PETER KING'S MOCK DRAFT
PETER KING
April 25, 2011
Owners and players are at loggerheads and the 2011 season is in peril—but the draft lives! And with the labor dispute putting free agency on hold, teams are looking more than ever to college talent to fill immediate needs, especially at the game's most important position: quarterback
Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor
Speaking of value picks, I've seen Wilkerson projected as high as No. 11 in this draft. Rex Ryan, who's been to every good defensive line prospect's Pro Day this spring, would be able to use the 6'4", 315-pound Wilkerson as a poor man's Haloti Ngata, which is to say all over the front. When you can run 4.96 seconds in the 40, and you're as powerful as Wilkerson, you're made for Ryan's attacking defense.
31 STEELERS
WILL PICK
Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
SHOULD PICK
Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
Did you see the Super Bowl? Packers receivers Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings abused Pittsburgh's secondary, and without knowing if he's going to be able to improve the backfield through free agency this year, Steelers personnel czar Kevin Colbert can't afford to outthink himself here. He's got to take the best cornerback left, unless one of the top two or three tackles Colbert's eyeing falls all the way down to here.
31 PACKERS
WILL PICK