The 2021 mock draft season continues on with less than 30 days to go until the real NFL draft takes place in Cleveland, OH and on Tuesday it is Daniel Jeremiah who is on the main stage with the release of his third offering of the offseason. Jeremiah remains convinced that the Pittsburgh Steelers will draft a tackle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft as his latest offering has the team selecting Oklahoma State tackle Teven Jenkins 24th overall.
Here is what Jeremiah offered as a reason for mocking Jenkins to the Steelers in the first round at 24th overall and just as he did in his first version that he released in late January.
The Steelers would have their choice of the top running backs here, but I think upgrading the offensive line will be the first order of business.
Short and sweet and right to the point from Jeremiah. In case you forgot, below is what Jeremiah wrote back in January after mocking Jenkins to the Steelers.
“The Steelers’ inability to run the football last season was a major problem. They could take a runner here — I love North Carolina’s Javonte Williams and Alabama’s Najee Harris — but I think they will address the offensive line instead. Jenkins plays with an edge (see what he did against Texas) and would provide some youth/athleticism to Pittsburgh’s aging group.”
Jeremiah’s reasoning for mocking the Steelers a tackle in the first round in his first three offseason offerings is certainly understandable on the surface. However, with Steelers not having either general manager Kevin Colbert or head coach Mike Tomlin at the recent Oklahoma State pro day makes you really wonder if Jenkins should continue to be Jeremiah’s favorite choice for Pittsburgh at 24th overall.
Jenkins measured in at his pro day at 6057, 317-pounds with 33 1/2-inch arms and 9 1/2-inch hands. He ran his 40-yard-dash in just over 5-seconds and had a vertical jump of 32.5-inches to go along with a broad jump of 8’10”> Jenkins also did 36 reps on the bench at his pro day.
An unknown Steelers personnel member was present at that pro day. Jenkins said during his media session that he has spoken with the Steelers during the pre-draft process. According to a Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, the Steelers are showing a lot of interest in Jenkins as well.
Jenkins, who decided to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 college season to prepare for the NFL draft back in late November, made that announcement after he was injured against Oklahoma and failed to play the following week against Texas Tech. At the time, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said that Jenkins was dealing with some back pain.
Jenkins was a 2020 preseason All-Big 12 selection. He started six games at right tackle and one game at left tackle in 2020 before deciding to opt out. He also started all 12 games in 2019 in addition to starting all 13 games as a sophomore. Jenkins played in all 12 games as a freshman in 2017 as well. Most of his college starts came at right tackle but he did log quite a bit of playing time at left tackle as well throughout his college career.
While Jenkins has been an extremely popular mock draft choice for the Steelers in the first round throughout this offseason, my gut tells me he ultimately won’t be the pick.
