Dane Brugler's latest 2012 NFL mock draft is just one of many recently to predict that Penn State's Devon Still will head to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall pick.
The Panthers need to improve the interior of their defensive line and Still would provide an immediate upgrade. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year has top-10 overall ability with rare movement skills, flexibility and footwork for his size (6-5, 310), but his inconsistency can be frustrating. However, he won't last long on draft day.
There still isn't unanimous agreement about exactly where Still will go in this year's draft, but enough mock drafts now have him going at No. 8 that it's probably smart to start listening to them.
Notably, Brugler has Justin Blackmon falling all the way to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 7. Blackmon is typically a top-five pick, and has often appeared going to the Rams at No. 2.
Brugler's pick for the Steelers is Iowa State guard Kelechi Osemele. That certainly makes sense from a positional standpoint, although I can't remember seeing Osemele turn up in the first round of a mock for any team except the Steelers, and I've even occasionally seen him falling all the way to the Steelers in the second round. If the Steelers feel Osemele doesn't represent good value for the pick, they could easily take a linebacker, nose tackle, or safety and wait until the second round to pick an offensive lineman. That's about what they did last year, when they had needs on the offensive line and at cornerback but took defensive end Cameron Heyward in the first round, followed by offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert in the second.