NFL Draft Triple Take (Three Round Mock Draft), March 30, 2025

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Triple Take, brought to you by up MC Mike Pursuda, joined as always on these programs by Dale Lawley and Matt Williamson. Matt and Dale are your drive tag team on SNR. You can also catch their work on the Steelers Audio Network and Steelers dot com. You can find me on

But we can change that, can't We.

Can make something happen there. And we still have k Metcalf in our back pocket here.

But you know, when you forget, we have DK Metcalf RT.

Yeah.

Yeah, the only have the two draft picks right now. We could change that and you still got DK Metcalf.

I'm guessing that a change is going to be forthcoming. But before we get to the festivities, I want to remind everyone the opinions that we are about to express and the actions we are about to take are ours, not those of the Pittsburgh Steelers. So keep that in mind as you delve into what you are about to receive.

Let's get that trade done, Dale, all right.

So we're running a little handy dandy simulator here, draft simulator, and the first twenty picks are in. So we're on the clock and we have six trade offers.

Guys, okay the best.

So you got teams that are interested Houston at twenty five, Detroit at twenty eight, Washington at twenty nine, and then three teams that are in the second round. I'm not necessarily interested in trading out of the first round.

But we are interested in getting into second round.

I would like that. And so you got swing it.

Yeah, yeah, If you get the Detections at twenty five, the Lions at twenty eight, and the Commander's at twenty nine, it's just a matter of how far do we want to move back and still think that we can get a player that we like here.

So we have options wise, man, Yes, never move back and trade.

Away from a player you'd want. They're we can move multiple players yes, there's a lot of to be Okay, so what we would like to do.

We could talk to Houston first.

Houston has picked twenty five, fifty eight, seventy nine and eighty nine, and.

They made that Tounsil trade. They got all kinds of.

Feah, they've got firepower to come up. So we're obviously going to offer twenty one. They would obviously offer twenty five. Can we get fifty eight from them?

No, we are saying that.

They are saying no, I'd be interested in moving next year's third because the Steelers right now are set up really really well with picks next year.

Is that something they might be very interested in in theory?

In theory, they would they would accept twenty five and fifty or twenty five and seventy nine for twenty one.

Seventy nine is not in the set.

That's a that's a there, I guess they're normal or no, they get that. That's the pick they.

Got from some probably from Washington through Miami.

Okay, so it's basically be Miami's third round pick. So we'd have two third round picks.

And move back four spots and then move back four.

Spots and still probably get a player that.

Do we not have a second round option.

We can try and say, what if we traded with Detroit.

So if we do it, we do a deal with the Detroit.

Detroit's got twenty eight and sixty, we.

Might be able to get them to do that.

Should I offer that offer that because.

If I offer it and they take it, it's done. They did not take that off as well.

If we sprinkle in a late round pick, throw a six or a fifth or something their way.

But throw in the our pick at one eighty five, they accepted that. Okay, So what we ended up ving toil twenty one and one eighty five for twenty.

Eight and sixty.

Okay, Well they moved back seven spots. Yeah, there was a handful of names I liked.

When you read them off.

Says the players, it just went. We lost out on a chance to get Walter Nolan.

He let me, he's off the board. That was my favorite target, Ye'll be honest.

Amar and Hampton went to the Baltimore Ravens at twenty seven.

Sounds very ravenish. Yeah.

So now we're looking here, we're at twenty eight and Derek Harmon is still there. Kay, Malachi Starks still there which is kind of surprising. Luther burd and James Pierce, Colston Loveland, Nick Scalerton, Darius Alexander.

The quarterbacks are still there.

To me.

I think Harmon's from Harmon stands out to me in terms of what you need. I'd love the groom, a talented young upfield guy, while Cam Hayward is still here.

Let me just ask you, guys a question that was once asked famously in Steeler's history.

Are you sure you don't want to take the quarterback?

I am because I don't necessarily like that quarterback in the first round.

I'm not reaching for a quarterback. I just won't do it. Yeah, I'm not thrilled with that situation either.

I just have some doubts about Dart, and I really think he needs a year.

I'm gonna go on a record and say that's not what I would do, but you would take Dart here.

I'll acquiesce to the will of the group.

I mean, at some points you do have to replace, not necessarily replaced now, but you do have to address replacing Cam Hayward in a near future.

And I think Derek Harmon gives you a potential to do that.

He's got the prerequisite size thirty five inch arms production at a major college, very disruptive.

