It’s that time of year again folks where I reveal who the Steelers took in the annual mock of all mocks. The Legacy Live Mock Draft has taken place for almost two decades. It is mostly comprised of draft heads from the pages of our sister sites here at SB Nation. The drafts itself where once held on these same pages, but a new operating system was put in place, and at the onset it couldn’t handle the volume of comments. You all remember those days when 80 comments would slow the system to a crawl.

Enough of that, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of why you are here……..Pick 21. Not gonna lie, I tried my best to move back and acquire another second rounder (another second plus) a third to boot but everyone and their father seems to want to be in the second and third rounds this year. I do possess Pick 62 in a trade with Buffalo that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Bills. I imagine this trade will be a 50/50 split among BTSC. The big question from the “keep Minkah in the B&G” crowd, is who are you going to replace him with. In our Free Agency period I signed Camryn Bynum, former Viking, to take his place. I’m not going into detail about our free agency period because we can’t get full participation, and it lessens the approach of it. Let’s just say I created an almost $100 million in cap space and I used almost all of it and in real life the Steelers went in a different direction. Even TJ Watt is still playing in 2025(maybe?) without an extension.

So, with that said let’s get to the draft. The Titans traded out of the number one pick slot with the Cleveland Browns, who did not take a QB. Instead, they chose Abdul Carter. What does that say about Cam Ward? Or what does that say about Cleveland? Ward did go a few picks later to the Giants though. I’m a big fan of Jahdae Barron and I guess the Vegas GM is as well taking him at Pick 6, as maybe the biggest surprise early on. Later in the draft and probably the biggest surprise was Kansas City taking Savion Williams at Pick 31. In another surprise and what has been a topic of recent discussion, will New Orleans or Cleveland with the second of 2 first round picks take Shedeur Sanders? The answer is simply…..no. Both franchises clearly needing to invest at the Quarterback position let Sanders pass all the way down to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 21. The next question as you will see below, did I let Sanders fall even further down the board?

With the 21st pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, The Pittsburgh Steelers select Shedeur Sanders QB Colorado.

Steelers Remaining Pick Selections – 62, 83, 98(trade with MIA for Washington), 123, 156, 185, 229

Day 2 – Rounds 2 and 3

I can’t say there were any big surprises in Round 2 although I did have a trade in place to move up and take my draft crush. As it turned out I did not accept the trade and watched Darius Alexander get picked at 56 the Broncos. I started looking at my short list and no there were other position groups on it and not just IDL. One name I had typed, not once but twice as I waited on the other picks to be announced was Mason Taylor. After all I did trade away Darnell Washington and even with Taylor being of a different style of player, I felt like he would develop much faster than Washington had. Instead, I went with my original pick and retyped that prospect for the second time.

With the 62nd Pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Alfred Collins, IDL, Texas

Steelers Remaining Day 2 Selections – 83 and 98 (Washington trade with Miami)

With Quarterback and Interior Defensive Lineman out of the way, I could try and focus on answering other needs such as Running Back or maybe a player that fell through the cracks. As far as Running Backs go the following had already been selected:

Jeanty – 10 to Chicago
Hampton – 44 to Dallas
Henderson – 49 to Cincinnati
Skattebo – 51 to Las Vegas
Judkins – 81 to Minnesota

As you can see there were options still available, so I took a calculated risk that my guy would be there at Pick 98. And instead went with an offensive line pick. Trying to add to that young room with yet another talented prospect.

With the 83rd pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Charles Grant OT/OG William and Mary

Remaining Day 2 Pick – 98

My goal here as you read above was to add a Running Back on Day 2. My target was the Iowa product that fit what the Steelers do, in one Kaleb Johnson. Problem was someone else had their sites on the same guy and made a move to Pick 90. I did try and move up but couldn’t find a trade partner. Hindsight says maybe I should have used Pick 83, but I had Grant higher on my board and while RB was an obvious need the draft was deeper at Running Back than the Offensive Line. If you do your research Charles Grant is a solid prospect and with still having questions at Tackle, the Guard situation changes in 2026 with the current Left Guard becoming a Free agent.

