With the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl now in the rearview mirror, the cycle ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay churns toward the next big step in the pre-draft process, that being the NFL Scouting Combine later this month.
For now, the days and weeks ahead for the scouting community is a time to reflect on what they saw at the Shrine and Senior bowls, and a way to try to put more pieces of the puzzle in place when it comes to figuring out best fits and landing spots.
ESPN’s Matt Miller attempted to do that Monday morning, releasing a two-round mock draft. Within that two-round mock draft, he has the Pittsburgh Steelers going offense heavy and calling on a certain school in a neighboring state to help with that.
In Miller’s two-round mock, he has the Steelers landing Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 21 overall, and then double-dipping at Ohio State by landing running back Quinshon Judkins at No. 52 overall in the second round, addressing two key needs offensively by going to the reigning national champions to do so.
At No. 21, Egbuka is the fourth receiver off the board in Miller’s first round, behind Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan to the New Orleans Saints, Texas’ Matthew Golden to the Dallas Cowboys, and Missouri’s Luther Burden III to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Egbuka does it all as a slant-route king. He is a heck of a punt returner and one of the best blocking wide receivers, too. He doesn’t flash elite speed or size at 6-foot and 203 pounds, but he’s a smart route runner with solid hands (a drop rate of just 2.8%) and an all-out effort on every snap,” Miller writes. “He caught 81 passes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season.
“The Steelers need to start thinking about rebuilding their wide receiver room if George Pickens doesn’t return after his rookie deal expires before the 2026 season. And regardless of Pickens’ future, the team could use a true No. 2 receiver right now. Pairing Egbuka with Pickens and 2024 rookie Roman Wilson would be a good start.”
Egbuka is the popular name connected to the Steelers this offseason. He would plug a major need for the Steelers at the receiver position, and bring high character, a team-first attitude, and willingness to do the dirty work at the position to help his team win.
Based on what the Steelers have had to deal with in recent years at the receiver position, that would be a breath of fresh air.
Though he played the majority of his snaps at Ohio State in the slot, Egbuka is a receiver who can play inside and outside. He’s a good route runner, understands pace and spacing, and is tough as nails. He’s dynamic after the catch, too, and profiles as a good fit in Pittsburgh.
Following the selection of Egbuka at No. 21, Miller went back to the Buckeye well and landed Judkins for the Steelers. The pick addresses running back for the Black and Gold, who appear set to lose former first-round pick Najee Harris after four straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh.
“Najee Harris is set to hit free agency, and his return to Pittsburgh is far from guaranteed. Judkins would be an ideal replacement. He has the downhill power of Harris but better speed to rip off the chunk plays missing from the Steelers’ offense, as evidenced by his 28 runs of 10 or more yards,” Miller writes.
Judkins is another popular name that has been tied to the Steelers in the offseason. He’s listed at 6-foot, 219 pounds and is coming off of a 1,060-yard season with the Buckeyes with 14 rushing touchdowns on just 194 carries, splitting time with Treyveon Henderson in Columbus.
Judkins was a five-star recruit and a star at Ole Miss for two seasons before transferring to Ohio State for the 2024 season. In the national championship game, Judkins rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries in the win over Notre Dame. In the 12-team College Football Playoff, Judkins rushed for six touchdowns in four games, finding the end zone twice against Notre Dame, Texas and Tennessee.
In his collegiate career, Judkins finished with 3,785 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns on 739 carries, good for 5.12 yards per carry.
