With the college football regular season concluded and the playoff field set, it feels like the perfect time to break out the first mock draft of the 2025 Draft season. I can already hear some of the internet ghosts yelling at their screen that it’s too early, but you can kindly take your Bah Humbug attitude elsewhere. This one is for all my NFL Draft sickos. Don’t apologize for being built different!
Not only will this exercise help us familiarize ourselves with some of the prospects, but I enjoy looking back at what mocks were projecting in December and seeing how drastically they’ve shifted by the final mocks being submitted before the draft. I’ve always been a draft nerd, and last year, 31 of the 34 players I highlighted in my “Bargain Drafting” series made their team’s 53-man roster after summer cutdowns, so I’d like to think I’ve started to get a decent feel for the process.
To conduct this draft, I used PFF’s Mock Draft simulator, picking from the 27th spot, the position where Pittsburgh would be drafting from if the season ended today. All height and weight measurements provided below are per PFF’s database. Those will shift once players are measured at the NFL Combine, but for now, they’re what we’ve got. I tuned the simulator’s sliders to have a higher priority for teams’ positions of need as well as a preference for positional value.
Let’s dive in!
Round 1, Pick 27: T.J. Sanders, DL, South Carolina
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Height: 6’4
Weight: 290 pounds
Class: (RS) JR
Player profile
T.J. Sanders fits the physical profile of what the Steelers like from their interior defensive linemen, and he has one of the quickest first steps in the class.
After a redshirt year, Sanders began working into the Gamecocks’ defensive line rotation in 2022 before playing over 400 snaps in each of the past two seasons. For his career, PFF has him charted with 11.0 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, 41 hurries, and 6 passes batted down.
There are two areas of Sanders’ game he can improve on, but they are not unusual for prospects.
One is developing a more consistent pass-rushing plan for when his athleticism and strength are not enough to win a rep. At this point, I think Karl Dunbar and the Steelers staff have shown they can help develop that in players.
The second area of concern is Sanders needs to work on his strength when forced to take on double teams. I would expect the Steelers to be patient with Sanders, like they were with Cam Heyward in 2011, and avoid rushing him to play in year one. Instead, he would effectively get a professional redshirt year in an NFL training program, working in some game snaps towards the end of the season. Then starting in 2026 form a dangerous duo with Keanu Benton for the later part of the 2020s.
Pick notes:
I know wide receiver is a position a lot of fans will clamor for in the first round, but the Steelers haven’t drafted one in the first round since 2006. As I ran this mock draft and saw what options at wideout would still be available in the second round, it felt like a position the Steelers could mine later in the draft.
Before doing this mock draft, I was certain I would pick a corner in the first round. As I looked at my options in the draft, however, there were a handful of corners I liked currently projected to fall to the middle rounds. As the draft cycle pushes onward and projections for players become more clear, these players might not fall as far. With the way the starting unit has played this year, the defensive line may not be the most pressing need — but much like when they took Heyward, it’s an opportunity for the Steelers to keep the line among the leagues’ best. Sometimes it’s just smart to invest in a freak athlete at a position of strength so it stays a strength. There will likely be future mocks where I select Jahdae Barron if he hasn’t shot up draft boards.
I adore Kaleb Johnson and want him to end up a Steeler, but the ADP of draft simulators this early in the process aren’t yet calibrated to what history tells us to expect with certain positions’ draft values. Johnson is currently projected to go in the first — and maybe he does end up there — but I philosophically am opposed to spending a first-rounder on a running back, so I had to pass here.
The quarterback class is an enigmatic one this year. The vibes around this group of quarterbacks are reminiscent of the 2022 class, which we should probably consider as a warning sign. There is still time for one or more of these guys to rise up draft boards, but I wanted to note that Cam Ward was still available for me in this mock. While I’m not sure I’d do it, of the QBs in this class, he is the only one where I could defend the Steelers selecting him — as long as that plan included signing Russell Wilson to a short extension and letting Ward develop behind him.
Others considered: (CB) Jahdae Barron, (CB) Shavon Revel, (RB) Kaleb Johnson, (QB) Cam Ward
Round 2, Pick No. 58: Tre Harris, WR, Mississippi
Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images
Height: 6’3
Weight: 210 pounds
Class: SR
Player profile
The Steelers need help in the wide receiver room, you may have heard, and Harris is near the top of my list of potential targets for Pittsburgh. Harris is able to play outside and in the slot, but will primarily project as an X receiver. Harris isn’t a burner or elite separator but has enough speed to be a downfield threat, especially with his freaky body control and physicality.
Harris isn’t just a 50/50 guy though. He has enough wiggle to produce after the catch.
In 51 college games, Harris produced 220 receptions for 3532 yards (16.1 Y/R) and 29 touchdowns. Harris would pair well with Pickens outside while Calvin Austin and hopefully Roman Wilson give the Steelers speed threats in the slot.
Pick Notes:
Harris is a perfect example of why I think the Steelers' strategy of waiting on wide receivers makes a ton of sense. Harris has done nothing but produce at the college level, but a groin injury this season limited him to eight games and has him, at least for now, falling to the late second round. Why spend a first on a receiver when there are usually still a bevy of talented prospects in the middle rounds?
What the Steelers decide to do with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will be fascinating this offseason. In the event they extend Wilson and let Fields test free agency, Drew Allar is another prospect I like as a developmental project. He’s a toolsy player that’s more athletic as a runner than you might think, but he hasn’t always put it all together. Allar might benefit from another year in college, but if he declares, the Steelers could take a swing on Allar’s athletic traits with no pressure to play him immediately.
