We know most of the usual names associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the national media. One name we’ve talked about plenty on this site but haven’t heard mentioned beyond that is Stanford safety Justin Reid. But in his latest mock draft released late last week, Rotoworld’s Josh Norris mocked Reid to the Steelers at pick 28.
Here’s what Norris wrote:
“Justin Reid is receiving plenty of interest from mid- to late-first round teams. He’s super athletic, a trend for multiple first and second round picks for the Steelers in recent years. It wouldn’t be surprising for him to go off the board five or so picks before this.”
Norris is certainly right the Steelers have targeted the “SPARQ” type players in recent drafts. Whether that’s T.J. Watt last season, Artie Burns in 2016, or Bud Dupree the year prior. There’s also the trend of them selecting underclassmen, Reid left as a junior, that’s been common with Kevin Colbert’s first round picks. Watt and Burns were underclassmen. Going back since the 2012 draft, they’ve taken an underclassmen first in every class but one (Dupree was the exception).
Last month, Reid sent out a photo indicating he was going to visit the team for an official pre-draft visit, though that doesn’t appear to have officially occurred yet. Neither Colbert or Mike Tomlin attended the Cardinal Pro Day, instead making their annual trek to Ohio State.
Pittsburgh has shown interest in Reid and Wake Forest free safety Jessie Bates. Bates played more free safety and is less of a projection, Reid split his time all over the defense, but is the better athlete with the bigger frame and a more physical player.
Reid may not be the popular pick today but that’d be a great selection for the Steelers, checking the “value” and “need” boxes.
