NFL Draft: How Steelers will wind up cornered

It's finally here -- or at least nearly so -- the day NFL teams have been waiting for. Actually, it's the weekend we've all been waiting for.

The months of sifting through rumors, countless hours of looking at videos, reading bios and investigating backgrounds all culminates with the annual NFL Draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday.

The draft itself will be held in Nashville, Tenn., this year. The Steelers' braintrust, however, is in Pittsburgh, where there will be an actual live camera this season to view the inside of their war room, courtesy of the NFL Network.

By now, you've heard all of the names associated with the Steelers. And you have an idea of who you'd like the team to pick. But is it possible or even probable?

Let's find out. Let's take one last stab at a mock draft before the big day.

1. Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma: There's been some smoke of late that the Cardinals might be pulling off of Murray. But that could be an attempt to generate trade proposals for the No. 1-overall pick. The Cardinals could likely move back four or five spots and still get Murray. Trouble is, teams don't typically trade up to acquire a non-quarterback.
2. San Francisco 49ers, Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State: The 49ers have spent high draft picks on interior defensive linemen. Now they go for an edge rusher.
3. New York Jets, Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama: If you were ranking players strictly in terms of talent, Williams might be the best. If anyone does trade up, it could be for Williams.
4. Oakland Raiders, Ed Oliver, DT, Houston: This is where things get interesting. The Raiders have three first-round picks and all kinds of needs. Oliver is a disruptive penetrator. If you're going to upset the Chiefs and Chargers, you'd better have somebody that can pressure the quarterback quickly.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Josh Allen, OLB Kentucky: Allen keeps the focus on defensive players going early by going to the Bucs, who need to improve their pass rush if they hope to improve their secondary.
6. New York Giants, Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama: Williams can line up anywhere along the line except center. And he's polished. A quarterback would make sense, obviously, and so would an edge rusher. But Williams is too good to pass up.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars, Montez Sweat, OLB/DE, Mississippi State: Don't believe the rumors of Sweat's physical issues pushing him down the board. That is wishful thinking. Guys who are 6-foot-6, 260 pounds and run a 4.41 40-yard dash are highly coveted.
8. Detroit Lions, T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa: The Lions have tried this before and it didn't work out. But that was a different regime and a different tight end. Hockenson is a clear double off the wall in terms of picks. He's as safe as they come.
9. Buffalo Bills, Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida: When you play in Buffalo, you'd better be able to run the ball. And if you're going to run the ball, you'd better have a road grader or two. Taylor is a road grader.
10. Denver Broncos, Devin White, LB, LSU: The Broncos pass on a quarterback to take a player who can help them right now.
11. Cincinnati Bengals, Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State: The Bengals need to create a little buzz around their team. They got shut out in the QB market last year, but grab Haskins from the nearby Ohio State program. Instant buzz.
12. Green Bay Packers, Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State: The Packers need to protect Aaron Rodgers better as he ages. He's missed too much time the past few years.
13. Miami Dolphins, Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State: The Dolphins are one of the wildcards in the first round. They need help everywhere, especially at quarterback. But they also don't care about winning this season. So they grab Simmons, who's a top-5 talent, but falls to here because he tore his ACL while working out earlier this year.
14. Atlanta Falcons, Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson: The Falcons need to get some size and athletic ability to play next to massive Grady Jarrett.
15. Washington Redskins, Drew Lock, quarterback Missouri: There are a lot of rumors about the Redskins trading up for a quarterback. If they do that, they take Haskins and it throws everything out of whack.
16. Carolina Panthers, Clellin Ferrell, DE, Clemson: The Panthers need help up front. Brian Burns is a better pass rusher, but Ferrell is the better overall player -- at least until Burns adds some strength. If Devin Bush gets this far, the Steelers should be on the phone with an offer, because ...
17. New York Giants, Devin Bush, LB, Michigan: Giants GM Dave Gettleman said he wants to change the culture. So he passes on a QB here to grab his future defensive captain. The Giants can then trade back into the first round for Daniel Jones, or just wait and take Will Grier at the top of the second round.
18. Minnesota Vikings, Garrett Bradbury, C, N.C. State: Bradbury could play anywhere on the interior and be an immediate upgrade for the Vikings, who need help all along the line.
19. Tennessee Titans, Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma: Speed, speed and more speed. The Titans need to add an explosive offensive playmaker. Brown, despite being diminutive, has speed to spare.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers, Byron Murphy, CB, Washington: I considered Rock Ya-Sin here. He's risen into a first-round cornerback and has room -- and size — to grow into a very good corner. But Murphy can step in and play now in the slot before eventually moving outside. Ya-Sin won't play right away as he's strictly an outside corner. So Murphy is the guy, though I really like a couple of the safeties -- Darnell Savage and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson -- as well.
21. Seattle Seahawks, Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan: The Seahawks traded one former Michigan star in Frank Clark and replace him with another. Gary's got a shoulder issue and didn't produce much in college, but he's one of the most athletic big men available.
22. Baltimore Ravens, DK Metcalf, WR, Mississippi: Metcalf is a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty good trick. He's also a willing and able blocker. But don't ask him to be a move-the-chains guy. The Ravens will run him deep a lot and use him as a blocker.
23. Houston Texans, Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M: The Texans need help all along their line and add it in the powerful McCoy.
24. Oakland Raiders, Greedy Williams, CB, LSU: Al Davis steps out of the grave to make this pick. Williams has size and speed for the position, but is lacking in physicality. But the Raiders need help all over their defense. And Williams adds talent.
25. Philadelphia Eagles, Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama: The Eagles know they need somebody to carry the load at running back. Jacobs can do that.
26. Indianapolis Colts, Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple: Ya-Sin has good size and decent ball skills. But he's raw, having played just one year of D-1 football at Temple.
27. Oakland Raiders, Noah Fant, TE, Iowa: Fant is big and fast, but raw. He's not a great blocker, but he'll stretch the middle of the field.
28. Los Angeles Chargers, Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson: Wilkins is a massive big man to put in the middle of the Chargers' defense.
29. Seattle Seahawks, Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State: The Legion of Boom is gone, but the Seahawks get a new thumper in Abram.
30. Green Bay Packers, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S, Florida: The Packers would have loved Fant to fall to here, but they get a solid free safety to add to the back end of their defense.
31. Los Angeles Rams, Chris Lindstrom, C/G, Boston College: Lindstrom can be the swing interior lineman in the short-term, but is a long-term starter for the Rams.
32. New England Patriots, Daniel Jones, QB, Duke: The Patriots have other pressing needs, but they have a bevy of picks and Jones is a smart player who can sit behind Tom Brady for a few years.