Others considered: (QB) Drew Allar, (LB) Jeffrey Bassa, (CB) Maxwell Hairston
Round 3, Pick No. 90: Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, OG, Texas A&M
Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Height: 6’5
Weight: 330 pounds
Class: JR
Player profile
Sometimes, I find the old adage that a “picture is worth a thousand words” rings true when discussing a prospect. That can especially be true when discussing a player who plays a position that isn’t typically the focus of attention on your TV highlights package. With an offensive lineman, sometimes it’s better to just show you athleticism and whoop ass a player has.
One fun play/concept from #kufball's game against Texas Tech today: Andy Kotelnicki lining up OL Ar'maj Reed-Adams in the slot and putting him in motion to give him a running head start for this block. That’s 6-foot-5, 325 pounds starting with extra momentum. pic.twitter.com/b0yaumzlK4
— Kevin Flaherty (@KFlahertyKCSN) November 12, 2023
A three-star recruit coming out of high school, Reed-Adams started his college career at Kansas before transferring to Texas A&M and the SEC. Adams is a mauler who has no issues moving a pile, something the Steelers running game could use more of. He’s no slouch in pass protection either. PFF has him credited for only one sack in 2024 and just three for his career.
Pick notes:
I know it’s never sexy to pick an interior offensive lineman, but one of the things that drove me craziest about the end of the Kevin Colbert era was the way he built up an elite offensive line and then just let it deteriorate on his watch. From 2013 until the final draft he oversaw in 2022, these were the linemen he drafted: Wesley Johnson (2014), Jerald Hawkins (2016), Chukwuma Okorafor (2018), Derwin Gray (2019), Kevin Dotson (2020), Kendrick Green (2021), Dan Moore Jr. (2021). Green and Okorafor were third-rounders and the rest were Day 3 picks. Morale of the story, keep drafting for the line!
I’m not a big fan of Ewers, but with the Steelers potentially in the market for a backup quarterback, I’ll highlight the recognizable name available here. The mid-rounds of the draft are a decent place to take a flier on a player who would be expected to serve as a backup and could develop with the right luck.
The second and third rounds are often the sweet spot for drafting a running back with the way the position is valued in the modern game. However, as I looked at the available names, they didn’t quite match the mold of back I think the Steelers will pursue. Operating currently under the notion that the Steelers have declined Najee Harris’ option and haven’t extended him, the Steelers could be looking to replace him. If Jaylen Warren sticks around as a restricted free agent, the Steelers would be wise to find another big back like Harris.
Others considered: (RB) DJ Giddens, (RB) Jarquez Hunter, (QB) Quinn Ewers
Round 4, pick 127: Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State
Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
Height: 6’2
Weight: 225 pounds
Class: JR
Player profile
If Gordon had been allowed to declare last year after his sophomore season, there’s a good chance he would have been the first running back taken. That’s how Herculean — 1,732 rushing yards (6.1 YPC), 22 touchdowns, 39 receptions and 330 yards —Gordon’s 2023 season was. A down 2024 season for the entire Oklahoma State program highlighted some of Gordon’s shortcomings, but he is still a back I consider to be a perfect fit for the Steelers.
More RB depth for the ‘25 draft class, as last year’s Doak Walker winner officially declares…
Ollie Gordon (6’2”, 225 lbs) has had a bit of a down season, but his vision, balance and toughness are NFL ready ✅
: Here’s 2 minutes of some of his best plays of the season pic.twitter.com/BRvr1YFORp
— The Draft Room (@TheDraftRoomNFL) December 6, 2024
Gordon is best when he’s able to get downhill quickly. He doesn’t have the most explosive long speed and can struggle when asked to stretch a defense horizontally. His play style is similar to that of Najee Harris, the player the Steelers will presumably have him replace. The Steelers want to be a physical running team, and Gordon has all the tools to be the next hammer in the Pittsburgh backfield.
Pick notes:
I knew I wasn’t going to leave this draft without restocking the running back room. Gordon is a hammer, and Oklahoma State’s poor showing this year has depressed his current draft stock. That could benefit Pittsburgh.
Davis was one of the two corners falling down the draft board that I was keeping my eyes on. Like Gordon, Davis’s draft stock is currently depressed due to his team’s poor record and the 6’4 corner not playing at the same level he did in 2023. I would not be shocked to see him go much higher once the NFL Combine numbers are in.
Others considered: (CB) Tacario Davis, (RB) Le’Veon Moss, (WR) Jayden Higgins, (WR) Evan Stewart, (T) Emery Jones Jr.
Round 5, pick 127: Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Height: 6’1
Weight: 175 pounds
Class: SR
Player profile
Bryant is one of my favorite prospects early in the process. Bryant is a long-limbed press corner that fits the physical mold and playstyle the Steelers have preferred in recent years. Bryant could stand to put a little weight on, but he doesn’t play like a corner scared to hit.
But what really shines on film for Bryant are his ball skills. In four seasons, Bryant has racked up 13 interceptions.
Bryant is a bit of a gambler, and like most press corner prospects there is some concern about his speed when a receiver manages to beat him deep. He’s also an aggressive ballhawk, for better and worse.
He won’t have the same speed as Donte Jackson, but with Joey Porter Jr. as CB1, Bryant can get away with being aggressive and taking more chances as a CB2 in Pittsburgh.
Pick notes:
If Bryant falls this fall, the Steelers should get a steal. I think corner is a top need for the Steelers, but I think they are just as likely to add a vet in free agency. While I’d like to see them take one high, if they could get a player of Bryant’s talents this late, sign me up.
Others considered: (CB) Jaylin Smith, (RB) Jordan James, (S) Michael Taaffe, (LB) Lander Barton
