Quinn: Steelers' Final Answer In Mock Draft 3.0 Features Trading Up For Top Right Tackle

The Pittsburgh Steelers are just days away from making their first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. On Thursday, April 25th, Omar Khan will make his second first-round draft pick ever. Speculation is rampant about who the Steelers will select and whether they will make a trade to move up the draft board for a player like they did in 2023 when they acquired the rights to Broderick Jones. 

There is also strong sentiment to trade down and accumulate draft picks, using a later first-round pick or early second-round selection to grab an elite center prospect like Jackson-Powers Johnson or Zach Frazier. There is a lot of pressure in this draft to acquire multiple starters, and after last season, Khan and Andy Weidl will have a tough act to follow to provide Mike Tomlin with what he needs to compete in 2024.

Before the 2023 NFL Draft, the final, completely at the mercy of the simulator draft, accurately predicted that Broderick Jones would be the Steelers' first-round selection. Reminder: We are at the mercy of the PFF Simulator again and who will be available when the Steelers pick. Let the games begin. 

Round 1, Pick 16: JC Latham - Tackle, Alabama Crimson Tide

Trade Alert! Khan hinted that the Steelers would be more likely to be aggressive and move up to get a player they covet. The Steelers trade the 20th and 195th picks in the 2024 Draft and a third-round pick in the 2025 draft to the Seattle Seahawks for the 16th pick. It is no secret that Pittsburgh covets a right tackle, and JC Latham is the best one in this draft class. 

Latham comes from a run-heavy Alabama Crimson Tide offense, where he started 27 games over the last two seasons at right tackle. He was a Second Team All-American and First Team All-SEC in 2023. Latham is a more finished prospect than Amarius Mims. He's an accomplished run blocker, who should fit perfectly into Arthur Smith's offense and pair nicely with Jones for the next decade. 

Round 2, Pick 51: Xavier Legette - Wide Receiver, South Carolina Gamecocks

It is no secret that the Steelers need to find a starting wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh has George Pickens as its clear number-one option heading into the 2024 season, but Khan and Weidl need to replace Diontae Johnson, whom they traded to the Carolina Panthers. This is a very deep wide receiver class, and although Xavier Legette is not at the top of it, he is an intriguing prospect.

The former South Carolina Gamecocks receiver thrived in 2023 when he became Spencer Rattler's top option in the passing game. Legette is a physical wide receiver with exceptional combat catch ability. He is not the route runner that Johnson was, but he has been compared to AJ Brown, who worked out well for Smith with the Tennessee Titans. He is a versatile weapon that could thrive in single coverage opposite Pickens.

Round 3, Pick 84: Sedrick Van Pran - Center, Georgia Bulldogs

Powers-Johnson and Frazier are fantastic prospects, but the price is too high. Khan would have to overpay or overdraft to get either, and with Sedrick Van Pran as an option in the third round, the Steelers will not have to do it. Khan still might pull off a trade to get one of the fan favorites in the draft process, but the Georgia Bulldogs' seasoned starting center is hardly a runner-up in this class. 

Van Pran was in the middle of two National Championships for the Georgia Bulldogs and was First Team All-SEC and a Second Team All-American in 2023. He has 43 SEC starts under his belt and has faced the highest level of competition and performed. The Draft Network rates him as a winning starter-caliber center, and in the third round, he is high value for the Steelers. 

Round 3, Pick 98: Jeremiah Trotter Jr - Linebacker, Clemson Tigers

Full disclosure: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was available at pick 84. It was very tough to pass him by, but the Steelers needed a center more than an inside linebacker. Our imaginary pick runner couldn't reach the podium fast enough to make this selection. A highly pedigreed prospect with All-Pro DNA could turn the middle of the Pittsburgh defense into the impenetrable wall, which it is designed to be next to Patrick Queen.