Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have secured a pass-rusher in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the selection of T.J. Watt, the team could go in several different directions during day-two with their three scheduled picks of which two will come in the third round.
Being as the Steelers brought in several cornerbacks, safeties and wide receivers in for pre-draft visits during the month of April, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if any of those positions are ultimately addressed in the next two rounds.
As for wide receiver candidates, the Steelers did show interest in Penn State product Chris Godwin during the pre-draft process and he’s expected to be selected sometime during day-two. East Carolina product Zay Jones, who really had a nice showing at this year’s Senior Bowl, could potentially be another wide receiver target for the Steelers as well. While likely regarded as more of early day-three prospects, West Virginia’s Shelton Gibson, Northern Illinois’ Kenny Golladay, and Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds were all brought in for pre-draft visits over the course of the last several weeks as well.
Potential day-two cornerback targets for the Steelers might include, Michigan’s, Jourdan Lewis as he did visit with the team this month. Lewis, however, has a character issue pending as he was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence in March. Clemson’s long and speedy Cordrea Tankersley could be attractive to the Steelers late in the second-round and while they didn’t bring him in for a pre-draft visit, general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin both attended his former school’s pro day several weeks ago.
Other potential cornerback candidates for the Steelers include Central Florida’s Shaquill Griffin, West Virginia’s Rasul Douglas and Miami’s Corn Elder. Griffin and Douglas both had pre-draft visits with the Steelers while Colbert was in attendance for the Miami pro-day this year. In short, if the Steelers hope to add a cornerback they think can help the team in 2017, they probably need to take one Friday night.
As far as available safeties go the Steelers might target, Washington’s Budda Baker is still on the board. With that said, he, along with Connecticut product Obi Melifonwu and North Carolina State’s Josh Jones all might be gone by the time the Steelers second-round pick rolls around. All three of those safeties were brought in for pre-draft visits this month. Two Florida products, Marcus Maye and Quincy Wilson might still be on the board a while, however. The latter played cornerback during his college career and many expect he’ll have to move to safety in the NFL. While neither Maye nor Wilson were brought in for pre-draft visits, Colbert was at the Florida pro day this year.
Should the Steelers choose to target an inside linebacker in the second round, Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham and Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan are both still on the board. Cunningham, like several other players on this list, came to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit.
While adding a running back during day-two might seem unlikely to happen, Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara and Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine might be attractive to the Steelers late in the third round if either are still on the board then.
With only two tight ends being selected in the first-round, South Alabama’s Gerald Everett and Ashland’s Adam Shaheen are both likely to hear their names called soon. If both are taken before the Steelers pick in the second-round, the position will likely be tabled until day-three if even addressed at all.
Two ultra-athletic big defensive linemen prospects, Michigan’s Chris Wormley and Villanova’s Tanoh Kpassagnon are both day-two prospects and each seems to have had the Steelers interest during the pre-draft process.
As for the available quarterbacks, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer figures to hear his name called during the second-round and if that happens, the Steelers will be left with a few they have shown interest in that might be attractive late in the third-round. With that said, one or two of the three they’ve shown interest in, Pittsburgh’s Nathan Peterman, Miami’s Brad Kaaya and Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs, might could still be had in round-four.
I’ve obviously left off several other players the Steelers might have interst in during the second day of the draft and so I invite you to add a few you will be watching closely in the comments below.
