Draft day buzz and rumors are always fun to follow and you see even more of it these days thanks to social media. The latest buzz stems from the latest Rick Gosselin mock draft in which he has Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara falling all the way down to the #25 spot where the Seahawks pick, even though Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane says via Twitter there is no way that the Eagles would pass on the Prince at #23.
Let\’s say for some reason that Amukamara makes it past the Buccaneers at #20, this would put the Chiefs on the clock with the #21 pick, just 10 picks ahead of the Steelers. The Chiefs pick is worth 800 points on the NFL draft pick value chart while the Steelers #31 pick is valued at 600. The Steelers could include their 2nd round pick valued at 276 or if the Chiefs lower their price, perhaps the Steelers 1st, 3rd and 5th round selections instead which totals out to 747.6 points.
If you look back at the 2003 draft day trade with the Chiefs, the Steelers moved up 11 spots to land Troy Polamalu with the 16th overall selection and the Chiefs settled for a loss of 17.56% in value to move down and it only took the Steelers 1st, 3rd and 6th round pick to get it done. Should it take a 1st, 3rd and 5th this time, the Chiefs would only lose 6.55% worth of value according to the draft pick chart. That certainly seems to be in the neighborhood.
Being as cornerback is such a need for the Steelers, I think a 1st and 2nd round pick is certainly worth the move should the Chiefs demand it. This would still leave the Steelers 5 draft picks left to address other needs like the tackle position and there certainly should be adequate tackle prospects on the board when the 95th overall pick rolls around.
Should that deal not go down and Amukamara falls even farther, the less the asking price would be as well. Of course should Amukamara indeed fall that far, the Steelers certainly would not be the only one on the phone with the Chiefs as the Eagles, Seahawks and Ravens surely would be on the phone with inquiries as well.
Like McLane points out, he likely would not slip past the Eagles at 23 and you have to wonder if the Buccaneers would pass on him at 20 considering that Aqib Talib, their 20th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, is likely to be released soon because of an aggravated assault charge.
Even though Gosselin is one of the best beat writer mock drafters out there, I still struggle seeing Amukamara fall that far. If for some chance he does though, you can bet the Steelers will explore the avenues of trading up to get him. Last time we got Polamalu from the Chiefs this time it may be a Prince. The draft will be here shortly.
I have included the draft pick values for the Steelers and Chiefs below for easy reference.
| Steelers Draft Picks | Value |
| Round 1, Pick 31 (31) | 600 |
| Round 2, Pick 31 (63) | 276 |
| Round 3, Pick 31 (95) | 120 |
| Round 4, Pick 31 (128) | 44 |
| Round 5, Pick 31 (162) | 27.6 |
| Round 6, Pick 31 (196) | 14 |
| Round 7, Pick 29 (232) | 2.3 |
| Chiefs Draft Picks | Value |
| Round 1, Pick 21 (21) | 800 |
| Round 2, Pick 23 (55) | 350 |
| Round 3, Pick 22 (86) | 160 |
| Round 4, Pick 21 (118) | 58 |
| Round 5, Pick 4 (135) | 38.5 |
| Round 5, Pick 9 (140) | 36 |
| Round 6, Pick 34 (199) (Comp) | 0 |
| Round 7, Pick 20 (223) | 3.3 |
