Steelers 7-round 2023 NFL mock draft after Allen Robinson trade

Steelers need more depth on the D-Line that Jonah Tavai could bring

When you turn on the tape for Jonah Tavai, it’s hard to escape the thought that he should’ve been playing at a higher level than in the Mountain West, with no disrespect meant to the conference. But Tavai completely dominated for the past two seasons at San Diego State as a starter and proved he can be disruptive in every facet of the game, both rushing the passer and filling in against the run.

The step up in competition with Tavai being undersized at 6-foot, 290 pounds is going to be a challenge for him to overcome. However, the Steelers lack serious depth on the defensive front behind starters Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams as the projected starters. Bringing in a player in the seventh round with the collegiate production of Tavai is a worthwhile roll of the dice.

Even with Allen Robinson, another wide receiver won’t hurt the Steelers

Anyone who happened to watch Virginia football in 2022 knows that the offense fell off a cliff after losing coordinator Robert Anae to Syracuse, which didn’t do Keytaon Thompson any favors. However, in the prior season, Thompson flashed quite a bit with 990 yards on 78 receptions before seeing those numbers dip with the team’s overall offensive struggles.

With that said, Thompson can be a matchup problem at 6-foot-5, 216 pounds in a receiver class that lacks size. Overall, that’s something the Steelers face with their pass-catching corps too. Thompson won’t be an immediate impact player but the Robinson trade no longer means that Pittsburgh needs that type of player now. As such, with a late dart throw, it’s worth betting on Thompson to develop a bit and show more of what he did in 2021.

Round 1 | Round 2 | Rounds 3-4