Mock Draft: Steelers trade down and snag standout lineman

Feb 8, 2023 - 2:30 PM

The Senior Bowl has officially come and gone, and the NFL pre-draft process is rapidly moving along. With less than three months until the draft, it is time to dive head-first into the pool of mock drafts!

We are not too far away from my mock draft 2.0 coming out, and I will let you know there are many changes from 1.0 on the horizon. We now know who is returning to school, and we have now had the opportunity to watch the prospects who participated in the Senior Bowl. Having said that, there are still a lot of unknowns. The combine always throws a wrench into things, and pro days have yet to take place either.

Today, we are looking at a unique mock draft from Arif Hasan at Pro Football Network, which has the Steelers making a draft-night trade. This would be welcomed by many Steelers fans who are hoping for a much more aggressive draft strategy under new GM Omar Khan. The team rarely moved up and down the draft board with Kevin Colbert running the show, but with an analytics-based guy like Khan, it would make sense to believe the team will be more willing to move around.

In this mock, the Chargers trade picks 21, 85, and 156 to the Steelers for picks 17 and 119 in order to draft Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson. Here is what Hasan had to say about it:

The Chargers know that the Detroit Lions could use a linebacker and also know that there might only be one first-round linebacker in this year’s draft, so they trade up with the Steelers, who could use this pick but could use a few more top-100 picks even more. Trenton Simpson has fantastic range and the coverage skills the Chargers have lacked at inside linebacker. Not only that, LA could lose Drue Tranquill to free agency, making a thin room thinner.

With the 21st pick in the draft, he has the Steelers selecting Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence. Here is what he had to say about the selection.

With five picks in the top 100, the Steelers can afford to attack their most-needed positions. Their offensive line is certainly not what it used to be, and this is a team willing to invest in interior linemen. O’Cyrus Torrence is one of the most powerful offensive linemen in the draft and can be dominant up front.

He overpowers even the strongest nose tackles and has a great sense of space and pass-protection awareness, along with a truly dominant run-blocking capability. He’s not a fit for every scheme with his athletic limitations, but he should be a perfect fit for the Steelers.

Torrence has been a popular name linked to the Steelers in the early stages of the draft process, as Kevin Dotson’s struggles have brought up concerns as to whether or not the team needs to search for a replacement. While not an ideal schematic fit, Torrence would immediately bolster the Steelers’ run-blocking and give Kenny Pickett and strong trio of interior linemen.

What are your thoughts on this scenario? Do you like the projected trade? Would Torrence be a fit for the Steelers? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, and stay tuned to BTSC for all the news and notes leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft!