Lolley's Mock Draft 5.0: Steelers get back in the speed game

It's April. The birds are chirping. Flowers are blooming. The Pirates have begun their season. And the NFL Draft is just around the corner.

It's time to really start getting serious about this, and so we'll start doing two a week the rest of the way leading up to the draft. Chris Carter dropped his first mock on Wednesday. Here's my fifth Steelers-centric mock of the draft year.

In my last mock, I had the Steelers grabbing Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins in the first round and waiting until the second round to address the running back position. That just doesn't seem realistic.

While Collins is a good player, there are 12 to 15 linebackers in this draft who can come in and help a team this season. There are three starting-caliber running backs. If you want one, you'd better grab him.

And if you look at the Steelers' roster, they have a starting-caliber player -- even if it's a low-end starter -- at every position except one, running back.

With that in mind, here is my latest -- and greatest -- mock draft.

Round 1, Pick 24: Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson -- It wouldn't have been that long ago -- actually just last year -- that the Steelers wanted their every-down running back bigger. But with Matt Canada taking over at offensive coordinator, perhaps game-breaking speed would be more valued. And the Steelers have been quite fine with speedy backs in the past -- see Parker, Willie. Etienne also came in bigger than advertised at the Clemson pro day, checking in at 215 pounds. He's got 4.4 speed to go with that and catches the ball well. He also proved durable in college, playing in 55 career games.

Round 2, Pick 55: Landon Dickerson, C, Alabama -- His lengthy injury history is a concern. But his tape is not. Dickerson would be a first-round pick if not for the medical issues. He tore his ACL in December, but then went out and lined up at the end of the national championship game. He also was recovered enough to do this at Alabama's pro day last week.

I'm impressed enough that he was able to do multiple cartwheels at all, let alone three months after ACL surgery. Dickerson doesn't come without his issues. He's never finished a college season, but the guy can play.

Round 3, Pick 87: Pete Werner, LB, Ohio State -- This draft is riddled with linebackers that can run. Werner is a solid player who wasn't expected to run all that well. Then, he went out at the Ohio State pro day last week and reportedly ran the 40 in around 4.6 seconds at nearly 6-3 and 238 pounds. He also had a 39 1/2-inch vertical jump. Some of those other speedy linebackers will get taken ahead of Werner. But he might be an immediate starter. His size would look great next to Devin Bush.

Round 4, Pick 128: Stone Forsythe, OT, Florida -- While a lot of scouts were on hand to watch Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney work out, you can bet there were more than a few there to see Forsythe. He measured in at 6-8 and 307 pounds with arms over 34 inches in length. The Steelers don't necessarily need a tackle to play this season and Forsythe will need to get stronger and work on his technique. But there aren't many humans his size walking around the planet. He gave up two sacks and just eight hurries in 287 pass sets last year -- playing left tackle in the SEC. There hasn't been as much buzz around Forsythe as there should be. But that's because this draft is deep at tackle. In most years, he's a second-round pick at worst.

Round 4, Pick 140: Shakur Brown, CB, Michigan State -- It was a down year for Michigan State football last year, but Brown was an exception. Brown had five interceptions in 2020 for the Spartans and is physical. He allowed a passer rating of just 52.4 in his coverage in 2020. At 5-10, 185 pounds, he translates as a slot cornerback, which is good because he timed in the 4.6 range at his pro day. That's fine. Mike Hilton was a 4.6 player, as well.

Round 6, Pick 216: Nick Eubanks, TE, Michigan -- Eubanks wasn't used much as a receiver at Michigan. He aligned mostly inline as a blocker. But despite catching just 49 passes in his career, he's a capable receiver. And he ran a 4.59-second 40 at his pro day at 6-4, 245 pounds. Eubanks could be a diamond in the rough, especially in a misdirection offense, where he can block and release.

Round 7, Pick 245: Wyatt Hubert, OLB, Kansas State -- A holdover from last week's draft, Hubert screams Steelers outside linebacker. Hubert was a productive pass rusher at Kansas State, recording 15.5 sacks in 22 games over the past two seasons. His 40 time of 4.98 seconds isn't going to wow anyone. But, he had a 7.03 time in the three-cone drill, showing he can turn the corner well. That translates to pass rushing more than pure speed.

Round 7, Pick 253: Michael Carter, S, Duke -- Carter lined up at both corner and safety at Duke, recording four interceptions and 21 pass breakups the past three seasons. Like Brown, he's undersized at 5-9 1/2, 184 pounds, but he ran a reported 4.3 40. That shows up on tape. He can fly and will help on special teams. He and Brown would battle for the slot position behind Cam Sutton. And if one of them shows well enough, they can hold down that spot and allow Sutton to stay outside.