25th Pick – Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
Joshua Garnett – OG
Stanford – Senior
6-5, 317 Pounds
Scream from the mountain top you Steeler fans, but the Steelers owner nor the general manager (Kevin Colbert) will hear you. I know the struggles of the back-end for the Steelers, but the Steelers are a teams that is stubborn and doesn’t like to draft to what all the experts like. The Steelers do have some holes on the offensive line, as Kelvin Beachum and Ramon Foster are set to hit free agency, and the solution for one of them (Beachum) is right now is a developing Alejandro Villanueva. It’s not like the Steelers don’t need some help on the offensive line of the ball, so I don’t see anything wrong with this pick, but I do see how the fans can be disappointed.
I loved Joshua Garnett all throughout his senior year at Stanford, he showed such power and finesse on the offensive line, but he still ranks behind Cody Whitehair on a lot of boards. Garnett is an athletic freak who is fundementally sound on the offensive line, and has great pulling capabilities. I would want to see if the Steelers would start Garnett on the left side, or if he would push former Stanford alum David DeCastro to the left side. His struggles are mostly with quicker guys off the line of scrimmage, he sometimes needs a chip block with those type of players, but other then that he plays very sound.
The cornerback situation is a dire one for the Steelers, but I think with the recent selections of Senquez Golson and Doran Grant voids the worry for the Steelers. The Steelers also have some cap space to be able to make a run at a good corner like Sean Smith or Prince Amukamara (or even Greg Toler). There is plenty to like about the Stanford standout, I don’t know what the Steelers front office might do because of their crazy draft antics, but I like to think they aren’t completely incompetent.
Player Comparison: Evan Mathis – Denver Broncos
Next: The Seahawks are on the clock