Ray Fittipaldo Steelers' 4 round mock draft 4.0

[hawaiiansteeler]

Steelers mock draft 4.0

by Ray Fittipaldo

The NFL draft is less than a month away now and at least we have a consensus from the draft analysts. The Steelers are picking a cornerback.

A quick perusal of the mock drafts at nfl.com and nfldraftscout.com showed all nine of their draft experts had the Steelers drafting a corner. There were four votes for Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander at No. 25, three for Houston’s William Jackson III and two for Ohio State’s Eli Apple.

I had the Steelers taking a corner in my first three four-round mock drafts and I’m not changing now even though I am intrigued by Baylor defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who could immediately fill the Steelers’ need for a run-stopping interior lineman.

Here we go with mock 4.0:

1. William Jackson III, cornerback, Houston. The Steelers like what they have in cornerbacks William Gay and Senquez Golson, but Gay is 5-10 and Golson 5-9. The Steelers need a taller corner to contend with the likes of A.J. Green and the other tall and athletic receivers around the league. Jackson is 6-2 and he has blazing speed (timed at 4.37 in the 40-yard dash at the combine). Before his lights-out performance at the combine Jackson was projected as a second-round pick. Now teams like the Steelers at the end of the first round are hoping he’s available for them to take.

2. Karl Joseph, safety, West Virginia. Joseph was a four-year starter and blends a brutally physical style with some decent ball skills. The concern is his size (5-10, 205) and whether he’s susceptible to more injuries. He missed most of his senior season due to a knee injury and team medical staffs must determine if his body can stand up to his style of play. If the medical reports check out he’d be a good fit in the Steelers, who currently have Robert Golden penciled in as their starter opposite Mike Mitchell.

3. Nick Vannett, tight end, Ohio State. The Steelers have always had a strong blocking tight end and they’ll need another one to take the place of Matt Spaeth, who is 32 and entering the final year of his contract. Ladarius Green is the starter and Jesse James is a young player who showed some promise toward the end of the season. But the Steelers lost Heath Miller to retirement and don’t appear inclined to bring back Will Johnson. Adding Vannett at this point in the draft addresses a position the Steelers value and gives them some depth in case Spaeth runs into injury problems again.

4. Hassan Ridgeway, defensive tackle, Texas. Ridgeway is hard to move and athletic enough to be a versatile lineman for coach John Mitchell. He can compete with Daniel McCullers at nose guard and has the upside to be more than that. Concerns are injury history and conditioning level at Texas. If the Steelers can extract the talent Ridgeway would be a very good pick in the fourth round.

http://sportsblogs.post-gazette.com/...-steelers-blog

[steelreserve]

Please do not take Jackson just because he's tall.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Please do not take Jackson just because he's tall.

how about because Jackson also runs a 4.37 40 and led the nation in passes defended last year with 5 interceptions and 23 pass breakups?

[teegre]

Karl Joseph... YES!!!

[katmandu]

Please do not take Jackson just because he's tall.

He's only 6'-0" according to most sites I've seen.

[Born2Steel]

how about because Jackson also runs a 4.37 40 and led the nation in passes defended last year with 5 interceptions and 23 pass breakups?

If he is 6'2", can catch, and THAT fast, play him on both sides and in the return game.

[Dwinsgames]

Jackson measured at 6 foot flat at the combine http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/combine/2016/ALL/CB

[steelreserve]

how about because Jackson also runs a 4.37 40 and led the nation in passes defended last year with 5 interceptions and 23 pass breakups?

Let me put it this way: When someone's draft stock suddenly skyrockets because of the combine, that's a warning signal for me. What he did on the field is much more important. No, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be a flop; these can still be perfectly good players, but there's now a higher risk of him being a reach and/or not living up to the pick. As far as I'm concerned, all the combine is good for is spotting obvious red-flag flaws in a player's fundamentals that people may not have known about.

If we take a CB at #25, I would still prefer Jackson over Apple, though. Physical size and combine numbers aside, he sounds like a more steady player than Apple, which is what we need. The only question is whether the bigger jump in level of competition will be a struggle. I would still take Alexander over both of them.

[hawaiiansteeler]

I like Fittipaldo's selections in Rounds 1,2 and 4.

but I believe we have bigger needs than selecting a TE in Round 3 when we just signed Ladarius Green and have Jesse James as our top 2 TEs...

[teegre]

I like Fittipaldo's selections in Rounds 1,2 and 4.

but I believe we have bigger needs than selecting a TE in Round 3 when we just signed Ladarius Green and have Jesse James as our top 2 TEs...

Absolutely!!!

Give me Victor Ochi in that slot... and, I'll call that a solid B+ of a draft.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Absolutely!!!

Give me Victor Ochi in that slot... and, I'll call that a solid B+ of a draft.

I agree, somewhere in this draft we need to select a pass rusher...