Two major colleges.

Yeah. One.

And I'm working on the assumption here that by the time rolls around at the end of April, that's gonna be a quarterback. Okay, doesn't mean you don't take another quarterback somewhere else in this draft.

It's a bull move. Let's see how it plays off for you.

Derek Carmon is the pit.

Okay, Derek Carmon is to pick on Round one defensive tackle and uh and a really good player, guy who went from Michigan State to Oregon and really found his game. Yeah, lost some weight, uh, better people around him, bigger circumstances, and he really rose to the occasion.

I thought, Yeah, they have a nose tackle too in this draft that I like quite a bit. That also, Dale and I do this a lot, and I don't know that we are out of the nose tackle market at this point too. You can add two to the to a really rich group of defensive tackles overall. I would consider that maybe in round three.

Yeah.

The other thing I like about Harmon is he's not necessarily a SAS guy, but he's a generate pressure guy.

Yes, and you can use that. Gets his hands on again.

There's thirty five inch arms show up, that's balls and does all that stuff.

It's he's a good football player.

Okay, So Derek Carmon, it is on round one and let's fast forward now to the back end sixty.

Now the pick that we just picked up for moving back and still getting harmon.

The players available here.

Top players available Demetrius Knight, junior linebacker out of South Carolina.

Jaden Higgins wide receiver out of Iowa feeling.

Very good player.

Quinn Shaw Judkins running back out of Ohio State, Shamar Turner defensive lineman from Texas A and m Elijah Rojo tight end out of Miami. Arianta Ursery offensive tackle out of Minnesota. Omar Norman Lott defensive lineman out of Tennessee. You got Dylan Sampson running back out of Tennise, Tennessee as well, so back to back Tennessee's there. Kyle Kinnard, edge rusher out of South Carolina.

He's an interesting guy.

Six to eighty five, but we already took a defensive end there. Benjamin Morrison, the cornerback at of Notre Dame CJ.

West nose tackle.

That's a true nose tackle out of Indiana, as is Alfred Collins from Texas. And that's Traveon Henderson there. So there's some good names to choose from here. At the sixtieth there's a handful that stick out to me.

Is I know, we just took a defensive lineman, but Alfred Collins is a much different type. He's the Plodi Nada, you know, Vita vea nose tackle type and really could attack your defensive line. I like both Ohio State running backs just kind of this. You know, what style do you want? You want the bruiser or the breakaway guy. And Higgins still being there from Iowa State, a big receiver, I mean, really double down on attacking wide receiver.

But I don't know that's a need. But I'm kind of shocked he's there and nice to mix him in.

I am a huge fan of Quinn Shawn Judkins at this point.

Yeah, I got no problem with that at all.

Two and twenty one pounds.

He ran a four point four to eight unofficial at the combine. I forget what his official was.

In one thousand yard back all three seasons in college, it.

In the SEC, did it in the Big ten Mississippi transfer. I think he's a tremendous player. I think he's the better of the two Ohio State running backs.

No offense to.

Henderson, especially for the Steelers and big back.

By the way, it's a position in need, it is.

I think it'd be a nice trade off if you go deep tackle in the first round to address that deficiency in the backfield. I like the change of pacebacks they have in game.

Well and Warren, but you need that thumper guy.

He's your every down, he's got.

Breakaway home run in.

I wouldn't fight you at all on it. I'm pretty happy he's sitting there.

State running back running back, which again shows you the value of that move back. Yep, in the first round you get back into that second round. If we wait until the third round to take a running back, we're not touching a.

Guy like that, and particularly if you're not going to take a quarterback in round one, moving back makes even more sense.

Yeah, all right.

Here, huh, that's a nice day too, you know, first two round haul here and we've got another pick coming up here at eighty three. Now that now, if you want to start looking at a quarterback. Okay, you know you don't need them to start this year. Somebody that you can develop, you know. See what's what's there?

Well, let's see what the the simulator tells.

Us that the simulator is saying.

At eighty three, the players available to us Ozzie Trapeo, offensive tackle out of Boston College, Jordan Phillips, nose tackle out of Maryland, Jared Wilson the center out of Georgia, Kevin Winston, safety out of Penn State. R J. Harvey, running back at a UCF. Jalen Noel the other wide receiver at the Iowa State.

That's a good player.

Jonas Iavania, offensive tackle out of Arizona. He might have kicked in the guard. DJ Giddon's running back out of k State. Jalen Royals, wide receiver at a Utah State. Uh, Saveon Williams is there the wide receiver at a TCU.

