Just before the start of the 2017 regular season the Pittsburgh Steelers traded cornerback Ross Cockrell to the New York Giants in exchange for a 2018 conditional draft pick and since then there’s been a lot of speculation as to what round that selection might ultimately be. In his latest ‘Asked And Answered’ segment on steelers.com, Bob Labriola stated that the Steelers will receive the Giants sixth-round selection in 2018 NFL Draft as a result of that trade.
If Labriola’s statement is correct, it would appear as though that pick the Steelers will receive from the Giants is currently slated to be the 179th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft pending actual compensatory draft pick assignments.
The Steelers original sixth-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft now belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a result of their trade just prior to the start of the 2017 regular season for safety J.J. Wilcox.
As for Cockrell and his 2017 season with the Giants, the cornerback ultimately started 9 games for them on his way to registering 50 total tackles, 11 total passes defense and three interceptions, the most he’s had during a single season. He reportedly played just over 61% of all defensive snaps for the Giants in 2017 in addition to playing just over 25% of all their special teams snaps.
The league will likely release the full official selection order of the 2018 NFL Draft after the annual scouting combine is over as there is a coin flip that needs to take place in Indianapolis this year. Until then, we’ll have to take Labriola at his word.
