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2011 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers Could Pick Offensive Lineman, Defensive Lineman Or Cornerback

Two new mock drafts are up at CBSSports.com, and they have the Steelers heading in two different directions. Rob Rang has the Carolina Panthers taking Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert first overall, with Auburn quarterback Cam Newton going third and Georgia wideout A.J. Green going to the Bengals fourth overall. The rest of the top ten is a bunch of defenders - Marcell Dareus, Von Miller, Da'Quan Bowers, Patrick Peterson, Nick Fairley, Prince Amukamara, and Robert Quinn. He has Florida's Mike Pouncey - a potential Steelers target if he should fall to them - going to the Colts at No. 22 overall. He has the Steelers taking Mississippi State tackle Derek Sherrod, who for months has been a mainstay in the first round of mock drafts. Doug Farrar's scouting report hails Sherrod as the "most consistent" tackle in the draft class.

Meanwhile, Chad Reuter's mock has Newton going first overall, with the Steelers taking Temple DT Muhammad Wilkerson. The Steelers do need help on the defensive line, but they might also decide that their cornerback issues are more urgent. SB Nation's latest mock has the Steelers taking Texas corner Aaron Williams.

So, three different mocks have the Steelers taking players at three different positions. That sounds like there's a lot of disagreement, but probably there isn't as much as there appears. The Steelers are more or less set at the offensive skill positions, and there's been pretty broad agreement throughout this year's mock drafts that the team's biggest needs are on the offensive and defensive lines and at corner. What the Steelers ultimately end up doing may depend on who's available to them, and to their own idiosyncratic approach to the draft.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.