Another 2018 mock draft to pass along to you on this Tuesday and this one comes courtesy of Steve Palazzolo from Pro Football Focus and it includes the first three-rounds. As Palazzolo points out, this mock is based on the picks he would make for all 32 teams if he was in charge of making the picks.
In the first-round, Palazzolo has the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the 28th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft and he writes:
One of the most unique body types in the draft, Edmunds is an oversized linebacker at 6-foot-5, 254-pounds, but he has traditional linebacker skills. He can play all three downs in the middle of the Pittsburgh defense, adding range in coverage and an exceptional lateral movement in the run game. If Edmunds can clean up parts of his game, including a penchant to take on the wrong side of blocks, he could become a steal as an every-down linebacker.
It would be quite interesting if Edmunds actually fell that far in the first-round. In his three seasons at Virginia Tech he registered 213 total tackles of which 33 went for losses. He had 10 sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles during his college career and was a First-Team All-ACC selection in 2017 and a Butkus Award Finalist, and is still only 19 years of age. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, head coach Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator Keith Butler and inside linebacker coach Jerry Olsavsky all reportedly attended the Virginia Tech pro day several weeks ago.
In the second-round of his latest mock draft, Palazzolo has the Steelers picking Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk with the 60th overall selection and he writes:
There’s still room for more explosive players on Pittsburgh’s offense and Kirk adds a vertical presence from the slot. His 891 slot yards ranked third in the class last season and his 387 deep yards ranked 14th.
Kirk, who measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 5103, 201-pounds, ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.47-seconds. He registered a SPARQ score of 108.6 while in Indianapolis. In his three seasons at Texas A&M Kirk registered 229 receptions for 2,796 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also returned 37 punts for 814 yards and 6 touchdowns in addition to 44 kickoffs for 936 yards and a touchdown.
In the third-round of his mega-mock, Palazzolo has the Steelers picking Ohio State safety Damon Webb with the 92nd overall selection and he writes:
Webb may have the best pure free safety in the class as he shows good range and ball skills on the back end, but he also has the quickness to match up with slot receivers. He graded at 84.3 overall last season.
At this year’s combine, Webb measured in at 5106, 209-pounds and ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.62-seconds. In his four seasons at Ohio State he registered 131 total tackles, 6 interceptions, and 7 total pass breakups in the 43 games that he played in. Colbert and Tomlin were both at the Ohio State pro day once again this year.
This certainly is an intriguing three mocked selections for the Steelers with two of them addressing the team’s biggest perceived needs heading into the draft.