[pczach]

Absolutely!!!

Give me Victor Ochi in that slot... and, I'll call that a solid B+ of a draft.

I love Ochi and think he will be a steal for someone. He has an incredible first step and is very strong.

I'd love to hear his name called as a Steelers pick.

Great minds!

[Born2Steel]

Let me put it this way: When someone's draft stock suddenly skyrockets because of the combine, that's a warning signal for me. What he did on the field is much more important. No, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be a flop; these can still be perfectly good players, but there's now a higher risk of him being a reach and/or not living up to the pick. As far as I'm concerned, all the combine is good for is spotting obvious red-flag flaws in a player's fundamentals that people may not have known about.

If we take a CB at #25, I would still prefer Jackson over Apple, though. Physical size and combine numbers aside, he sounds like a more steady player than Apple, which is what we need. The only question is whether the bigger jump in level of competition will be a struggle. I would still take Alexander over both of them.

Bigger jump in level of competition?

[steelreserve]

Bigger jump in level of competition?

Playing for Houston in the AAC, versus Ohio State in the Big Ten for Apple, or Clemson in the ACC for Alexander. Fewer big-time WRs and big-time QBs on the other side of the ball.

It's not like Jackson is coming from an FCS school or anything, but he has not exactly gone down the double-black diamond course yet, if you know what I mean. Maybe it's no issue ... but maybe it is. Just add 10% or so to the uncertainty factor.

[teegre]

I agree, somewhere in this draft we need to select a pass rusher...

It looks like...

- - - Updated - - -

I love Ochi and think he will be a steal for someone. He has an incredible first step and is very strong.

I'd love to hear his name called as a Steelers pick.

Great minds!

...we're getting the band back together.

[Born2Steel]

Playing for Houston in the AAC, versus Ohio State in the Big Ten for Apple, or Clemson in the ACC for Alexander. Fewer big-time WRs and big-time QBs on the other side of the ball.

It's not like Jackson is coming from an FCS school or anything, but he has not exactly gone down the double-black diamond course yet, if you know what I mean. Maybe it's no issue ... but maybe it is. Just add 10% or so to the uncertainty factor.

Maybe look at who he played against in the AAC. Paxton Lynch, Gunner Kiel, Blake Bortles, Shane Carden, Keenan Reynolds, to name a few QBs. I'm not going to list WRs now but there is a fairly extensive list of top tier WRs that play in the AAC also. Just saying that is a very tired way of judging these players. Where the big conference teams have the advantage is depth. 1st team vs 1st team, pretty much across the nation, are not that far apart talent-wise. When a school like Houston subs, the drop off is much larger than at a school like OSU. But 1st team vs 1st team, not much difference, if any, between Houston and OSU. They did just beat Florida State in a bowl game.

[Dwinsgames]

how about because Jackson also runs a 4.37 40 and led the nation in passes defended last year with 5 interceptions and 23 pass breakups?

school record and nobody talking about him

4.38-40 & 41.5 vertical - 4 picks -2 pick 6's in 2015

[hawaiiansteeler]

Maybe look at who he played against in the AAC. Paxton Lynch, Gunner Kiel, Blake Bortles, Shane Carden, Keenan Reynolds, to name a few QBs. I'm not going to list WRs now but there is a fairly extensive list of top tier WRs that play in the AAC also. Just saying that is a very tired way of judging these players. Where the big conference teams have the advantage is depth. 1st team vs 1st team, pretty much across the nation, are not that far apart talent-wise. When a school like Houston subs, the drop off is much larger than at a school like OSU. But 1st team vs 1st team, not much difference, if any, between Houston and OSU. They did just beat Florida State in a bowl game.

and Jackson had two interceptions in that Peach Bowl versus Florida St...

[BlackAndGold]

I'm pretty much down to Billings or WJIII are my first round pick.

Only worry is, will they be there? Same was said about Dupree & DD though.

[steelreserve]

Maybe look at who he played against in the AAC. Paxton Lynch, Gunner Kiel, Blake Bortles, Shane Carden, Keenan Reynolds, to name a few QBs. I'm not going to list WRs now but there is a fairly extensive list of top tier WRs that play in the AAC also. Just saying that is a very tired way of judging these players. Where the big conference teams have the advantage is depth. 1st team vs 1st team, pretty much across the nation, are not that far apart talent-wise. When a school like Houston subs, the drop off is much larger than at a school like OSU. But 1st team vs 1st team, not much difference, if any, between Houston and OSU. They did just beat Florida State in a bowl game.

I didn't say to rule him out based on that, I said it was like an extra 10% uncertainty, which I think is about right. I still prefer a guy like Jackson, a smaller-conference guy with no obvious flaws, over a guy like Apple, a big-conference guy with some known issues. But I'd prefer a guy like Alexander to both.