28 DARIUS LEONARD
The Steelers figure to make upgrading at linebacker a top priority this offseason and one player who continues to shoot up draft boards is South Carolina State standout Darius Leonard.
Leonard is a long, rangy linebacker who turned a lot of heads with his performance at the Senior Bowl in Mobile. In his final season at South Carolina State, Leonard registered 114 tackles and 8.5 sacks en route to MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. At 6-foot-2, 229 pounds, Leonard doesn’t have great size but he more than makes up with it with his outstanding speed and athletic ability.
Despite playing at a small school, Leonard has plenty of experience playing against top-level FBS competition, as some of his best games during his Bulldogs career came against teams like UCF and Clemson. Leonard seems like just the type of player who could explode onto the national radar with an impressive performance at the Combine and his athletic profile bodes well for a selection at this range in the first round. If Leonard isn’t the selection, expect the Steelers to take a long look at UTSA’s Marcus Davenport if he’s still on the board.
It helps that the Steelers may also be familiar with the Bulldogs star after taking former teammate Javon Hargrave with the team’s third-round pick in the 2016 Draft. After getting great production out of 2017 top pick T.J. Watt on the edge, the addition of Darius Leonard inside would go a long way towards replacing the athleticism in the linebacking corps that is now lacking with the absence of Ryan Shazier.
60 CHAD THOMAS
The Steelers continue with the defensive trend in round two with one of the most athletic edge prospects in the class, Miami’s Chad Thomas.
Thomas (6-foot-5, 277 pounds) registered 11+ sacks in each of his final two seasons with the Hurricanes and figures to hear his name called on Day 2 of the draft. He is able to use his outstanding length (34-inch arm length) and is one of the most fluid athletes for the position in this class.
There are still some raw elements to Thomas’ game but with the recent hire of Alabama defensive line coach Karl Dunbar to the same position with Pittsburgh, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Thomas’ potential can be unlocked once he reaches the NFL level. A potential combination of T.J. Watt and Thomas on the edge seems awfully enticing proposition for defensive coordinator Keith Butler and a Steelers defense who finished first in the NFL in sacks in 2017.
Perhaps even more interesting than Thomas’ talents on the field are his musical talents off the field. If all goes well for Thomas and the Steelers, we could eventually see a 21st century version of the “Super Bowl Shuffle.”
92 KYZIR WHITE
Safety Mike Mitchell could wind up as a cap casualty this offseason and if that happens, expect Pittsburgh to look for an upgrade at safety within the first three rounds.
West Virginia standout Kyzir White (brother of former Bears’ first-round pick Kevin White) is an extremely athletic safety with great size for the position. White excels at playing downhill and loves to punish ball carriers in the middle of the field, especially when playing in the box. In addition to his play on the field, White is also a leader in the locker room, serving as the Mountaineers’ team captain during his senior season.
White probably isn’t as athletically gifted from a numbers standpoint as his brother Kevin and doesn’t have the range as a center fielder that you may desire in a free safety. Because he’s such a big hitter, he can also tend to get sloppy in his tackling technique and fail to wrap up, but his size and lower leg drive tend to make up for that in most situations.
Even if the Steelers decide to keep Mitchell for 2018, both he and backup safety JJ Wilcox will be unrestricted free agents after next season. The team will count on the continued development of Sean Davis in his third season and adding a player like Kyzir White in the third round will undoubtedly give them one of the best young safety tandems in the NFL.
139 RILEY FERGUSON
The long-term future of Ben Roethlisberger will be discussed quite a bit over the next several months and all of that discussion will have an impact on whether or not they select a quarterback in 2018. Even if Big Ben sees a contract extension, Landry Jones will be an unrestricted free agent following next season, so it stands to reason that the Steelers could look for a late-round developmental quarterback.
After taking over for former first-rounder Paxton Lynch, Memphis’ Riley Ferguson (6-foot-2, 196 pounds) established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the American Athletic Conference. With fellow draft prospect Anthony Miller serving as his top target, Ferguson passed for 70 total touchdowns and just 19 interceptions over the past two seasons as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.
Ferguson’s durability due to a lanky build may be a concern and his disappointing weigh-in at the Shrine Game (he was listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds) certainly didn’t do him any favors. He’s got enough arm strength but has an extremely long release that will have to be corrected for him to have a chance at a future starting gig in the NFL.
He’s going to be a project but with Big Ben and Landry Jones in place for the time being, the Steelers can afford to take a flyer on a prospect like Ferguson in the hopes he turns into a late-round gem.
156 LEVI WALLACE
You can never have enough cornerback depth and I would expect Pittsburgh to explore the possibility of adding a corner late in this draft if the opportunity presents itself.
Wallace weighs in at just 176 pounds but possesses outstanding length with 33 3/8-inch arms. He turned himself into a valuable member of a loaded Crimson Tide secondary, logging three interceptions in 2017, including one that went for a pick-six against Ole Miss.
The aforementioned hire of Karl Dunbar gives the Steelers a nice intel pipeline into the Alabama profile and could pounce on the opportunity to draft a player from the Tide defense at some point during this draft.
220 JAVON WIMS
The Steelers have scouted big wide receivers fairly aggressive during this draft cycle and with Martvais Bryant scheduled to hit free agency after next season, it’s highly likely that they use another pick on the position in the later rounds.
Georgia’s Javon Wims (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) has excellent size for the position and does a great job at leaping and high-pointing the football. He racked up 720 yards and seven touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs and should be an interesting name to watch at the Combine, where I expect him to post some impressive numbers, particularly in the vertical jump.
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