With the 2020 NFL Draft now under two weeks away, we are seeing the mock drafts ramp up. Pro Football Focus just put out yet another one, this one coming from Mike Renner, in which he runs through the first three rounds of the draft. Were it not for trades, the Pittsburgh Steelers would have had four picks in this span; instead, they only have two, and so they add two players in this mock.
With their first selection, 49th overall in the second round, Renner has defensive lineman Neville Gallimore out of Oklahoma going to Pittsburgh. Technically, this is the only starting position in which there is a vacancy that the team hasn’t addressed yet, but it has to be questioned if the value is there.
Gallimore is a very similar prospect coming out to Javon Hargrave. They’re both undersized nose tackles with first steps that are overpowering for most centers. Gallimore improved by leaps and bounds last year with an 87.8 overall grade.
The Steelers drafted Hargrave in the third round in 2016 and then watched him outplay his role and his salary in Pittsburgh. He left in free agency to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, staying in-state, on a three-year contract worth $13 million per season.
Would Gallimore really have a big enough role to justify taking in the middle of the second round? Perhaps if they are able to trade back it would make more sense, but it’s hard to like the value at this spot in the draft.
With the Steelers’ other pick in the top three rounds, they take advantage of the deepest position in the draft, picking up a wide receiver in Tyler Johnson out of Minnesota. Though the team already has JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, and Diontae Johnson, you can never had enough wide receivers.
The Steelers have coveted sudden route-runners over the years, and that is Johnson to a T. He was the highest-graded receiver in college football last year and finished top-10 in yards per route the past two seasons.
Pittsburgh has four more selections over the final four rounds of the draft, during which time they would probably be expected to address the offensive line depth while also adding a safety, perhaps a linebacker or two, with running back also in consideration.
