If the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft weekend turns out the way it did in CBS Sports’ latest seven-round mock, it’ll be one quiet couple of days for the organization. Chris Trapasso published a complete 2025 mock draft with all 257 selections filled out. Despite a lack of capital, he has the Steelers making an aggressive Round 1 move, leaving the organization with few other selections to address the rest of its needs.
In the first round, Pittsburgh trades up two spots with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to land Oregon DE Derrick Harmon. A potential starter and impact player but at one heck of a cost. In Trapasso’s mock, the Steelers give up No. 21, No. 83, and No. 185 for the 19th overall selection.
“The Steelers want to add more tenacity and youth on the interior and see Harmon as Cam Heyward 2.0,” Trapasso writes of the selection.
With a similar build and style, Harmon has been compared to Heyward throughout the pre-draft process. A strong fit in the Steelers’ system, he would fill one of the team’s biggest needs and likely replace Larry Ogunjobi’s role at left defensive end in the team’s 3-4 while rotating with Heyward and Keeanu Benton in sub-packages.
Mocking Harmon to Pittsburgh is smart. The cost to get him, however, is steep.
Without second- or third-round selections, the Steelers don’t make another pick in this mock draft until the fourth round at No. 123. There, they select Cincinnati OG Luke Kandra. Trapasso’s mock doesn’t contain explanations past the first round, but our scouting report profiled Kandra as a tough and physical blocker.
“Luke Kandra is an experienced guard who has excelled as a run and pass blocker the past two seasons. He offers exceptional athleticism and the ability to move fluidly in space. Because of his play strength, he will probably fit like a glove in a zone-blocking run scheme but would struggle more with man and gap concepts.”
Guard isn’t an immediate need, but depth is always welcome, especially with Isaac Seumalo heading into the final year of his contract.
In the fifth round at No. 156, Pittsburgh lands a quarterback in Missouri’s Brady Cook. Showing off his athleticism at the Combine, Cook turned heads with a 4.59 40-yard dash and 37-inch vertical. But there are questions about his ability as a passer, Cook struggling mightily with his accuracy during his final season with the Tigers. He battled injuries that may have hampered his technique, but Cook’s poor play was a key reason why WR Luther Burden II regressed in 2024. Our scouting report compared Cook to Kevin Kolb.
Missing their sixth-rounder also flipped as part of the Buccaneers deal, the Steelers’ final selection comes in at No. 229. There, they take Arizona RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Limited to just one game in 2024 over eligibility concerns, he rushed for just shy of 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2023 for New Mexico. Highly efficient on just 189 carries, he brings average size at 5102, 206 pounds and impressed at his Pro Day. He ran in the 4.4s and jumped out of the gym with a 41.5-inch vertical though his shuttle times were underwhelming (4.44 short shuttle, 7.28 three-cone).
Our comp for Croskey-Merritt was Ronald Jones and we gave him a fourth-round grade, suggesting Pittsburgh got good value here.
To conclude, here’s what Pittsburgh came away with in this mock draft.
No. 19 – Derrick Harmon/DL Oregon (trade up with Tampa Bay)
No. 52 – Traded To Seattle
No. 83 – Traded to Tampa Bay
No. 123 – Luke Kandra/OG Cincinnatii
No. 156 – Brady Cook/QB Missouri
No. 185 – Traded To Tampa Bay
No. 229 – Jacory Croskey-Merritt/RB Arizona
Nabbing Harmon in the first round is a positive. Everything else is a mess. Harmon aside, Pittsburgh did nothing to immediately upgrade its roster. Kandra and Cook are backups while Croskey-Merritt will have to focus on making the team first before possibly cracking the Steelers’ rotation. Attractive as Harmon is, he isn’t worth giving up the kind of haul that leaves Pittsburgh with little else to work with. Kudos to Trapasso for the effort but this is a truly disappointing Steelers mock draft.
