21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan
We always like to go after the splashy types of picks with the Pittsburgh Steelers early in our mock draft scenarios, but having the benefit of knowing we’re projecting three rounds maybe frees us up to take a closer look at “reality” for this team.
And the reality is, the Steelers might need to look to the trenches on either side of the ball with their top pick before they go after the offensive skill positions. Of course, if Pittsburgh identifies a quarterback it wants for the foreseeable future, perhaps that would take precedence.
But this team is honestly in a bit of a pickle. Do they bring back Russell Wilson after how bad the last month-plus of the 2024 season was? Do they bring back Justin Fields after benching him early in the year? Will we see another veteran retread?
Ultimately, the Steelers strengthening a strength by taking an athletic option like Kenneth Grant for the defensive line will allow this team to raise the floor defensively yet again and be in the mix for 9 or 10 wins, as usual.
22. Los Angeles Chargers: Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon
Sorry, Chargers fans. We don’t have a Michigan player to put here this week.
Oh well, I guess the Chargers will just have to settle for a guy who used to play at Michigan State. There’s three degrees of separation there somewhere. Derrick Harmon is a Detroit native who obviously picked the Spartans over the Wolverines at one point in time, and perhaps that still doesn’t sit well with Jim Harbaugh.
The big, athletic defensive lineman would be able to come in to the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense and elevate their defensive front in a big way. The Chargers have some solid edge players including an absolute star in Joey Bosa when he’s healthy, but they didn’t really have a super consistent player providing pressure on the interior defensive line.
Poona Ford finished the year with nine QB hits, but someone like Derrick Harmon has the look of a player who could get upwards of 20 or more QB hits per season at the next level. He’d be a great pickup for Jesse Minter’s defense.