Steelers Land Georgia CB in Latest Mock Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers add another star cornerback in the NFL Draft.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers find a running mate for Joey Porter Jr. in the first Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft of the year. With needed help at cornerback, the ESPN analyst says they go out and get another top defender with this year's 20th pick. 

In the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Kiper projects the Steelers to select Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter, the fourth cornerback taken in the first 20 picks.

"Sure, the Steelers hit on cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the top pick of Round 2 a year ago, but this is a defense that saw 33-year-old corner Patrick Peterson play more than 1,000 snaps, so there's room for an injection of youth at the position," Kiper writes. "Lassiter emerged as a lockdown corner for the Bulldogs in 2023, though he had just one career interception, which came all the way back in 2021. Still, he allowed a total of nine receptions for 91 yards as the nearest defender in coverage, and none of those passes went for scores. He could form an elite duo with Porter."

Lassiter finished his college career with one interception, 14 passes defended, 86 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and a sack. 

This season, Porter solidified himself as the team's top cornerback, allowing 47.6% completion percentage with 63 passes thrown his way. Throughout the year, he matched up with the opposing team's top wide receiver and could continue to do so next season. 

"I'm really excited about the trajectory of his career," head coach Mike Tomlin said about Porter after the season. "Probably the most impressive component of where he is, is his mindset. He wants the fight. He wants the tough coverage. He's extremely competitive in that way. And that's a great place to build from. He's got growth obviously ahead of him but that's real solid."

With Lassiter joining the group, Pittsburgh could have their cornerback duo for the foreseeable future to go along with stars like Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

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