's backup wouldnt be new to him.  He can also return kickoff and punts, as well as play in the slot as LSU had him as a WR for his Sophomore year.  This is yet another better option than Dri Archer.

Chickillo is my "elephant" in the room.  With Butler taking over our defense I have read mumblings that not only will he allow our OLBs to be more aggressive and rush the QB (as opposed to dropping into coverage way too often) that he is also interested in using the Packers "Elephant" or the Seahawks "Joker" packages.  This essentially entails a DE to be in a 2 point stance and rush the passer free, as well as drop into coverage.  Both of those teams are in the NFC Championship game BTW so its probably not a bad idea.  That said I truly think Chickillo can do that.  To be safe I checked with my co-blogger and he agreed.  And at certain times in the game today he showed me he could.  As the DE Smith from Kentucky pressed on the other side, Tony had a stunt inside, forcing the QB back the other way.  While the QB alluded Smith, Tony wrapped back around THE ENTIRE OLINE to force a throw away pass.  (For those of you Yinzers yes Id love to see Heyward do this too, but we have to be real here).  Anyhow, we need depth at both the 5 tech DE and at OLB.  On top of that Tomlin has had the tendency to draft multiple LBs.  So why not draft 2 with 1 pick???

Going forward I am going to try to limit my mocks to the base 7 picks until the comps are announced.  Please see the 7 round mock below.

1/17/15	First Round	Second Round	Third Round	Fourth Round	Fifth Round	Sixth Round	Seventh Round
EARLY TEST	22	54	86	118	150	182	214
NAME	WILLIAMS	GOLDEN	GRANT	HACKETT	CHICKILLO	LEFELD	MAGEE
POS/SCHOOL	TE/MINNESOTA	OLB/MISSOU	CB/OHIO STATE	FS/TCU	DE/OLB/MIAMI	OT/CINCY	RB/LSU
OVERALL RATING	45	78	95	141	193	238	241
2014 +/-	-4	(+9)	-3	(+38)	-77	(+61)	(+54)
2013 +/-	-1	-27	0	-4	(+27)	-21	(+62)
2012 +/-	(+14)	(+16)	0	(+21)	(+34)	TRADED	-129
2011 +/-	-5	-18	(+26)	-48	(+85)	(+4)	-176
2010 +/-	-13	-24	-82	(+38)	-73	-110	-91

22 Williams, TE Minnesota- unless a safety like Collins from Bama, OLB Fowler from Florida or CB Waynes from MSU fall, Im locked on this kid as the pick.  Hes a pass cathcing Heath Miller.  Nuff said.

54 Golden, OLB Mizzou- a solid tweener with speed to rush and weight to stop the run.  Plus more than 1 rushing move.  Ya hear that JJ?

86 Grant, CB Ohio State- a solid dependable CB that is probably best as a #2 in most defenses that treat their 2ndarys like gold.  But we dont.  And that probably wont change anytime soon.  So he, Gay, Tez (I have faith) and McCain would be solid together.  Plus you can add this guy into the mix...

118 Hackett, FS TCU- a real safety.  Not the fastest tiny man on campus, but a big solid coverage safety that can flex inside to the slot, play the run in the box and call out alignments over top.

150 Chickillo, DE/OLB Miami- our new Elephant.  He can learn the Dline from coach Mitchell and the OLB from Coach Peezy??  TBD.  Either way, 2 positions filled w 1 pick.

182 Lefeld, OL Cincy- like I said before, hes a bigger white Beachum.

214 Magee, RB/KR LSU- a dependable backup RB that has flexed to the slot and can return punts and kicks.  Not quite a scat back but certainly enough talent to give Bell a breather.