Mock Draft 2024?

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

A piece on Murray... Ifind it funny the article says the Steelers need to see Kenny Pickett "fully developed"... it's year 2 for him and he was a 5 year player in College. If he isn't "fully developed" by now he is in the completely wrong system or he is a full blown bust and a journeyman backup QB. From what I have seen I think it's the 2nd one.

https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/news/pittsburgh-steelers-favorites-land-kyler-murray

He'll be out of our price range and even if he wasn't unless they were going to fire Canada it wouldn't matter who they bring in. I think we need a season with Kenny as QB in an offense not run by Canada or anyone else on the current staff. As much as we all bitched about Arians and Haley they looked like genius' compared to Canada's new version of the run and shoot.

run...run...shoot ourselves in the foot on 3rd and long.

No Kyler Murray please! He believes he doesn't need to watch a lot of tape because in his head "he sees so much". Lazy ass.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10047006-kyler-murray-opens-up-about-criticism-from-study-clause-in-cardinals-contract#:~:text=NFL%20Network's%20Ian%20Rapoport%20reported,the%20deal%20was%20subsequently%20scrapped.&text=Still%2C%20the%20damage%20was%20done%20by%20that%20point.

I'm starting to fall off the Kenny Pickett bandwagon. Just doesn't feel like anything more than a career backup to me. This is year two in the same system playing under the very offensive coordinator who recruited him to Pitt in the first place. He has some moxey and a bit of the clutch gene in the fact he seems to be able to close out games, but he is far too inconsistent overall. Accuracy continues to be a major issue with him. Even when he has the time, even when the pressure isn't right there in his face he's been missing routine throws with some of those throws being TDs if he gets the ball to the receiver. The worst part is not all of these throws are what I would deem to be of the difficult variety as far as NFL quarterbacks go.

So while I really want KP to step up to the plate and prove me wrong, my gut at this point is that he's just another Mitchell Trubisky type that could win you some games as a backup, but he's not the guy that you can rely on to consistently win you football games and put you into playoff contention as a franchise guy. I mean even when the run game is humming, it seems like getting to 200yds passing is like trying to climb Mt. Everest. He either needs to get better fast, or we need to consider drafting a QB yet again.

Also CB and S are starting to become a bigger concern for this team. Outside of JPJ and Minkah we're not very good in the secondary. Neal/Kazee are OK but not great, Pat Pete is losing the battle to father time, and Levi Wallace is the biggest liability in our secondary overall. We need a young talented CB to match up with JPJ and lock things down. Whether they address that in the draft, or in free agency remains to be seen. As for S I think Neal/Kazee are just some run of the mill guys that can get you by, a stop-gap solution if you will. We really need an upgrade at the position. I think Cooper Dejean out of Iowa would slot in nicely at S, a lot of scouts think he's a better fit at S than at CB in the NFL. He's extremely athletic, he's a ballhawk, a great physical tackler, he has good size, good speed, and he offers the versatility to return punts or kicks on the special teams front. He's a smart kid, probably the best player on Iowa's stout defense right now and I would love for him to come and be able to play alongside of and learn from a player of Minkah's caliber.

some people are still trying to blame Canada's offense. pickett is blowing opportunities and leaving a lot of yards and 1st downs on the field and killing drives all on his own. i remember people here getting butthurt when cowherd said he doesnt see greatness in pickett. i just couldnt disagree with him. he simply hasnt shown us any glimpses that he could be an elite QB. . i mean watch CJ strouds 5 TD , 470 yard game last week. a game like that gives you hope. seeing it once lets you know he is capable. has pickett even had a 300 yd passing game yet ? one maybe ?

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

some people are still trying to blame Canada's offense.  pickett is blowing opportunities and leaving a lot of yards and 1st downs on the field and killing drives all on his own. i remember people here getting butthurt when cowherd said he doesnt see greatness in pickett. i just couldnt disagree with him. he simply hasnt shown us any glimpses that he could be an elite QB.  . i mean watch CJ strouds 5 TD , 470 yard game last week. a game like that gives you hope. seeing it once lets you know he is capable.  has pickett even had a 300 yd passing game yet ? one maybe ?

I really don't think Canada's offense is great. Obviously there's something wrong with the scheme when it doesn't seem to matter who's under center and they still struggle in the same fashion. That being said I definitely won't absolve the players from blame here either. They have to execute and while I don't think Canada is always setting them up for the best in regards to success, the players are too often failing to execute. KP missing easy throws to wide open guys and taking points off of the board. Receivers dropping passes, or failing to get their feet down in bounds. Etc... etc...

