Just like that, the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is in the books. Some players certainly improved their draft stock, while others might have raised more questions. One player whose stock rose is CB Quinyon Mitchell.
Coming out of the Combine, Pro Football Focus dropped its post-Combine mock draft. In the post-Combine mock draft, the Steelers — who met with a number of the top cornerbacks in the draft class in formal meetings throughout the week — addressed a major area of need, landing one of the top cornerbacks in the class in Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell at No. 20 overall.
“Center will be a popular pick in most mock drafts for the Steelers, but they really don’t have much at cornerback outside of Joey Porter Jr. and a 34-year-old Patrick Peterson who struggled in 2023,” PFF’s Gordon McGuinness writes regarding the selection of Mitchell in the mock draft. “Mitchell earned the second-best PFF coverage grade among cornerbacks in this draft class in 2023 and recorded 14 pass breakups on the season.”
Landing Mitchell at No. 20 overall, especially after the Combine he just put together, would be truly remarkable.
Already arguably CB1 in the 2024 draft class entering the Combine, Mitchell put on a show.
Mitchell checked in at 6001, 195 pounds, then proceeded to put up a 38-inch vertical, a 10’2″ broad jump, and then clocked a 4.33 40-yard dash with a 1.51-second 10-yard split.
Truly elite numbers. Not to mention, Mitchell put up 20 reps on the bench press, too. He was outstanding throughout the Combine, continuing an incredible pre-draft process for the Toledo star.
Though the Steelers didn’t meet with Mitchell in a formal meeting at the Combine, they spent considerable time with him at the Senior Bowl, which has him firmly on their radar.
The tape at Toledo backs up the testing numbers. In four years at Toledo, Mitchell was a force for the Rockets, recording 123 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, six interceptions, and one forced fumble. Mitchell’s best season with the Rockets came in the 2022 season, in which he recorded five interceptions, adding two pick-sixes in the process.
The two pick-sixes came against Northern Illinois as part of a monster game from Mitchell. That day, he recorded a whopping four interceptions.
The buzz regarding Quinyon Mitchell and the Steelers’ draft continues to build. Before the Combine, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah stated in a conference call with the media that Mitchell would be a home-run draft pick for the Steelers, pairing him with Joey Porter Jr. for the long-term future in the Steel City at a major position of need.
With just Porter and Patrick Peterson as the two key corners currently on the roster, along with young cornerback Darius Rush continuing to develop and Cory Trice Jr. recovering from a torn ACL suffered in training camp, the Steelers have a glaring need at the position. Landing Mitchell would plug that hole — and then some.
