Resetting the Steelers Big Board: Day 3 Mock Draft

The immediate returns for Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan regarding the 2025 NFL Draft, seem to show once again that the young GM has expertly navigated the Draft Board. The Media and it’s incessant calls for the Steelers (or several other QB needy teams, for that matter) to draft Shedeur Sanders had a lot of Steelers fans wondering if Khan woould cave to the pressure and take the young, mercurial talent.

Omar Khan showed a commitment to the overall plan of the 2025 Steelers Draft when, at Pick 21 in Round 1, Khan did NOT go after the QB sitting right in front of him, as Kevin Colbert did in 2022 with Kenny Pickett, instead opting to take what many consider to be Cam Heyward’s clone with Oregon Defensive Tackle, Derrick Harmon. Harmon already looks to be a Steeler, as his play style won’t look much different than what the Steelers already have with Cam.

Where Harmon shines brightest though, is the amazing person that Harmon has ALREADY turned out to be before ever taking a snap for the Black and Gold. The story of his mother in the hospital on Draft night, Harmon getting selected, and then rushing to her bedside to be with her in her final hours, being able to tell her that he had been drafted…

… geez. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

I’ve often said about my favorite player of all time, Troy Polamalu, that for as good of a player as Troy was, Hall of Fame player and all, that Troy was an even BETTER person. Derrick Harmon fits that mold to a “T”. I could not be happier with the selection that Omar Khan and the rest of the Steelers Front Office made in the 1st Round.

But as great as the Derrick Harmon selection was, the Steelers did even better in the 2nd Round. Now, I can hear all of you yelling at me thru your computer screen that “Corey, they didn’t HAVE a 2nd Round pick, how can you say they did even BETTER?”. Well, my McPitt Minions, here’s how:

“With the 20th selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans select Oluwafemi Oladejo.”

HUH?!?!

Well, it’s not who the Titans selected that matters, but the fact that the Draft spot used to take Oladejo originally belonged to the Steelers before trading it away to the Seattle Seahawks for star WR DK Metcalf. So if your’re keeping score at home, Omar Khan’s 2025 NFL Draft has gone as follows:

Round 1 – Derrick Harmon, DT – Oregon

Round 2 – DK Metcalf, proven Pro Bowl WR

Round 3 – Kaleb Johnson, RB – Iowa

Oh, and speaking of Johnson, that was another amazing Khan pick to get the best fitting RB left on the Board for a glaring hole of need. Johnson will fit into the Steelers backfield very nicely with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell.

So at this point, the Steelers have filled their biggest 3 major glaring holes, outside of waiting for a rose “The Bachelor” style, from Drama King Aaron Rodgers. If the Steelers are confident that Rodgers will be in the building as their starting QB, then the roster has very little holes left to it.

Now, I must give a disclaimer that I feel VERY confident that Aaron Rodgers is going to be the Steelers starter. I don’t believe that Omar Khan and the rest of the Steelers Front Office would knowingly leave themselves in such a lurch that they pass on Shedeur Sanders, or other QB’s that were available, by passing on them at 21 or refusing to move back into the 2nd to get one.

It’s either the biggest staring contest between the Steelers and Rodgers, or the Steelers are really THAT confident with Mason Rudolph that they are really going to roll  into the season with him as the starter. Maybe that one year in Tennessee really did something to Rudolph that changed the game for him. I’m still clinging to the former idea, and I will until Training Camp comes around and somehow, someway, Rodgers is still not a Steeler.

With Rodgers assumingly coming into the fold, that means that the Steelers filled the QB, DT, RB, and WR holes that were so glaring on the roster. So where do the Steelers go from here with four picks left? The Steelers have one pick in each round of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounds, and while those glaring holes are filled, there are other positions of “need” that the Steelers can look to fill with the flyers they take on Day 3. Let’s get to the picks!

Round 4, Pick 123 – Shedeur Sanders, QB – Colorado

You didn’t think the drama was over, did you? How cute of you! The media acclaimed Top 5 pick is now into Day 3, and it may be the most stunning fall for a player in quite some time, if ever. There are lots of questions regarding the circus surrounding the player, and it is the antithesis of what the Steelers got when they selected Derrick Harmon. Those two players could not be more complete opposites in their demeanor.

HOWEVER, into Day 3 and still in need of a Backup/Long Term Answer at QB, Sanders now has massive value at the 123 Overall pick that simply can’t be ignored, regardless of the floor/ceiling that he has, and the Steelers finally end the agony of all the Media pundits.

Round 5, Pick 156 – Joshua Farmer, DT – Florida State

Yes, the Steelers took Harmon in the 1st Round. That was an absolute necessity of a pick. However, the roster could still use some quality depth there in the rotation. With the Milkman (Loudermilk) on thin ice, Logan Lee entering as a Practice Squad guy, the End depth isn’t locked up quite yet. Enter Farmer, who has the natural physical traits and explosiveness that have scouts salivating. He’s more End than Tackle, think Stephon Tuitt-lite. The Steelers could definitely do worse than a guy like that in the 5th Round.

Round 6, Pick 185 – Garrett Dellinger, OG – LSU

Isaac Seumalo is entering the final year of his initial 3 year pact with the Steelers. There hasn’t been any inkling from the Team or the media that there has been any contract negotiations to this point, but it DOES seem likely to start, as the pairing between him and the team has worked very well. I can see an extension coming for him, or, on the other hand, if the Steelers feel that they want to move on to save some money after this year is over, they could look to take another road grader at Left Guard in THIS Draft to prepare for life without Seumalo.

Round 7, Pick 229 – Jack Kiser, ILB – Notre Dame

By the time teams get to the 7th Round, hopefully they have filled their most pressing needs on the roster, and at this point, are looking for “tools-y upside” with good physical traits. Players that may not have great pedigree, but have all the building blocks for NFL teams to try and coax out with a couple offseasons of workouts.

Kiser fits that bill perfectly. At 6′ 1″ and 231 lbs, he’s got a slightly smaller build that you’d like from your Off-Ball Linebacker, but what separates Kiser apart from everyone else is that his instincts are Troy Polamau-like, and his pass coverage drops are a thing of beauty you could use for teaching tape.

So why is he so late in the Draft? Well, Kiser’s amazing instincts do a good job to cover the fact that he is about a half-step slow going sideline to sideline to make plays. But if he does everything else SO well, and RARELY misses tackles, but has that half-step slowing him down, I’d be willing to take a late flyer and see if the angles can be coached into him to get that half step back and turn him into a Special Teams demon or 3rd Down Passing Subpackage guy.

So how do you think I did with the remaining selections on Day 3? Would you have gone a different direction, taken different players or positions? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to catch our Day 3 coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft right here at Fans First Sports Network and Steel Curtain Network!