When the Pittsburgh Steelers go on the clock in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft on Thursday night, they should have a wide variety of players at a variety of positions to pick from. We ran several dozen simulations to get a feel for which players are most likely to be on the board with the No. 21 overall pick and here is how we rank the top 10.
10 – CB Jahdae Barron – Texas
Barron has gotten a ton of hype but on the Steelers he’s more of a slot cornerback and that’s not worth a first-round pick.
9 – OL Kelvin Banks Jr. – Texas
Banks is one of those prospects that scares me beacuse as high as his ceiling might be, his floor is lower than the other top offensive linemen.
8 – WR Jayden Higgins – Iowa State
Higgins is another guy who has some first-round hype but picking a wide receiver here means the end of George Pickens and the team’s top two picks committed to wide receivers.
7 – S Malaki Starks – Georgia
In terms of NFL potential, Starks is one of the best on this list. If he does fall to the Steelers, they have to take him and find a way to integrate him into the defense.
6 – QB Shedeur Sanders – Colorado
We don’t think the talk of Sanders falling to No. 21 is real, but obviously, if he’s there, Pittsburgh will consider him based on his arm talent and smarts.
5 – DT Derrick Harmon – Oregon
Harmon isn’t the ideal defenisve tackle for what the Steelers need but he’s just too talented and too similar to Cam Heyward to pass on.
4 – QB Jaxson Dart – Ole Miss
Dart is an exciting prospect with a ton of upside thanks to his mobility and athleticism.
3 – RB Omarion Hampton – North Carolina
This draft has plenty of running backs who can be contributors and would work with Jaylen Warren but Hampton is one of only a handful of feature backs in the draft.
2 – OL Grey Zabel – North Dakota State
It isn’t a serious need but Zabel has quickly become one of our favorite prospects in this draft thanks to his physicality and ability to start at multiple offensive line spots.
1 – DT Kenneth Grant – Michigan
We will continue to lobby for Kenneth Grant to be the Steelers top pick. He is exactly what the Pittsburgh defensive line needs and is a modern-day Casey Hampton. If he and a quarterback are both on the board, we get quarterback being a more significant need.
