The NFL Draft gets underway in Pittsburgh tonight at 8 PM with the Las Vegas Raiders expected to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first choice. Rounds two and three will be tomorrow night, with the fourth through seventh rounds coming on Saturday.
The Steelers have twelve picks entering the draft, the first of which is selection number twenty-one in the first round. Barring trades, they will have four picks tomorrow, one in the second round (#53 overall), and three in the third round (#’s 76, 85, and 99). On Saturday, they will pick twice in the fourth round (#’s 121 and 135), the once in the fifth and again in the sixth (# 161 and # 216) before closing out the draft with three seventh round choices (#’s 224, 230, and 237).
Two major issues that could cause the Steelers to change their approach to the draft are Aaron Rodgers’ lack of a decision on whether or he will return as the starting quarterback next season and the condition of starting left tackle, Broderick Jones, whose neck injury could make it more likely that general manager Omar Khan will decide on an offensive lineman in the first round.
Khan says one interesting aspect of the first round that may force teams to change their draft strategy is a shorter time span to make their selection.
Coach Mike McCarthy says the neck injury that still afflicts Jones may or may not influence the Steelers’ selection, but he likes the current makeup of his offensive line, with or without adding to it.
After the Raiders make their pick, the Jets, Cardinals, Titans and Giants round out the top five selections in Round One.
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