With the NFL Combine over, Mock Draft Insanity V3 is on the horizon!

I promised more insanity after the combine, since you get a chance to see how the prospects perform or don’t perform. You get to know who the teams have talked to, and now you get a much more realistic guide to base your guesses on.

What’s that you say? Didn’t you realize these are all just guesses?

Well of course they are. There isn’t a mock draft in existence, regardless of whether it’s done by Mike Mayock or Chuck Casserly, or me, that isn’t guesswork. Yes, some of those guys (not me) have more of realistic chance of hearing some inside information, but that doesn’t mean they actually know anything. Mock drafts are just a bunch of different people make their best guess at something. Frankly, half the time the guesses they make don’t even make sense for the team they are “guessing” for.

Part of the point of this “Mock Draft Insanity” series is to mock the mocks. Before I dig into a brand-new mock draft, here’s a summary of the first two “insanity” drafts I’ve done.

• In v1 I was only allowed to accept “trade offers” that were sent to me by other teams; essentially trade down offers in most cases.
• In v2, I took the handcuffs off and was allowed to trash Pittsburgh’s 2018 and 2019 draft.

Here is how those two turned out:

Round	Insanity v1	Insanity v2
1	Traded for Jaguars 2nd, 4th, and 5th	10 – Mike Williams (WR)
		12 – Marshon Lattimore (CB)
		30 – Takkarist McKinely (EDGE)
2	Traded 3rd pick from Jaguars to Cincy for their second and third.	1 – Charles Harris (EDGE)
	Traded 9th pick from Cincy to Houston for their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.	4 – Derek Rivers (EDGE)
	25 – Carl Lawson (EDGE)	12 – Zack Cunningham (LB)
	30 – Eddie Jackson (S)	20 – Chris Wormley (DL)
		30 – Marcus Williams (S)
3	25 – Jake Butt (TE)	1 – Bucky Hodges (TE)
	30 – Derek Rivers (EDGE)	11 – Ethan Pocic (OL)
		30 – Jake Butt (TE)
4	3 – Chidobe Awuzie (CB)	4 – Montravius Adams (DL)
	9 – Malachi Dupre (WR)	29 – James Conner (RB)
	24 – Marquez White (CB)
	29 – Ejuan Price (EDGE)
5	4 – Ryan Switzer (WR)	29 – Conner Harris (LB)
	29 – Alex Anzalone (LB)	37 – Alex Torgensen (QB)
	37 – Jerod Evans (QB)
Needs Filled	EDGE, S, TE, CB, WR, LB, QB	EDGE, LB, CB, S, TE, DL, WR, QB, RB
Needs Not Filled	RB, DL	None
	Retain all future picks.	Traded 2018 1, 2 and 4 to Cleveland for 12th in 1st, 1 and 20 in 2nd and 1 in third.
		Traded 2019 1 and 2 to Chicago for 3 in first, 4 in the second and 4 in the fourth.
		Traded Pick 3 to Buffalo for 10, 2nd and 3rd round picks and 2018 Round 1 Pick
		Future Picks 2018 lost 2 and 4, 2019 lost 1 and 2.

Insanity to say the least! As you can see, two totally different results, and both completely unrealistic.

Rivers at 30 in the third? Not after the combine!

Awuzie in the fourth – no way.

Things change, that’s for sure (although the pick of Rivers at four in the second actually seems about right at the moment).

Before we set the rules for v3, let’s remind ourselves of what the team needs are. (Which could change if we sign a free agent…)

Team Needs: EDGE, LB, CB, RB, TE, DL, WR, S, QB

Lawrence Timmons is gone (sob), emphasizing a need for inside linebacker. I think the Steelers also have every intention of getting younger at running back. Unfortunately, that probably means the end of DeAngelo Williams’ time with the team. As a result, I moved RB up a notch.

I dropped wide receivers and safeties back to compensate for Martavis Bryant‘s return (assuming he does come back). The Steelers lost Markus Wheaton, but I think Eli Rogers makes up for that.

The only other question that exists is if the Steelers make a change at corner. Ross Cockrell was tendered low, so it’s possible another team might pull him away. If that happens, and we don’t sign another free agent corner, that makes CB/LB almost a tie in my book.

To be continued

Mock Draft Insanity 3 is on the way tomorrow. Stay tuned to see if I can come up with a crazier set of scenarios for the Steelers! (Because I do!)