Despite all the moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason, inside linebacker is still a position we aren’t at all comfortable with heading into the season. The folks over at Athlon Sports have a new 2024 mock draft out and they seem to share that opinion with us. NFL draft analyst Luke Easterling opted for an elite inside linebacker for the Steelers in the first round.
You can check out the entire mock draft here but let’s talk about the pick of Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. for the Steelers.
Here’s what Easterling had to say about the pick:
The Steelers added some solid building blocks for the future in this year’s draft (Keeanu Benton, Joey Porter Jr.), and some Day 3 bargains with tons of upside (Cory Trice, Nate Herbig). They’ll still need a difference-maker at the second level next offseason, though, and just like with Porter, they could end up targeting the son of a former Pro Bowler in Trotter.
Personally, we love the game of Trotter and think he would be a great fit for what the Steelers do on defense. But mock drafts at this point are less about getting the pick right now and more about identifying some of the top prospects for fans to keep an eye on as the college football season gets ready to start.
Another big goal of a mock draft like this is how the author identifies team needs early in the process. Inside linebacker is going to be a question for Pittsburgh all season long so if there’s a player worth that first-round pick, you can bet it will be a consideration.
