Alright, hello everyone, and welcome to the first edition of NFL Draft Trip will Take First edition twenty twenty four. We are, as always sponsored by UPMC. I'm Mike Pursuita, joined as always by Dale Lawley and Matt Williamson. We've been doing this for a while now, discussing an upcoming draft and how we think the pieces may fall into place. But we're doing things a little bit different this year.
And one of the differences the opinions we are about to express, the wrong opinions that Matt and Dale are going to provide and the insight that will be forthcoming from me. It's all our own opinions. We are not trumpeting with the Steelers may or may not do. We are not, for these purposes, affiliated with the Steelers. This is three guys sitting around talking NFL Draft, so fellas, welcome back, ready to get at it. Let's just shout that they had us back our upsets in every draft.
We're gonna start today with our mock first round, and Dale, you're on the screen first, so let's take a look at your picks one through ten. Anything on here that you had to wrestle with or that you think is I don't know, especially enlightening.
Yeah, I think the first five guys are pretty chalky when you start looking at mock drafts. Whatever order those guys go in. To me, I think one of the real wild cards in this draft goes at six tight end Brock Bowers, because typically you don't see tight ends go that high. But you can't just look at him as a tight end. You have to look at him
as a pass catcher. And so to me, you know, I know the Giants that may not be a screaming need for the Giants another tight end, but you have to look at him like he's just a big wide receiver.
One of the caveats that we decided on before doing this was we weren't including potential trades. So that being the case, I think the Bears are, you know, for our purposes, not trading their quarterback and not trading the pick. So if they end up with Justin Fields throwing, who better to be on the receiving end than Marvin Harrison junior guys, he is my head and shoulders best receiver available. And that's just the old eye test. Just watch some college football on Saturdays.
What conference did he play?
He played the Big Ten Conference. Yeah, just checking Drake May is my second quarterback to the Commanders, and I like him better than the other two. I might be a little bit on an island regarding that, but based on our no trade scenario and Harrison going one, I think the Atlanta Falcons would love this because Jade Daniels of LSU would fall down to the Falcons at number
eight and the rest of it. As you said, Dale Chalking, Matt, let's take a look at what you've got cooked up for picks one through ten.
Yeah, you mentioned the Falcons at eight, and this might be a little controversial as we sit here in the middle of February, but I think JJ McCarthy stock could really be on the rise in the media circles when he goes to the Combine. Really really good athlete, phenomenal in terms of you know, interviews, leadership, all that type of thing. But I do think the Falcons are going to be aggressive with the quarterback spot. So I didn't know exactly what to do with them.
All right, Well I have. I mean, I think Terry and Arnold is the best cornerback in this draft. I think he's really good at twelve. Then you know, I got bow Nicks going to the Denver Broncos, and I think the reason I went with that, I think he kind of fits into what Sean Payton does offensively, getting the ball out quick, a lot of the shorter stuff. You know, It's what he ran with Drew Brees to a certain degree. So I just I don't know if he's the next best quarterback, but I think that's where
a good landing spot for him. And then you know you're looking on down there love Jackson Powers Johnson the center out of Oregon, but he goes at seventeen, and then that means the Steelers get Cooper dejen do everything, cornerback, safety return guy.
And you said do everything. You are not exaggerating.
What conference did he play?
The Big Ten Conference?
Yeah?
I saw too much of that guy in Iowa City. Mike pursuits picks eleven through twenty out jump right down to the bottom. I have Jackson Powers Johnson coming to Pittsburgh with the twentieth overall pick, and Dale, I'm with you on bow Nicks. I got him going to the Raiders at thirteen. You had him to Denver at twelve. But I think he's gonna go higher than people think. I think they're gonna love what they see of them
in the workout stage of this. And he's got some ridiculous statistics and I think he has the size and the experience. Quinnon Mitchell really interesting player to me. I got him going to Denver at number twelve, one of, if not the best cornerback available. Matt, what do you have in this particular third of the first round.
Yeah, I have Geiton, who you had gon fourteen going to the Steelers. He looks like a left tackle, he moves like a left tackle. He actually looks like a power forward. He was really impressed with the Senior Bowl. He's really only played on the right side. Steers will figure that out. Powers Johnson's a guy we've brought up a couple times. I think he'd really stabilize that Jacksonville line. And then Byron Murphy I wanted to mention too. He's
an extreme athlete. And you got to realize Seattle just you know signed or hired, you know, Baltimore's defensive coordinator. They won versatile, explosive defensive front guys. So I think that would be a good fit with the Seahawks.
Still one more third to get to as we continue, taking a projection at the first round at Dale, your picks twenty one through thirty two.
Yeah, I mean you start looking here and you're gonna get to Obviously, Cleveland does not have a first round draft pick because they traded that away. But then you look at the Baltimore Ravens and they take Graham Barton here at the thirtieth pick, and they get some offensive line issues there. Some of their guys are getting a little bit old Zeitler, They're one of their guards is
a free agent upcoming. So I think it makes a lot of sense for them to take a guy in Barton who could play all over that line for them and just give them a little more versatility there. And you know some of these other picks you mentioned geton. I have him going to Dallas. We know Jerry Jones loves those Oklahoma guys. That would make some sense there. And then one of the other guys, Lad McConkie, going to Buffalo.
That's a little at tension getting.
Yeah, I think he's going to maybe go a little bit higher than some of the draftnicks have him going round. They have him going early second round. I think he can sneak into that first round. He's really good and just he just does everything well and I like to like why to solve him at the Senior Bowl.
Dale, you and I both have the same pick at thirty second overall, Keon Coleman going to the Chiefs. Really good athlete, played basketball as well as football at Michigan State before he went to Florida State.
And he came to his census and transferred right there.
Is I think if he'd had gotten to play in the college playoff, there'd be a whole lot more buzz about him than there is right now. But he's a big receiver who's incredibly athlete. Nothing really surprising in my twenty one through thirty one. I have a degene going a little bit lower than you guys at twenty five, but for the most part, and Matt He's will probably confirm the same. We've basically got the same names here, just in different order.
Yeah, and actually with mine, I want to have the same spot with Baltimore.
D got a twenty eighth.
Yeah, I mean I want to mention that one too. Diggs's production really fell in the second half of the season, gave Davis is a free agent to be, so that makes a lot of sense to me. Well, you and I both had Darius Robinson going to the Ravens. They won versatility in that front. They want explosiveness, and he plays all up and down the line.
He's the first guy to me. It will get to a number of these guys. But you look at him and you say, that guy's a blank a raven, and that guy's a raving that particular guy. But there will be some other players where we think, oh, so and so he should be a packer or whatever. Yeah, that guy's a Raven.
I think, and then position, you know, positionally, at twenty nine, I feel really confident that that's going to be a cornerback. And there's a lot of them in this class that fit the mold. I'm not sure which one will end up at twenty nine, but they need a corner to put in extacidon.
That's gonna do it for us. For this first edition of the NFL Draft Triple take Matt Williamson, Dale Lawley, and me, Mike Pursuda. We're gonna be cranking this stuff out between now and the actual NFL Draft, which is
scheduled for the end of April. In Detroit, So you're gonna want to keep it here for well, just too many updates and insightful pieces of content to mention, But just keep checking back with Steelers dot com and all of your Steelers social media platforms and you'll find out what we think as the twenty twenty four NFL Draft approaches for Matt and Dale Mike. This has been the NFL Draft Triple Take, sponsored by UPMC