Other Steelers picks

52. Darnell Savage, S, Maryland: I could see the Steelers trading up 10 or so spots to get Savage, but in the mock draft simulator I ran for this drill, he was still available. As I said on Java Wednesday, he has Troy Polamalu-like closing speed. He's not Troy, but he's good. I also considered ILB Mack Wilson and S Taylor Rapp here.

66. Andy Isabella, WR, UMass: Don't be fooled by Isabella's short stature (5-10, 195), he's not a slot receiver. This kid can fly. And he was coached by former Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple in college, as well. I also considered WRs Kelvin Harmon of NC State and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, as well, but went with Isabella's pure speed.

83. Blake Cashman, LB, Minnesota: A former walk-on who rose to become a team captain, Cashman ran a 4.5-second 40 at the Combine. He had surgery on both shoulders last year, so that's scary, but it's also one of the reasons he falls this low. He's a good football player.

122. Trayveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M: Williams is an excellent receiver out of the backfield and solid with the ball in his hands, regardless of how it gets there -- running and as a return man. He's also good in pass protection, despite his diminutive (5-8, 206 pounds) size.

141. Foster Moreau, TE, LSU: I considered Trevon Wesco here as well, but Moreau is much better as a receiver, and while he isn't Wesco's equal as a blocker, he's pretty good in that area. The Tigers didn't use Moreau in the passing game much, but he's quite capable there.

175: Dionte Johnson, WR, Toledo: Johnson isn't a big receiver -- he's 5-10, 183 -- but he's an excellent route runner. And he is very good in the return game, as well. This is a value pick, as I didn't expect him to be on the board at this point, but with so many bigger receivers available, a talented smaller guy such as Johnson could slip through the cracks. I also considered DL Michael Dogbe of Temple and Ricky Walker of Virginia Tech, and outside linebacker Jordan Brailford.

192. Cortez Broughton, DL, Cincinnati: Can line up all along the defensive line, providing a valuable depth piece. All he has to do is beat out Daniel McCullers.

207. Jimmy Moreland, CB, James Madison: This is a pure luxury pick. Even though it was only at James Madison, Moreland picked off 18 career passes, returning six for touchdowns in college. He's only 5-10, 180 pounds, but this guy finds the ball.

219. Ulysees Gilbert, LB Akron: An undersized, speedy linebacker. Gilbert could make an immediate impact on special teams, which is what you're looking for here.