One last last piece of the rumor will to throw at you guys on this beautiful draft day. It’s certainly possible the Pittsburgh Steelers will be moving up from #17 in GM Omar Khan’s first draft. While many, myself included, believe it would be for a top tackle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac thinks it’d be for another position.
In a Wednesday chat, Dulac believed the Steelers could trade up but for a corner, not a tackle. Here’s what he wrote in response to one reader question.
“I think the odds are decent they move up. But, if they do, I think it would only be for one of the two CBs they covet in the draft”
Dulac didn’t specify who those two names were. Ostensibly, the top two corners in the class are Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon and Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez. Witherspoon was hampered by a hamstring injury in the pre-draft process and didn’t test at the NFL Combine or his Pro Day. He held a private workout in early April and it’s unclear if the Steelers were one of the 23 teams in attendance. Mike Tomlin nor Khan were at Gonzalez’s Pro Day but he was brought in for a visit, one of several cornerback visitors brought into the team facility this draft cycle. Gonzalez is a terrific height/weight/speed corner with loose hips and ball skills who tested well at the Combine. His 9.93 RAS was one of the best for his position since 1987.
In addition to Gonzalez, the Steelers have also shown interest in potential/likely first-round picks in Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Maryland’s Deonte Banks. It appears Pittsburgh will take either a tackle or a corner in the first round, though if they stay at #17, it’s unclear who will be left for the Steelers to take.
This is just another scenario to consider on draft day. Even if Pittsburgh wants to trade up, it takes two to tango and a move up for either corner would appear to be a big jump, well into the top ten. Of course, if someone falls a bit, if the top quarterbacks get taken early and pushes down the corners, the dynamic could change. Buckle up because it’s going to be a wild night.
