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The Triangle of Authority residing over the Steelers' No. 17 pick in the SB Nation Blogger's Mock Draft has been following the action closely.
The three points of that triangle are myself (doing little more than emailing the other two in an effort to gather information to do the write-up) Seton Hall and Steelers and Steel34D.
We're doing two rounds of this, and our hope is to make the process transparent.
We're up to pick six right now (with picks 7-9 to be posted today), and here are the selections to this point.
1. Chiefs: Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M
2. Jaguars: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
3. Raiders: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
4. Eagles: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
5. Lions: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
6. Browns: Dion Jordan, DE, Oregon
We're somewhat surprised Smith went as high as he did, and cursing under our breath that Cleveland took an outstanding player, but we're pressing on.
SBN Bloggers Mock Draft
Check out the SB Nation football editors' mock draft with new picks made each day
The word on the street is the Cardinals, Bills and Jets have submitted their picks, and those will be announced today.
The Triangle's strategy here is, above all else, aim for the best player available, with only a few positions off-limits. We don't feel taking a quarterback will be the best use for this pick, and we aren't enamored enough with the tight ends to feel the 17th best player in this draft plays that position.
We feel the draft is loaded enough at safety where we can get a difference-maker in the second round (maybe later).
It's too early to say we're targeting any one player or position, but we would be very happy if the pieces fell in such a way we could land a dominant pass rusher, an outstanding outside-the-numbers receiver or a disruptive interior defensive linemen. An outstanding cornerback may not be serviceable in Year 1, but developing such a player would be a smart move for the future. The dullest corner of the triangle (a.k.a. "Neal") isn't against an offensive linemen, either, but those are simply more positions that haven't yet been taken off the table rather than legitimate targets right now.
Let us know how you see this draft shaping up so far, and give us your opinions on who should be taken next, as well as whom the Steelers should take at No. 17.