The Pittsburgh Steelers are focused on the upcoming 2023 regular season. But for college football fanatics and draftniks, their sights are set elsewhere. College football is back this weekend and so are mock drafts. At least one of them. ESPN’s Matt Miller unveiled his summer 2024 mock draft with the Steelers, picking 16th overall, take an SEC offensive tackle for the second straight year.
He has the team choosing Alabama OT JC Latham, whom he calls the “best right tackle in college football.” Miller writes:
“Latham has fantastic power at the point of attack and easily kicks out defensive ends and linebackers in space thanks to excellent agility and balance. The 6-6, 344-pounder is a premier run blocker…”
A five-star recruit, Latham is one of the best offensive line prospects in recent memory. He was the No. 1 offensive lineman in the country and the No. 1 recruit in the entire state of Florida — and there’s a lot of good high school ball down there — who picked Alabama over every school in the country.
A backup in 2021, Latham became the Crimson Tide’s starting right tackle, starting all 13 games. According to the team’s bio, he had 29 knockdown blocks and allowed only two sacks all year. Penalties were more of an issue, as he was flagged 10 times. Still, he looks to be one of the top linemen in what’s shaping up to be a good tackle class with Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and Notre Dame’s Joe Alt also headlining next year’s likely crop.
As Miller points out, the Steelers hopefully have their left tackle of the future in Broderick Jones – the team’s 2023 first rounder – so looking towards Latham on the right side makes more sense. Current RT Chukwuma Okorafor is under contract through next season but is also owed a $4 million roster bonus on March 19th. The Steelers clearly like him and Okorafor is the team’s longest tenured starting lineman but there’s no guarantee they pick that option up.
Obviously, projecting team need is a fruitless exercise this time of year. So much can and will change from August until the season concludes early next year. And prospects will come and go. Look at a way-too-early 2023 mock draft had some top picks who fell down the charts (LB Noah Sewell projected to go sixth overall last August, he went in the fifth round) while others didn’t declare (like Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke, projected 25th here). Still, looking at these year-old mocks and they weren’t completely off-base with most of their projections, meaning a guy like Latham, and all the other 31 listed here, are names to watch. Throughout the season, our Jonathan Heitritter will be buzzing about the top prospects and players to look for.
Projected to go first overall is USC QB Caleb Williams to the Arizona Cardinals, which just about feels inevitable at this point. Williams is a stud prospect, and the Cardinals are a basement franchise trying to become relevant again.
