The Steelers have options in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft with the 17th overall pick.
With multiple positions of need and considering the franchise is not in a total rebuild, those options include where they pick in the first round, whether it be at 17 or before or after it via trade up or trade down.
With the NFL Draft beginning in 10 days, the rumor mill is going to churn more than it ever does leading up to an event like this. With that in mind, an interesting tidbit came early Monday morning with NBC Sports columnist Peter King's "Football Morning in America" column with regards to the Steelers.
King suggested a potential Steelers trade that would involve a swap with Chicago up to pick No. 9 overall, specifically in order to acquire Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, as not just any rumor, but ...
"Best rumor of the week: Steelers trading up from 17 to nine if Carter’s there," King wrote. "There could not be a more perfect coach for Carter than Mike Tomlin."
Furthermore with respect to Carter, King noted he was told by Carter's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, that Carter had two more visits to make with top-10 teams prior to Wednesday's deadline for visits. He also considered Carter as a "perfect fit" for the Steelers.
"I’ll tell you the team that is the most perfect fit for Carter in the NFL: the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’d have to trade up from 17 to get him," King wrote.
Carter's draft stock took a bit of a hit with an off-the-field issue which interfered with his offseason, which caused him to go into Georgia's pro day nine pounds heavier and was sluggish to finish drills.
You can read more about Carter in our 1-through-32 NFL Draft prospect profile series.
Tomlin and Omar Khan attended the Georgia pro day., hough there were numerous first-round players which were testing at the event alongside Carter. According to King, Carter's troubled offseason did not hurt his draft stock as much as originally perceived, after Carter made rounds for his official visits.
"An increasing number of people around the league think Jalen Carter has done enough in his visits to not sink like a stone on draft night," King wrote. "... It’s become almost a cliché, how many team officials think the Seahawks will take Carter with the fifth overall pick."
As of Monday, the The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker pins Carter at No. 8 overall to Atlanta, with an average draft slotting at 8.83. Our own latest mock draft by Chris Halicke has Carter going to Seattle at No. 5 overall.
So, if the above mock draft projections retain as true, it doesn't sound like the Steelers would be interested in a trade up, even for a cornerback or an offensive tackle, which are perceived as higher needs if not equally high to defensive tackle. Based on King's thoughts, it sounds like Carter would be the player the Steelers would want to make a jump like that for.
The Steelers certainly have a history with a pick swap involving Chicago. The 32nd overall pick in this draft belongs to he Steelers, as Chicago traded it for Chase Claypool Nov. 1.
