2014 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers select Louis Nix

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 7-8 with one game left to play and they’re third in the AFC North.

Though the Steelers have played well down the stretch, winning five of the last seven games, it doesn’t look like the Steelers will make the playoffs. That means soon, unfortunately too soon for fans, the 2013 season will come to a close; and draft season will officially begin in Pittsburgh.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what WalterFootball.com thinks for the Steelers in round one. The popular draft site has Pittsburgh taking nose tackle Louis Nix out of Notre Dame.

The explanation:

"Back when the Steelers had a dominant defense, they were always very forceful up front. They need to retool their line, so adding Louis Nix would really help. Pittsburgh already has a solid nose tackle in Steve McLendon, but there’s been speculation that McLendon could be moved outside. Thus, both positions are open for upgrades."

I really like this pick for the Steelers.

Nix is the perfect nose tackle prospect at 6’3”, 340 pounds. He’ll be able to take up a bunch of room at the line and command double-teams, but he also has a good amount of explosion to him. His 2013 stats aren’t terrific, but just look at what he did in 2012 to get a good feel of what Nix is capable of.

He notched 50 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, 3 quarterback hurries and five passes broken up for Notre Dame in the 2012 season.