Steelers

2013 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers go with receiver in latest mock draft

Pittsburgh suddenly needs help at wide receiver, and they get it in a new mock draft that has them taking Tennessee product Cordarrelle Patterson.

By Peter Berkes Mar 21, 2013, 8:00am EDT

2 comments / new

The Pittsburgh Steelers could use some help in multiple areas entering the 2013 NFL Draft. They need to get some youth into the mix on defense, but since the beginning of free agency, wide receiver has become a significant position of need.

More: Behind the Steel Curtain

With that in mind, CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler has the Steelers taking Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with in his latest mock draft. Patterson played only one season with the Volunteers, but showed the country that he's an incredibly athletic playmaker who can be a threat any time the ball is in his hands. Here's what Brugler had to say about Patterson:

The Steelers need to get younger and faster on defense, but they also have a glaring need at wide receiver after losing Mike Wallace and the future of Emmanuel Sanders currently in restricted free agency limbo. Patterson is rough around the edges, but the athletic upside is undeniable.

If Sanders leaves behind Wallace, Pittsburgh would have only three receivers on the roster with more than two years of NFL experience: Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery, and Plaxico Burress. It's unlikely that the team would be happy to take that group into the regular season unchanged.