Many of the mock drafts over the last few weeks have zeroed in on the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting an offensive lineman in the first round, whether that be an offensive tackle or a center. CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso posted a new mock draft on Wednesday and went in a different direction with the Steelers selecting Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell.
No player has seen his draft stock skyrocket throughout the pre-draft process like Mitchell. The small-school prospect initially turned heads at the Senior Bowl in Mobile in late January at the beginning of the process, and he has aced each subsequent step along the way.
At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Mitchell posted eye-popping numbers to solidify himself as a first-round pick. Measuring in at 6001, 195 pounds, with 31-inch arms, he ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, had a 38-inch vertical, and put up an impressive 20 reps on the bench press.
He stood on his numbers at the Toledo Pro Day but was still there to meet with teams and cheer on his teammates.
Earlier in the process, during a pre-draft conference call with the media, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Mitchell would be a “home run pick” for the Steelers.
“If you could write it in right now, turn it in and somehow guarantee it would happen, putting Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo on the opposite side of who you took last year with Joey Porter Jr., I think that would be a heck of a young secondary,” he said.
Since then, the Steelers traded WR Diontae Johnson and got CB Donte Jackson in return along with a pick swap in the draft. This lessened the urgency of getting a cornerback in the first couple rounds of the draft, but if Mitchell somehow falls to the Steelers with the 20th overall selection, it would be difficult to pass on that type of talent.
In Jeremiah’s most recent top-50 prospects list, Mitchell came in at 13 overall. He was the second-highest rated CB on the list after Alabama’s Terrion Arnold.
Drafting a CB in the first round would create a difficult situation for the rest of the draft, with urgent roster holes to fill at C, OT, and WR, but it just might be worth it if a talent like Mitchell falls to the team. Porter and Mitchell would make the Steelers’ CB room one of the youngest and most talented in the league.
