If you hate mock drafts, I have good news and bad news. Good news: They’re almost over. Bad news: You gotta read at least one more. NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah unveiled his final mock draft Wednesday night, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers Georgia OT Broderick Jones at #17.
Here’s what Jeremiah wrote about the pick.
“Jones falls into the Steelers’ lap as they continue to remake their offensive line to protect Kenny Pickett.”
Jones is regarded as one of the draft’s top left tackles. Athletic and just 21 years old, he became the Bulldogs’ primary starter in 2022 after starting just a handful of games the previous season. The Steelers have shown interest in him, attending the Bulldogs’ Pro Day while also bringing Jones in for a pre-draft visit. The team has shown interest in the class’s top tackles. It seems likely if they are going to take one, it’ll be sooner rather than later.
But there’s debate over whether Jones will make it that far. Long and athletic left tackles are always in high demand, and there’s a couple tackle-needy teams ahead of Pittsburgh, notably the Chicago Bears at #9 and New York Jets at #15.
Thursday night ends all the speculation. The draft kicks off at 8 PM/EST for all of Round One while Rounds Two and Rounds Three will occur Friday night. Saturday finishes off the rest of the draft.
Elsewhere in Jeremiah’s mock, he has the Carolina Panthers taking Alabama QB Bryce Young #1 overall. That’s followed by Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud at #2 to the Houston Texans with Houston trading back up from #12 to #3 to take Alabama EDGE Will Anderson.
Other notable names in Jeremiah’s mock include Georgia DT Jalen Carter to the Seattle Seahawks at #5, Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez to the Las Vegas Raiders at #7, Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith at #10 to the Philadelphia Eagles, Ohio State OT Paris Johnson at #12 to Arizona Cardinals, and Mississippi State CB Emmanuel Forbes to the Washington Commanders at #16.
Notable fallers include Florida QB Anthony Richardson #20 to the Seattle Seahawks while Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. slips to #24 and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Interestingly, he has Tennessee OT Darnell Wright slipping to the end of Round One, going 31st overall to the Kansas City Chiefs. The biggest surprise inclusion of Round One is Wisconsin DL Keeanu Benton at #28 to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Again, you can check out his complete mock draft at the link here.
