Mock drafts are an interesting exercise. You can sit and pore over the picks for hours trying to get it just right. Or you can go live and wing it. It does take some of the stress off to just go off the cuff, but it can produce some wacky results. For instance, the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Wisconsin OL Tanor Bortolini with their first pick in the third round?
That’s what happened when CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson and former NFL general manager Rick Spielman sat down for Wednesday’s episode of the With The First Pick Podcast. They went three full rounds, making picks back and forth. The Steelers’ results were interesting, to say the least. Wilson kicked off the Steelers’ draft by targeting an offensive lineman, a very common positional target.
“There’s some guys I like at center in Round Two,” Wilson said. “I want to get nasty, Rick, in this Arthur Smith offense. I’m taking JC Latham.”
Latham is a mammoth right tackle with plenty of experience playing for Alabama. He would allow the Steelers to put last year’s first-round pick, Broderick Jones, back at left tackle. Jonathan Heitritter scouted Latham for Steelers Depot and sees him as a quality mix of pass protector and road grader.
JC Latham is a rock-solid prospect who has plenty of positive traits on tape, as well as the starting experience in the SEC to make for a plug-and-play right tackle at the next level. He needs to continue to work on fine-tuning his technique regarding his hand placement and playing with proper leverage, but he’s shown to be a consistent pass protector against top-end competition while also excelling as a run blocker in Alabama’s rushing attack, excelling in a gap/power system where he should flourish at the next level.
Spielman approved of the pick, but some intriguing names were still at the top of the board. The biggest name arguably was Washinton OL Troy Fautanu. Now, teams may not be quite as high on Fautanu as former NFL DE Chris Canty is, but he’s being talked about as one of the top interior offensive linemen in the entire draft. That’s after a career playing offensive tackle and being voted as the best offensive lineman in the PAC-12 by defensive linemen in 2023.
Amarius Mims was also available. Thanks to playing right tackle and for Georgia, he’s been a popular name in mock drafts for the Steelers.
In the second round, Spielman got to make the Steelers’ pick. While Wilson talked up center options in the second round when he selected Latham, Spielman went a different direction.
“I need a receiver,” Spielman said. “I will go with Legette. Get a vertical stretch guy.”
Xavier Legette can certainly pick up yards. In 2023 with South Carolina, Legette had 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. That’s an average of 17.7 yards per reception, which certainly can help pick up big chunks of yardage. The Steelers are definitely interested, as they hosted Legette on a pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh.
Alex Kozora took a look into Legette’s tape and can definitely see the potential there. There are just plenty of questions, too.
Overall, Xavier Legette has fun tape and at his best, looks like a top-tier receiver. He’s athletic with a power forward mentality when the ball is in the air. The concern, and a hard lesson I’ve learned over time, are those big and linear receivers can’t consistently create space. He’s versatile and can be moved around, sorta like a Deebo Samuel, but I don’t think he’s as twitchy and agile.
Legette is a guy who is easy to like and root for. But given that lack of constant separation, it’s hard to be all-in on his game. Especially after producing offensively for just one season.
One interesting name still on the board at the same position was Troy Franklin from Oregon. He brings great speed to match the big-play ability of Legette with a well-rounded route tree and contested-catch ability.
The real chaos began in the third round. Wilson got back in the driver’s seat and attempted to address the lack of center addition. He simply went in an unexpected direction.
“I’m going to take a pick that I like a lot,” Wilson said. “I thought he had a good Senior Bowl and a good season… Tanor Bortolini out of Wisconsin.”
Even Spielman seemed underwhelmed in the moment.
“Okay,” Spielman said. “Undersized guy, okay football player. But he can play center, you filled a need.”
Bortolini did start every game at center for Wisconsin last season, so he does fit the bill there. However, there are plenty of questions about how he would fit in Pittsbrugh per Alex Kozora’s scouting report.
Overall, Bortolini is a strong player who can anchor in pass pro and run block in the right schemes. He will work best in a man/duo scheme, and he can handle bigger and stronger nose tackles. But quicker interior linemen will burn him, and zone schemes aren’t his best fit. I don’t see him as a great candidate for what the Steelers are trying to do.
What makes it even more frustrating are some of the potential center prospects who were on the board. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger from Georgia and Mason McCormick from South Dakota State were both available when Wilson made the pick. McCormick even visited the Steelers pre-draft, and he brings elite athleticism to the table.
As a follow-up, Wilson then went defense with the Steelers’ second third-round pick. However, it wasn’t to address any issues in the secondary.
“Austin Booker it is, edge rusher, Kansas,” Wilson said. “Taken in the bottom of the third round, that’s where Alex Highsmith went off the board. Great pick, great pick.”
The Steelers did have a formal meeting with Booker at the NFL Combine, so there has been contact between the two. Booker also did lead Kansas with eight sacks and 12 tackles for a loss in 2023 so he was productive. He simply isn’t a finished product yet according to Ryan Roberts’ scouting report.
The things most pressing for Booker to improve are play strength and to gain experience. Those things are easily worked on. You can’t, however, teach his athletic tools and upside. His potential is through the roof…
The tools are all there for Booker to develop into one of the best pass rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft. His combination of length, twitch, and flexibility should translate well to the next level. He will need to continue to develop his body to become a real asset against the run, so in year one, a role as a designated pass rusher would be most ideal. By year two or three, he should be a player who can be counted on as a full-time starter.
That’s all well and good. You can never have too many good pass rushers in today’s NFL. However, with the other needs on the roster, is taking a guy who will be your fourth pass rusher behind T.J. Watt, Highsmith, and last year’s fourth-round draft pick Nick Herbig the right move?
You can watch the entire three-round mock draft below:
