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Mock Drafts Can't Decide on Steelers Pick

By Ed Bouchette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 9 years ago

Good morning,

While doing some research, I found some of the various mock drafts that everyone but me seems to be doing these days 2 ½ months before the actual draft occurs.

It confirmed my long-held reasons why I hate mock drafts, especially those done in February. There does seem to be an insatiable appetite out there for these kinds of things, probably because you all have little interest in basketball and hockey and need another diversion, and I really cannot blame you for that.

But when it comes to NFL mock drafts, they are about as meaningful as a mid-February NHL game.

Nevertheless, I did spend some time looking at them – for amusement purposes only – and came to this conclusion, at least as far as the Steelers are concerned: No one knows what the heck they are talking about.

Of the 12 mock drafts – including two each by ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay – there were 10 different players chosen for the Steelers at No. 22. Naturally, Kiper and McShay each had different choices for the Steelers from their mock 1.0 to mock 2.0, and neither could agree on any one player in either draft – picking four different players between them in two drafts.

The only semblance of a consensus at all centered around Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson, and Texas defensive tackle Malcolm Brown, both selected in two mock drafts.

Here is the list of the dirty dozen mock drafts:

MOCK DRAFTS

NFL, Lance Zierlein -- Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson

NFL, Charles Davis -- Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest

NFL, Bucky Brooks – Malcom Brown, DT, Texas

NFL, Daniel Jeremiah, – Gerod Holliman, FS, Louisville

CBS NFLDraftScout, Dane Brugler – Alvin Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky

CBS NFLDraftScout, Rob Rang – Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State

CBS NFLDraftScout, Pat Kirwan – Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami, Ohio

Walter Football -- P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State

ESPN Mel Kiper 2.0 -- Landon Collins, S, Alabama

ESPN Mel Kiper 1.0 -- Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest

ESPN Todd McShay 2.0 -- Marcus Peters, CB, Washington

ESPN Todd McShay, 1.0 -- Malcom Brown, DT, Texas

I am sure that by the time Kiper and McShay reach their Mock 6.0 or 7.0 or wherever it takes them that they will have chosen any number of different players for the Steelers, and if the Steelers actually draft one of those they picked, will proclaim victory.

At some point here soon, we will present a list of candidates the Steelers might consider drafting and have you vote on which player you think they might take. At this point, I have more faith on you selecting the actual player the Steelers might draft than those who do this mock stuff for a living.