I just want to look here.

We got Charles Grant and Anthony Belton, the two offensive tackles, one from william and Murray one North Carolina State at their quarterback position. If you wanted to jump into that mix, here you're looking at will Howard is there, Riley Leonard, Dylan Gabriel Quin, Yours, tom Acord, Tyler Shock still there.

You know my feelings on Tyler Shock. I'm a big, big fan. I mean, I know he's over aged. I think he's super talented. I'm also a little shocked Noel still there.

That's the one that jumped out of me, right.

I know the wide receiver has already been addressed, but you tend to run out, yeah, and that tends to be a real problem when you run out, as the Steelers found out last year.

So I would throw my hat into the ring for Noel here.

I was pretty happy to see him available.

To be honest with you, good football players, I kind of went into this draft process, especially after the Metcalf trade, saying I don't really need another smallish receiver with Wilson and Austin on board. But he's a tackle breaker, he's a punt returner, he's.

Pretty thickly felt like a running back.

He's a great tester. He's a really good football player. I'm a little shocked he's there.

Yeah, speed guy, return skills, confident guy, considers himself a student of the game.

He had a quote that jumped out at me on the NFL Network during the Senior Bowl coverage. He said, if you want a guy who's going to be in the right place at the right time and make smart decisions at all time, all times, that I'm your guy.

I like those chists.

Yet the tag team thing he had going with Higgins. Obviously he can work in tandem with other players at the position. And again, h when when George Pickens got hurt last year, it was problematic to say the least. Obviously it has been addressed since then. But can't have too many. It's like pitching right.

Dale, can't have too many any and I agree.

My only question would be do we do we do that?

Over the quarterback? Did you?

I mean, obviously Shuck is still there. Matt and I are both big shuck guys. Shuck guys, I do see. You know there's some other guys here, some later round guys at that quarterback position.

Maybe you take one in round four.

I have no qualms with Noel. I mean, I think he could also be an outside guy. Austin can as well. You have those two skyscrapers on the outside too already. He'd probably battle right away for slot duties.

And I just think he's too good to.

Be special teams guys.

Yeah, I think the quarterbacks there'll be some down the line.

Okay, it might even that's your project.

Well, I mean you can get one eventually, but I wouldn't mind bringing a young army.

I would get a contributor now versus project. It is. It is his third round.

If you're going to take a project quarterback, third round is you're expecting to get a starter there.

So I'm with you, aren't Jalen know?

L it is? I think jalenel Okay, So would we end up trading again? Let's summarize for the good folks.

Yeah, we moved back with the Well, here's the trade. It was with the Lions. We got twenty.

Eight and sixty four picks.

Twenty one and one five.

Which is a six round pick, and that moved us back to number twenty eight. We took Derek Harmon, defensive lineman out of Oregon, and we went off to someone.

I would consider it twenty one. Yeah, yeah, oh absolutely.

Uh.

Then we worked offense.

We took Quid Shawn Judkins with that sixtieth pick that we picked up by moving back, and then at picked eighty three, which is our normal third round pick. We got Jalen Noel, the wide receiver out of Iowa State.

I think it's pretty clear they're trying to become more explosive on offense, and I think we just helped them with this running back and receiver.

We absolutely just helped them.

Of course, easies.

I mean.

You just set you're bored that the picks almost picked themselves.

That's the way any hard decisions.

You know, you can love a guy as much as you want, that doesn't mean he's going to fall to you. In this instance, we had some guys fall to us that I like a lot, and I think we loved.

We all had likes.

Maybe not necessarily true love, but yeah, plenty to choose from.

Plenty to choose from, and this worked out well.

The trade down helped quite a bit too.

All Right.

I hope that gives people some insight into how the draft is going to play out exactly as we have just portrayed here.

Now, this was a fun exercise.

What we did here was come up with what Matt Williamson, Dale Lawley and myself might pursue. What we think this is not what the Steelers are going to do well. I mean, if it is, it's a complete coincidence. These are our opinions and our actions, is what I'm trying to stress to you, as they always are in this type of programming on all of the Steelers' social media platforms. So if you liked it, thank you for finding us. We're going to have more of this stuff coming before the NFL Draft.

In late April. Until then, for Matt Williamson and.

Dale Lawley, Mike Pursuda, this has been the NFL Triple Take, brought to you by up MC.

Thanks for watching.