With the 25th pick in the CSR Community mock draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select CB William Jackson III.
Here's a look at the picks thus far:
19. Bills Select DT Jarran Reed (magicman56)
20. Jets Select WR Laquon Treadwell (chillicothe20)
21. Redskins Select WR Josh Dotson (Muhammad4)
22. Texans select WR Michael Thomas (| Carolina |)
23. Minnesota Vikings Select WR Will Fuller (BW Smith)
24. Cincinnati Bengals Select DT Vernon Butler (Ivan Halley)
Pittsburgh Steelers (via Behind the Steel Curtain)
The Steelers limped into Denver, playing without their star wideout Antonio Brown, forced into using replacement-level running backs, and a less than 100% Ben Roethisberger. Next season, they will get back star RB Le'Veon Bell, but he has played only one full season.
When healthy, the trio of Roethesberger, Brown, and Bell form the NFL's best QB/RB/WR tandem. Add improvements to the Steelers' secondary receivers, and Pittsburgh should be one of the top-five next season.
Every off-season, it seems like the Steelers' biggest need is help in the secondary. This off-season is no different. While Pittsburgh has regularly invested in their front seven, including young starters Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones, and rookie Bud Dupree, the secondary has been been largely ignored.
This might be the year, with corners William Gay and Brandon Boykin, as well as safety Will Allen among the list of free agents. Of coarse Boykin signed with the Panthers.
To my surprise, I still had Mackensie Alexander, Eli Apple, and Jackson to choose from, but decided on Jackson.
NFL Netwok's Lance Zierlein may have said it best when he wrote "tall cornerbacks with length who can run fast and play the football are usually in high demand and that could be the case with Jackson." While Jackson may seem like the flavor of the month, or an overreaction to "the underwear Olympics", that would be unfair to Jackson's tape. Jackson led the FBS with 23 passes defended in 2015, and was PFF’s second-highest graded cornerback last season.
Jackson combines on field production with athletic traits.
Read more of my draft profile on Jackson here.
The Seattle Seahawks (Wenger) are now on the clock.