Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have their head coach in place in Mike McCarthy, and the rest of the coaching staff is rounding into shape, the focus is starting to shift towards free agency and NFL Draft preparation for the Black and Gold.

The East-West Shrine Bowl has come and gone, and the Senior Bowl is just about wrapped up. Next up in the NFL Draft cycle is the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, but after the all-star games, The Athletic’s Nick Baumbgardner and Scott Dochterman published their latest two-round mock draft.

In the mock draft, the Steelers added a pair of offensive pieces for McCarthy to work with, addressing some needs for the Black and Gold.

At No. 21, the Steelers addressed the trenches, landing Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor, before then addressing wide receiver at No. 53 overall with USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane.

Though there’s a decision to be made on Broderick Jones and his fifth-year option, the Steelers have placed a great emphasis on building through the trenches in recent years under GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl. A selection of Proctor would be more of the same, all while adding a big-time talent up front.

“Whether or not Aaron Rodgers returns at quarterback, the Steelers need an anchor at left tackle,” Baumgardner writes of the Proctor selection for the Steelers. “Proctor has incredible size (6-7, 366) and freakish athletic ability. He’s still young and needs development, but if he reaches his potential, watch out.”

Alabama LT Kadyn Proctor hasn’t had the season many expected but he’s looked better as of late and looked like the top 10 pick he was projected to be vs Tennessee in Week 8

It was especially encouraging to see him handle edge Joshua Josephs who has NFL burst and speed pic.twitter.com/Ms3N5vayh7

— Steve Letizia (@CFCBears) October 21, 2025

The Steelers do need to figure out left tackle long-term; there is no denying that. While Jones showed plenty of flashes of being that guy moving forward last season, the neck injury he suffered in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, which reportedly required surgery, is concerning.

Prior to his injury, Jones had allowed six sacks on the season, but he was improving down the stretch. He had cleaned up the penalties, too, and was a guy that quarterback Aaron Rodgers really liked. 

With Proctor, he’s still raw, but all the physical traits are there. He would be a nice addition to the roster for new offensive line coach James Campen to work with. If there is no quarterback worthy of selection at No. 21 on the board, and the wide receivers aren’t there, adding to the offensive line wouldn’t be a bad idea for Pittsburgh.

It would ultimately come down to coaching with Proctor.

Following the selection of Proctor in the first round, Baumgardner and Dochterman have the Steelers addressing wide receiver with Lane.

Across 30 career games with the Trojans, Lane hauled in 99 passes for 1,363 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2024, Lane scored 12 touchdowns and proved to be a big-play weapon. Last season, Lane set a career-best in yards per reception with 15.2, and while his touchdowns declined greatly, he was still a huge weapon for USC opposite Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon.

It wouldn’t be the splashy add at receiver that many are hoping for, but Lane could go a long way towards helping solve things in the receiver room for Pittsburgh, regardless of who is at quarterback.