Steelers Land Quality Running Mate For Joey Porter Jr. In New NFL.com Mock Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers have all sorts of needs that the front office will look to fill in the 2024 offseason. Pittsburgh will be in the market for improvements to the roster on both sides of the line, cornerback, linebacker, safety, and still need to sort out the quarterback room beyond Kenny Pickett. While many in the industry doing mock drafts seem to think the organization will target an offensive lineman in the first round for the second year in a row, NFL.com deputy editor, Gennaro Filice eyed an improvement in the secondary in his first attempt at seeing how the 2024 draft falls. 

The team was looking for upgrades at cornerback in the 2023 offseason after losing cornerback Cam Sutton in free agency to the Detroit Lions and decided to bring in veteran Patrick Peterson on a two-year deal. The organization also added Joey Porter Jr. with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Filice opted to go back to the cornerback position in his mock draft, selecting Alabama Crimson Tide's Kool-Aid McKinstry to give Porter Jr. a running mate in the secondary for the foreseeable future. 

"Pittsburgh successfully shored up one cornerback spot with last year’s selection of Joey Porter Jr.," Filice wrote. "Now it’s time to address the other. With all due respect to future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson, he’s no longer the same player in his mid-30s and feels like a prime cut candidate." 

Peterson had a bit of a strange first year in Pittsburgh. He showed his age while playing outside cornerback, but found some success at free safety when the team moved him there out of necessity for the final three weeks of the season. As Filice mentioned, there's speculation that the 34-year-old could be a cut candidate. According to OverTheCap.com, Peterson is set to count for $9.775 million against the team's cap this year and can be released to create $6.85 million while incurring a dead cap penalty of $2.925 million. 

Even if the Steelers decide to find a way to lower Peterson's cap hit to keep him on the roster, the Steelers will still need cornerback help. It's paramount to have two cornerbacks that the defense can count on in a division with Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, and a conference with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert. 

Former Alabama cornerback, Levi Wallace is set to be an unrestricted free agent in March. He took a step back in his second year in Pittsburgh. According to Pro Football Reference, Wallace allowed six touchdowns in 2024, which was double his total in 2023. His interception numbers dropped from four to two. He posted a career-high passer rating of 93.7 and tied for a career-high missed tackle percentage of 13.6%. 

Wallace could still be a useful depth piece at the right price, but can't be depended on as a lockdown corner. Enter McKinstry. He had a banner sophomore season in 2022, helping the Crimson Tide reach the College Football National Championship. His 15 passes defended landed him fourth in the nation in the category. Like Porter, his interception total in college was low, with only two in three seasons, but teams stopped throwing against him. 

Steelers Let Potential Star Offensive Linemen Pass Them By 

As mentioned previously, the Steelers require help along the offensive line at the tackle position and center. In the scenario that Filice laid out, the Steelers opted to fill their need at cornerback and watched two potential star offensive linemen go off the board right after the 20th overall pick. 

Right after the Steelers nabbed McKinstry, the deputy editor had the Miami Dolphins scooping up top center prospect Jackson Powers-Johnson. Then, the pick after that, the Philadelphia Eagles snagged Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims. These are two prospects that would make a ton of sense for the Steelers, as they have needs at both spots. As this was only a first-round mock draft, the team could address center and tackle in other rounds or free agency. 

Do you like the idea of getting another talented young cornerback to pair with Porter Jr. in the first round? Would you prefer the Steelers grabbed an offensive lineman?