At Pick 98 the board changed for me so while I wasn’t panicking because I didn’t get the guy I wanted I looked back at my Running Back board. I looked hard at the Tennessee back in Dylan Sampson and honestly that’s who I thought the Titans GM was taking at Pick 90, as he is a Vols fan and talked highly of him in a few conversations throughout the college season. I considered a double dip along the Interior Defensive Line as well as adding a pass catcher at Tight End or Wide receiver. The Corner Back Board was pretty bare at this point. Technically we didn’t need a Safety because the starters were in place and Juan Thornhill was also added in Free Agency. But Elliot isn’t signed past this year and Thornhill while being a solid player over his career is a one-year rental. There was a guy that has been completely forgotten about mostly because he didn’t play but a single game and part of another before he was injured. That player had a second-round grade and even some had him as first round prospect. Injuries often scare folks away, but he will have almost a full year of healing, and he still can be brought on slowly because he isn’t expected to start plus gain a year of getting acclimated.

With the 98th pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Kevin Winston Jr., Safety, Penn State

Remaining Picks for Day 3: 123, 156, 185, 229

Day 3 – Rounds 4-7

Okay, by now some of you are probably swearing at me for not addressing Running Back sooner or for taking an injured player at a position where the depth is decent. To that I say hold onto your hats folks because what’s about to happen in Day 3 and more importantly Pick 123. First let me remind you that I traded away TE2 and then I will say that I tried getting Green Bay to trade me Tucker Kraft. I even offered Pick 62 and he politely declined but continued to wax poetically how talented Kraft was…….no duh, that’s why I wanted him. I digress, but back to the subject at hand, which is what I did with Pick 123. What I did was make a divisional opponent much weaker even though they have a talented TE2. The Steelers claim, or maybe Arthur Smith claims to like using 2 TE sets well he sure fooled me, even though Pat Freiermuth had a very quiet but successful season we didn’t see much development or productive usage out of Darnell Washington. Now he has a second Tight End that has a proven track record as being one of the better pass catchers in the game. Yeah, he did drop that one ball and maybe that is one of the reasons why the Baltimore GM traded him away. He will possibly be a one-year rental, but if Aaron Rodgers is signed, I think it would be worth that one year. I mean we are still trying to win games……..are we not? Besides the price dropped for me from 83 and 185 from the original asking price.

With the 123rd Pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers trade for TE Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens)

Picks Remaining for Day 3 156, 185, 229

Okay, now that has sunk in and you have had time to think on it a bit, I bet you have thrown the remote through the 65in TV hanging on your wall. While telling me I’m a fool because we haven’t addressed the Running Back position. So how many of the same people who are ranting about waiting too long felt drafting a Running Back early was of a fool's errand. Well, I’m here to make some of you possibly happy by finally drafting a carrier of the football.

With the 156th pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select RJ Harvey, RB, UCF

Picks Remaining for Day 3 – 185, 229

What to do with the final two picks of the 2025 Legacy Draft, I’ll tell ya, you find value that is still remaining and some out of the box thinking like a hidden gem. I tried to do just that.

With the 185th Pick in the 2025 Legacy Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Nick Nash, WR, San Jose St.

Pick Remaining for Day 3 -229

With this pick, there was obvious value as I had him as a fourth-round prospect. And while there isn’t a direct need in that room for 2025, there is a high possibility that George Pickens and Calvin Austin lll won’t be in the Black and Gold in 2026. So, much like the Safety selection of Winston we get a guy in house learning the system and getting himself acclimated to life in the NFL. I did try and trade Pickens on Day two for a second rounder and there weren’t many bites. There was a trade offer that involved a move to go and get the guy I chose at Pick 21, but I backed out to let the draft fall to me.

With the 229th and final pick of the 2025 Legacy Draft I chose to find one of those hidden gems. And while he may not possess the requisite size the Steelers like on their defensive line, this guy’s production and dominance speaks for itself, albeit at a lower-level school.

With the 229th Pick in the 2025 Legacy Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Elijah Williams, IDL, Morgan State

There will be an UDFA draft coming up on Tuesday, but I will post those results in the comment section sometime on Wednesday. I would post the draft results but the last time I tried adding the document it was rejected so I will be glad to answer any questions on who was available. I always enjoy the feedback and input from you guys hopefully you enjoyed the write-up. As always, stay safe and Go Steelers!