I normally can't stand Colin Cowherd or Mark Madden for that matter, but I am really starting to agree with those guys on KP. Just seems to me like he's a JAG (Just a Guy) and not the franchise player we all hoped he'd be. I mean, I do hope he comes out and proves me wrong and makes me look like an idiot but nothing I've seen this season suggests to me that Kenny Pickett is special in any way. He just looks like a game manager to me. A Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson kind of guy that can get your team by but isn't going to go out and take the team on his back and win games in that way.

I am also not sold on our defense. These guys get way too much credit like they're one of the top ranked defenses or something when statistically they've been abysmal. Outside of TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith it doesn't seem like anyone else is out there making splash plays. JPJ looks like he can be pretty good but everyone else in the secondary is a liability. The d-line is mediocre at best. Cam is getting long in the tooth, and Benton is still young and progressing but overall the d-line doesn't generate enough pressure IMO and they're not stout against the run. We rely way too much on luck and splash plays for our success. The Ravens game is a prime example of this. If not for their receivers dropping a ridiculous amount of passes, and untimely turnovers they would've stomped us in that game. We were getting torched in the passing game, and they were running the ball on us with ease. I highly doubt the Ravens make those same mistakes next time we play them.

This team has a lot of issues right now overall. Sure they are 6-3, but they've also been outgained offensively in every game and that's not going to hold up all season long. They're going to face tougher competition and the lack of offense isn't going to cut it and we can't afford to be one dimensional. Going to be interesting to see how the rest of this season pans out. Browns/Bengals back-to-back should be pretty telling as to where this team is. Are they for real? Or are they a fraud? We're going to find out.

Well a good sign is we are midway into November football and the team is running the ball better with Jones on the Oline. That can help put Pickett in better short yard 3rd down spots.

I don't believe Pickett is our franchise guy either. I think this will be Canada's last year at OC and they will bring in someone else unless there is a massive turn around in the Offense and they can start putting up more points. The Steelers will be stubborn about Kenny though and allow him to work under a new OC to see if the change will help him grow. My problem with that is Kenny will be 26 years old close to 27 what you see is what you get he doesn't have more to his ceiling.

They need to go out and get someone to challenge Pickett next summer and light a fire under him and challenge him in camp. Could be through the draft or FA but they need to make it known to Kenny that there needs to be improvement or he may be on his way out.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Well a good sign is we are midway into November football and the team is running the ball better with Jones on the Oline. That can help put Pickett in better short yard 3rd down spots.

I don't believe Pickett is our franchise guy either. I think this will be Canada's last year at OC and they will bring in someone else unless there is a massive turn around in the Offense and they can start putting up more points. The Steelers will be stubborn about Kenny though and allow him to work under a new OC to see if the change will help him grow. My problem with that is Kenny will be 26 years old close to 27 what you see is what you get he doesn't have more to his ceiling.

They need to go out and get someone to challenge Pickett next summer and light a fire under him and challenge him in camp. Could be through the draft or FA but they need to make it known to Kenny that there needs to be improvement or he may be on his way out.

ummm..yeah...i would go putting a steeler RB in as a starter on my fantasy football team. even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Add QB into my top needs for this team going into next season.

so Iowa...tell us about Cooper Dejean. why are you not pimping your homeboy we still need another CB and he looks to be a mid 1st pick.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

so Iowa...tell us about Cooper Dejean. why are you not pimping your homeboy  we still need another CB and he looks to be a mid 1st pick.

I would love to see Coop in the Black and Gold. He'd be a nice guy to pair with young JPJ. Athletic, smart, and sound in all of the fundamentals. He also offers the flexibility of being able to play Special Teams and return kicks/punts. He's shown to be explosive in that regard. Heady player that always seems to be around the football, opportunistic and makes the most of his opportunities. Leader on the defense. I really would love to see him come to Pittsburgh. We could use a guy with those skills and that kind of energy. I think some people think of him more as a Safety/Nickel Corner in the NFL but I think he could possibly play outside. He's a freak athlete, so I think we could draft him to play CB or possibly S. We have needs at both positions honestly.

Cooper DeJean

Iowa Hawkeyes – No. 3
Position: Cornerback

Class: Junior
Major: Sports and Recreational Management

Personal Information

Born: February 9, 2003 (age 20)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.

Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg)

Career History
College: Iowa (2021–present)

Bowl Games
2022 Citrus Bowl
2022 Music City Bowl

High school OA-BCIG (Ida Grove, Iowa)

Career Highlights and Awards
Unanimous All-American (2023)
Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year (2023)
Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year (2023)
2x first-team All-Big Ten (2022, 2023)



WalterFootball Draft Profile:
https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2024CDeJean.php

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

so Iowa...tell us about Cooper Dejean. why are you not pimping your homeboy  we still need another CB and he looks to be a mid 1st pick.

I would love to see Coop in the Black and Gold. He'd be a nice guy to pair with young JPJ. Athletic, smart, and sound in all of the fundamentals. He also offers the flexibility of being able to play Special Teams and return kicks/punts. He's shown to be explosive in that regard. Heady player that always seems to be around the football, opportunistic and makes the most of his opportunities. Leader on the defense. I really would love to see him come to Pittsburgh. We could use a guy with those skills and that kind of energy. I think some people think of him more as a Safety/Nickel Corner in the NFL but I think he could possibly play outside. He's a freak athlete, so I think we could draft him to play CB or possibly S. We have needs at both positions honestly.

Cooper DeJean

Iowa Hawkeyes – No. 3
Position: Cornerback

Class: Junior
Major: Sports and Recreational Management

Personal Information

Born: February 9, 2003 (age 20)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.

Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg)

Career History
College: Iowa (2021–present)

Bowl Games
2022 Citrus Bowl
2022 Music City Bowl

High school OA-BCIG (Ida Grove, Iowa)

Career Highlights and Awards
Unanimous All-American (2023)
Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year (2023)
Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year (2023)
2x first-team All-Big Ten (2022, 2023)



WalterFootball Draft Profile:
https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2024CDeJean.php

Yeah buddy. We'd be set at CB for awhile.

unfortunately it looks like WR cant be ruled out for a 1st round pick. de jean may not even declare for the draft. if he does it looks like he will be competing with nate wiggins to be the 2nd CB off the board.

my early prediction is one of these 4 will be the steelers 1st pick.
CB-nate wiggins
CB-cooper de jean
OT-taliese fuaga
OT-amarius mims.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

unfortunately it looks like WR cant be ruled out for a 1st round pick. de jean may not even declare for the draft. if he does it looks like he will be competing with nate wiggins to be the 2nd CB off the board.

my early prediction is one of these 4 will be the steelers 1st pick.
CB-nate wiggins
CB-cooper de jean
OT-taliese fuaga
OT-amarius mims.

If I was Coop I'd just go to the NFL. As a Hawkeye fan we need him, but until the Hawkeyes put together a respectable offense they're just going to be mediocre. No sense in risking another injury at the collegiate level, go and get your money kid.

Sebastian Castro is another Hawkeye that might declare for the NFL and people should not sleep on that kid either. He's a DB that hits like a truck and has been a game wrecker at times for the Hawks. He kind of gets overshadowed by Cooper Dejean but definitely a guy that could be had a little later in the draft. He has those kinds of in-game instincts that you just can't seem to be able to coach. Could be a gem if he's available on Day 2 or 3 of the draft.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

unfortunately it looks like WR cant be ruled out for a 1st round pick. de jean may not even declare for the draft. if he does it looks like he will be competing with nate wiggins to be the 2nd CB off the board.

my early prediction is one of these 4 will be the steelers 1st pick.
CB-nate wiggins
CB-cooper de jean
OT-taliese fuaga
OT-amarius mims.

If I was Coop I'd just go to the NFL. As a Hawkeye fan we need him, but until the Hawkeyes put together a respectable offense they're just going to be mediocre. No sense in risking another injury at the collegiate level, go and get your money kid.

Sebastian Castro is another Hawkeye that might declare for the NFL and people should not sleep on that kid either. He's a DB that hits like a truck and has been a game wrecker at times for the Hawks. He kind of gets overshadowed by Cooper Dejean but definitely a guy that could be had a little later in the draft. He has those kinds of in-game instincts that you just can't seem to be able to coach. Could be a gem if he's available on Day 2 or 3 of the draft.

Someone mocked Cooper to the Steelers, which would be very cool.

I found this site - not sure how accurate it is, maybe some of you know better than I (usually the case!).

Anyway, I pulled up the Centers page - but you can easily pull up any position or all positions and see where people are ranked.

Per my prior discussion, Center at 50 could be a good pick. Could still get Kool-Aid in round one but he's ranked top 10. But Cooper DeJean is ranked 16 at Safety. Also, I had mentioned a late round QB. McCarthy is one that I like but they have him up the board higher than what I'd pick QB. But Sam Hartman out of Notre Dame could be in reach, as is Tanner Nordicai (Wisconsin, and I believe has a wrestling background, always a PLUS for me!). Also Taulia (Tua's brother. Haven't done much work on him).

soooo we pickin 20th. who is it gonna be ? i'm stickin with my original picks from above, although i think the odds of taking a QB has gone slightly up. perhaps if penix or McCarthy is sitting there at 20 they could surprise us. i mean if your keeping your #1 QB on the bench in favor of your 3rd QB , how much confidence can you have in your #1 to get his shit together ? and this coming from the guy who stuck with the WORST OC in the league. when tomlin is willing to make a change you know the situation is FUBAR.

#1 -OT Fuaga or Mims (Moore is a back up swing)
#2 - C Jackson-Powers or VanPran (Cole is a backup)
#3 - DL best DL available Cam is long in the tooth and LEAL is a 3rd round bust which really hurt us.

