The final mock drafts of 2019 from the major media outlets are beginning to roll in and on Friday, Chad Reuter of NFL.com released his annual final 7-round offering complete with a few first-round trade projections. In his final mega-mock draft of 2019, Reuter has the Pittsburgh Steelers standing pat in the first-round and thus making all 10 of their currently scheduled selections. A few of those selections Reuter made for the Steelers should be familiar to those who have been following the team’s pre-draft process closely. A few others, however, are players who haven’t been discussed much on this site, if any, in relation to the Steelers.
Here are Reuter’s 10 selections for the Steelers:
» Round 1, No. 20 overall: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan
» Round 2, No. 52: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
» Round 3, No. 66 (from Raiders): Miles Boykin, WR, Notre Dame
» Round 3, No. 83: Ben Banogu, edge, TCU
» Round 4, No. 122: Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State
» Round 5, No. 141 (from Raiders): Alize Mack, TE, Notre Dame
» Round 6, No. 175 (from Raiders): Trey Pipkins, OT, Sioux Falls
» Round 6, No. 192: Joshua Miles, OG, Morgan State
» Round 6, No. 207 (from Cardinals): Isaiah Buggs, DT, Alabama
» Round 7, No. 219 (via Buccaneers): Ulysees Gilbert, LB, Akron
Reuter has Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush falling to the Steelers in the first-round. If you were to poll a large selection of Steelers fans at this point of the pre-draft process, many would likely argue fiercely that such a Bush drop in the first-round will not happen.
Reuter writes:
Sometimes inside linebackers become available later in the first round than their talent would indicate. The Steelers pinch themselves that a talent like Bush is still on the board.
After receiving a perceived first-round gift in the form of Bush, Reuter has another one for Pittsburgh in the second-round in the form of LSU cornerback Greedy Williams, who is widely considered to be one of the top three at his position in this year’s draft class. Not only would it be a big surprise should Williams not ultimately be selected in the first-round of this year’s draft, him remaining on the board until the Steelers selection at No. 52 overall would likely mean that some unsavory news about him has surfaced between now and Thursday night.
Reuter writes:
Guys like Josh Jackson and Isaiah Oliver ended up lasting well into the second round in 2018, and Williams is the top-tier CB prospect who could very well be available in Round 2 this year.
Moving on, Reuter has a more fathomable selection for the Steelers at the top of the third-round in the form of Notre Dame wide receiver Miles Boykin. Boykin has seemingly had serious interest in him from the Steelers throughout the pre-draft process and he was even one of the team’s pre-draft visitors this year. While not overly productive as far as total receptions go during his college career, the raw Boykin seemingly still has some upside to his game and he fits what the Steelers need as he mostly played the X position at Notre Dame.
Reuter writes:
Boykin won’t be an Antonio Brown-type playmaker but he should help take pressure off JuJu Smith-Schuster on the outside.
With the Steelers second of two scheduled third-round selections in this year’s draft, Reuter has them taking another player most fans of the team should already be somewhat familiar with in TCU edge-rusher Ben Banogu, a definite fit for the team at outside linebacker. While a bit older, as he’s already 23 years of age, Banogu checks quite a few of the other boxes when it comes to what the Steelers look for at the outside linebacker position. In case you need a refresher, Banogu registered 151 total tackles in 40 games played in and started. He had 49 total tackles that resulted in losses and 22 of those were sacks. Banogu was also a Senior bowl participant this year.
Reuter writes:
While Pittsburgh picked up Bud Dupree’s option for 2019, his inconsistent play might lead the Steelers to take an edge rush prospect like Banogu on Day 2.
In the fourth round, Reuter has the Steelers selecting Ohio State running back Mike Weber, who was also one of the team’s pre-draft visitors this year. The Steelers certainly appear as though they’re set on drafting another running back this year at some point and probably even as high as the third or fourth round. Weber, who measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 5095, 211-pounds, ran his 40-yard-dash in Indianapolis in 4.47-seconds. In the three seasons that he played in at Ohio State he registered 2,676 yards and 24 touchdowns on 455 total carries to go along with 54 receptions for another 297 yards and a touchdown.
In the fifth-round, Reuter finally has the Steelers addressing the tight end position and it includes another player out of Notre Dame in Alize Mack, who also made a pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh not too long ago. Mack, who measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 6040, 249-pounds, reportedly ran his 40-yard-dash in Indianapolis in 4.70-seconds. In the 35 games that Mack played in at Notre Dame, he started 23 of them on his way to registering 68 total receptions for 716 yards and 4 touchdowns. It’s worth noting that not only did Mack miss the entire 2016 season at Notre Dame due to an academic suspension, he was also suspended for the team’s 2017 bowl game due to an internal team matter.
With the Steelers first of three currently scheduled six-round selections, Reuter has them drafting Sioux Falls tackle Trey Pipkins, who measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 6061, 309-pounds. Pipkins, who was an East-West Shrine game participant this year, played in 42 games at Sioux Falls and started 32 of those. He mostly played at left tackle. The Steelers selecting tackle in this year’s draft would be a bit surprising considering the nice depth the team currently has at the position right now.
With their second of three currently scheduled six-round selections, Reuter once again has Pittsburgh addressing their offensive line and this time with Morgan State guard Joshua Miles, who measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 6050, 314-pounds. Miles predominantly played left tackle at Morgan State and he started 29 of the 31 total games that he played in. Many project him as a guard at the NFL level, however. An East-West Shrine game participant this year, Miles sat out the 2017 season at Morgan State due to him being academically ineligible.
Reuter then has the Steelers selecting Alabama defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs with their their third six-round selection. Buggs, who played up and down the defensive line at Alabama in the 29 total games that he participated in, of which he started 28, measured in at this year’s scouting combine at 6031, 306-pounds. He ran his 40-yard-dash in Indianapolis in 5.15-seconds as well. In his two seasons at Alabama, Buggs, who was also a Senior Bowl participant this year, registered 102 total tackles in addition to forcing 2 fumbles and defensing 3 passes. He tallied 17.5 tackles that resulted in lost yardage with 11 of those being sacks. Buggs’ position flexibility could result in him being an attractive later-round prospect to the Steelers, who once again had a large contingent at the Alabama pro day this offseason.
Reuter has the Steelers selecting another inside linebacker in seventh-round in the form of Ulysees Gilbert III out of Akron, who was yet another pre-draft visitor of the team’s this year. After not receiving an invite to this year’s scouting combine, Gilbert measured in at his pro day at 6001, 224-pounds. He reportedly ran his 40-yard-dash in 4.51-seconds at his pro day as well. Gilbert was a huge stat producer in the 51 total games he played in at Akron as not only did he register 353 total tackles, of which 28.5 of those resulted in lost yardage, 9.5 were sacks. He also forced 2 fumbles during his college career to go along with 3 interceptions and 22 total passes defensed. After a productive college career and due to his overall measurables, Gilbert is considered by many to be a linebacker/safety tweener at the NFL level.
