Just a little exercise I do every year looking through players the Steelers have shown obvious interest in throughout the draft process. Wanted to see some other Steelers fans input this year. The image is from Tommy Jaggi's X account so credit to him for the image. So basically I pick 3 players I hope end up with the Steelers, and 3 I hope do not. I'll give a little rundown on my reasonings but feel free to just give names
3 Up
Mike Sanristil CB Michigan – My favorite player in this draft. Gets comped to Mike Hilton a lot and it's pretty evident on tape. I do think he has better coverage skills than Hilton does, but still see him as slot only which hurts his value. The Steelers have not done enough to address slot since we lost Hilton and I'm sick of the vet minimum slot signings or forcing Minkah to play there. This is my guy for the draft.
Ricky Pearsall WR Florida – The WR depth in this draft is pretty ridiculous. There are several guys id be really happy with from 1st to 4th rounders but to me Pearsall just checks all the boxes for me. Good size, speed, hands. Can play inside or out. With an even bigger emphasis on blocking with Arthur Smith and Zach Azzanni on the coaching staff, Pearsall just fits too perfectly.
Amarius Mims T Georgia – King of my guilty pleasure pick because he comes with a lot of risk. Not a ton of game tape, injury history. But damn, the potential and size of this dude is too enticing to me. I hope he goes the route of Broderick Jones last year, where he may not have as much game reps but he did go up against Georgias defense in practice every day so the quality reps should be there. Has everything you could want from a T, size, hands, mobility… Not as nasty as Broderick Jones was imo on the run blocks, but still showed off some dominant reps there. Jones/Mims as bookends is a dream to me.
3 Down
Nate Wiggins CB Clemson – Steelers showed a lot of interest in Wiggins, so mentally I'm preparing to root for him in the black and gold… But, I really hope they don't. The size scares me. I was higher last year on Forbes, and I still wouldn't have drafted him. Wiggins is a good player but slender coverage only corners really don't see working in our defense. Last year Porter was by far our best corner even in training camp and he couldn't see the field bc of tackling. So when the hell would they trust Wiggins to tackle. Good player, but I don't want him on this defense.
JC Latham T Alabama – The feet scare me off him. I don't think he has the lateral movement to be a good tackle. His run blocking is good but I don't see it as special either. Out of the top 7 tackles, I think I actually like Latham the least. I just think he'll be a bust. Not a complete bust as in he'd out of the league, but just another average run block first T that's a liability on passing downs. A hard pass for me, especially in the 1st.
Braden Fiske DT Florida St – The athletic ability and size is there, but I don't see the anchor. We have really struggled in run defense the past few years. Basically since Tuitt retired we haven't adequately replaced him. Fiske gives me the same vibes as Bresee did last year and he was another down guy for me. Has the size, athleticism you want, but not the run stopper we need on the line. Leal is a good example, he barely saw the field. Fiske has a better motor but if he can't stop the run he won't be able to show off the ability to get to the passer. Rather take the boom or bust risk with Maason Smith later in the draft