2021 NFL Team Draft Page

The Steelers need to start reloading in the secondary. The primary drivers for this are the likely loss of Slot Corner Mike Hilton in Free-Agency and the age of Joe Haden. As far as depth, Cameron Sutton has been the primary backup for the CB group and he'll be a Free Agent as well.


The team has typically spent mid-round picks on corners with very low success rate. None of the starting lineup were drafted by Pittsburgh. Since 1997, they've only tried once (the ill-fated Artie Burns) in RD1 however. With the upcoming need at this position, the team should invest some draft capital to improve their odds of successfully addressing this position in the draft

Asante Samuel comes with some reasonable expectations that he can succeed at this level. Obviously, the NFL bloodline and mentorship from his father will set him up with appropriate expectations. As the Steelers prefer in RD1, he's an underclassman from a big-time program. He has the fluid movement skills to fit in the Steelers Man-heavy scheme.

On Film you'll see a player who's quick to diagnose and make plays in the secondary. The Seminole's defensive scheme had him playing a lot of off-man coverage so his ability to bump and disrupt players at the line of scrimmage is a projection at this point. With his elite movement skills, he'll probably be a top performer in combine positional drills.

Check out our new Team Page feature, the Steelers' Team Page shows the entire roster of Pittsburgh picks for Consensus Mock Draft #10 centralized in one place.

~ Patrick Mayfield, DraftTek Senior Analyst