After Months of Mock Drafts, Little Consensus on Steelers First Pick

With the final tallies in, just a few hours until they’re on the clock and thousands and thousands of mock drafts done in advance of the 2023 NFL Draft, nobody still has any idea who the Pittsburgh Steelers will take with pick No. 17 in Thursday’s first round.

According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, which complies mock drafts from all around the internet and media sphere, the consensus most popular pick for the Steelers is Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks.

But Banks has been mocked to the Steelers just 12% of the time, so he’s hardly a favorite. Every team drafting ahead of the Steelers except one — the New England Patriots at No. 14 — have a favorite with a higher percentage of mock drafts.

For comparison, more than twice as many mocks — 25% — have Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. going to the Washington Commanders one pick ahead of Pittsburgh. Several slots have players going to a team over a third of the time, and two places more than half. The Packers and Jets, who have only had their picks two days, have already reached a higher level of consensus.

It’s not just that the Steelers are relatively far down in the draft order, either. The next four picks following Pittsburgh all have a greater consensus on the favorite to land in those slots.

Even the most-mocked player to the Steelers at No. 32 in the first pick of the second round — Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo — has been mocked to Pittsburgh in that slot more often than Banks has at No. 17.

So don’t feel bad if you don’t know who the Steelers will be taking when Roger Goodell steps to the podium at No. 17 tonight. Even the experts don’t know, either.

FULL FIRST ROUND CONSENSUS MOCK DRAFTS

1 Carolina Panthers, Alabama QB Bryce Young 94%
2 Houston Texans, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud 29%
3 Arizona Cardinals, Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr. 54%
4 Indianapolis Colts, Kentucky QB Will Levis 34%
5 Seattle Seahawks, Georgia DT Jalen Carter 46%
6 Detroit Lions, Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon 55%
7 Las Vegas Raiders, Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez 35%
8 Atlanta Falcons, Texas RB Bijan Robinson 29%
9 Chicago Bears, Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. 34%
10 Philadelphia Eagles, Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith 21%
11 Tennessee Titans, Florida QB Anthony Richardson 24%
12 Houston Texans, Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba 34%
13 Green Bay Packers, Utah TE Dalton Kincaid 15%
14 New England Patriots, Georgia OT Broderick Jones 12%
15 New York Jets, Tennessee OT Darnell Wright 18%
16 Washington Commanders, Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. 25%
17 Pittsburgh Steelers, Maryland CB Deonte Banks 12%
18 Detroit Lions, Pitt DT Calijah Kancey 27%
19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oklahoma OT Anton Harrison 14%
20 Seattle Seahawks, Clemson EDGE Myles Murphy 17%
21 Los Angeles Chargers, USC WR Jordan Addison 25%
22 Baltimore Ravens, Mississippi State CB Emmanuel Forbes 10%
23 Minnesota Vikings, Boston College WR Zay Flowers 13%
24 Jacksonville Jaguars, Alabama DB Brian Branch 33%
25 New York Giants, TCU WR Quentin Johnston 19%
26 Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer 31%
27 Buffalo Bills, Florida G O’Cyrus Torrence 9%
28 Cincinnati Bengals, Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs 11%
29 New Orleans Saints, Clemson DT Bryan Bresee 14%
30 Philadelphia Eagles, Northwestern EDGE Adetomiwa Adebawore 5%
31 Kansas City Chiefs, Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV 12%