As we approach the end of the season, we inch closer and closer to the 2025 NFL Draft. With that, comes mock draft season. While the Steelers are locked into a playoff berth, it doesn’t mean analysts and fans can’t play matchmaker for the team that clearly still has some holes to fill.
Pro Football Focus took a crack at a Steelers three-round mock draft today with Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman playing GM Omar Khan for a day.
After what has been a bit of an up-and-down year for Joey Porter Jr. and with Donte Jackson a free agent after this season, the pair used their first pick of the mock draft on East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr.
“Revel makes sense as a man-to-man guy,” Wasserman said. “That’s what they want to do. I think Revel has a lot of similar skills to Joey Porter Jr. I think Revel is a scheme fit.”
Without a top wide receiver on the board for them to pick, Wasserman and Chadwick were back and forth between Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Revel but ultimately decided on the latter. They deemed it more of a need rather than the luxury pick Warren would be.
Revel is indeed very similar to Porter in terms of play style and size. He stands 6-3 and weighs 193 pounds, almost exactly what Porter is listed at. He also has those long arms, perfect for jamming receivers in press coverage. This would be a departure for the Steelers, who typically draft players from Power 5 conferences in the first round.
In the second round, the PFF pair once again punted on a wide receiver in favor of a much shinier pick in the form of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe.
“I kinda like the long-term play of Jalen Milroe,” Chadwick said. “Somewhere like Pittsburgh — that’s an environment I’d love for him to be in. Where there’s not a lot of pressure to come in immediately and contribute. A good coaching staff around him as well. I really think he could get developed in Pittsburgh.”
Milroe, a two-year starter at Alabama, has had his ups and downs. No question he is supremely talented with a rocket arm and elite rushing ability. However, it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, Milroe even getting benched by Nick Saban halfway through his debut starting season. It’s important to note that Chadwick did mention that this would hinge on the Steelers re-signing Russell Wilson and allowing Milroe to develop. If that happens, maybe you have the perfect succession plan in place with a Lamar Jackson-esque player waiting in the wings. If not, you just wasted a top pick in what figures to be a relatively short Wilson-led Super Bowl window.
Rounding out the mock draft Chadwick and Wasserman finally addressed the wide receiver position, selecting Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel.
“He’s someone who just gets open,” Wasserman said. “I think Russell Wilson would like him a lot. You might even see a little Tyler Lockett in him.”
Noel is one of my early draft crushes. He’s an extremely crafty route runner who attacks defenders with sharp breaks, similar to the aforementioned Lockett. While that sounds great on paper, Noel is on the shorter end, listed at just 5-10. Pittsburgh already has two players with a similar profile as Noel in Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III, so it’s tough for me to imagine him as a fit. I’d guess the Steelers would prefer a bigger, more physical receiver who can really fill the Z role in their offense. With that said, I wouldn’t be upset with landing Noel at all.