Past that need a young ILB, Safety, CB.

Still think we should trade TJ it sucks but we could use a couple more first round picks to get younger and more talented.

Trade DJ for a 2nd and Pickens for a 2nd use those on WRs. Fuck both of those clowns.

Whiffing on LEAL hurts. Ogunjobi was wasted money I think Watts did better when he was in. Leal should have stepped in and stole Ogunjobi's spot this year but he became invisible. Wasted 3rd round pick... that hurts.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

#1 -OT Fuaga or Mims (Moore is a back up swing)
#2 - C Jackson-Powers or VanPran (Cole is a backup)
#3 - DL best DL available Cam is long in the tooth and LEAL is a 3rd round bust  which really hurt us.

Past that need a young ILB, Safety, CB.

Still think we should trade TJ it sucks but we could use a couple more first round picks to get younger and more talented.

Trade DJ for a 2nd and Pickens for a 2nd use those on WRs. Fuck both of those clowns.

Whiffing on LEAL hurts. Ogunjobi was wasted money I think Watts did better when he was in. Leal should have stepped in and stole Ogunjobi's spot this year but he became invisible. Wasted 3rd round pick... that hurts.

I like what you've done in the early rounds. Would love to see that strong commitment to a kick-ass line. I'm not sure they will go that route - I do think we get our Center in round 2. I'm not sure they don't go CB/S in round one. I'd prefer your direction. But if they went that way, I love that Cooper DeJean out of Iowa.

I don't see them going QB but...
if Bo Nix were to fall, I could see that. My two favorites are Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, but no way do either of them fall far enough. That would be a radical move up the board to get one of those (or a TJ trade).

I don't like Caleb Williams. Think he's a huge BUST waiting to happen. Good luck to the fool that drafts him.

I think they deal Diontae in the off-season. I don't think they will deal both of them. I think we will have Pickens one more year. Good WR's can be found later in the draft (Puka anyone?). We should pull a 2 for DJ.

Just throwing this out there for discussion - what about a straight up, Diontae for Justin Fields trade? What do you guys think of that?

SF - I just saw a mock draft that had the Steelers moving up to get Mims. I thought of your previous post!
I do think though, that Jackson Powers-Johnson won't be available in the 2nd round, so we'd probably miss out on him. But Barton or Frazier should be available in Round 2, and that would be a great 1-2 pickup.
Add a receiver by drafting DJ....

Great Randino wrote:

SF - I just saw a mock draft that had the Steelers moving up to get Mims.  I thought of your previous post!
I do think though, that Jackson Powers-Johnson won't be available in the 2nd round, so we'd probably miss out on him.  But Barton or Frazier should be available in Round 2, and that would be a great 1-2 pickup.  
Add a receiver by drafting DJ....

Mims tore/strained his hamstring at the combine so he may fall on the boards.

Mims is scaring me. He played one season as a starter and got 2 injuries, now another injury at the combine. There are so many quality OT's in this draft class that I wouldn't go for the one who might be on the sideline more than on the field. He might have the heighest ceiling of any OT, but who cares if he can't play.

If available I would always take Jackson-Powers in R1, he's the player who can improve this team the most unless they sign a starting center in FA. Maybe one of the many top OT's fall to us in R2, if not go best player available from CB, WR, ILB or DT.

Stella Nation wrote:

If available I would always take Jackson-Powers in R1, he's the player who can improve this team the most unless they sign a starting center in FA. Maybe one of the many top OT's fall to us in R2, if not go best player available from CB, WR, ILB or DT.

It sounds to me that he's the definitive top center in the draft. So, get the best Center. That worked well for us when we got Pouncey.

I've always felt the Center position is extremely underrated. They are literally the captain of the offense outside of QB, and they can make a huge difference to your team.

Stella - good point about Mims. Doesn't like like a first round pick to me. Too many injuries. I'd rather lock down our Center.

Great Randino wrote:

Stella Nation wrote:

If available I would always take Jackson-Powers in R1, he's the player who can improve this team the most unless they sign a starting center in FA. Maybe one of the many top OT's fall to us in R2, if not go best player available from CB, WR, ILB or DT.

It sounds to me that he's the definitive top center in the draft.  So, get the best Center.  That worked well for us when we got Pouncey.

I've always felt the Center position is extremely underrated.  They are literally the captain of the offense outside of QB, and they can make a huge difference to your team.

Stella - good point about Mims.  Doesn't like like a first round pick to me.  Too many injuries.  I'd rather lock down our Center.

The more I am reading about Frazier the more I am liking him as the round 2 choice for the team. He was a 4 time State Champion in Wrestling that means he has tremendous athleticism/balance and hand use.

Watched some of his highlights film and he was leveling people from top schools.