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Perhaps later on, we look back at National Football Post columnist Russ Lande's latest mock draft in the same light we would have any that had David DeCastro falling to Pittsburgh with the 24th pick in 2012.
I'm sure there is a mock draft somewhere else that has the Steelers taking Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner with the 17th overall pick, but it may just be that one, and Lande's.
It's an intriguing theory, if nothing else. In Lande's latest, he has quarterback Matt Barkley being selected No. 2 overall by Jacksonville, Tank Carradine going to Miami with the 12th pick and Tavon Austin going to Cleveland at No. 6.
Hmmm...probably gonna have to go ahead and disagree with Mr. Lande there, but hey, why not?
His reasoning:
The Steelers want to upgrade their defense and with the elite edge pass rushers gone, they decide to add talent to their secondary. Milliner would give them a young version of Ike Taylor; a strong and physical corner with better speed and athleticism than he gets credit for.
Top to bottom, the Steelers are able to find successful cornerbacks in the middle rounds because they don't need the press cover guys with 4.3 speed who oftentimes get nabbed in the first round.
While I think the basis of an argument that suggests it's unlikely Milliner is taken by the Steelers at 17 is rooted simply in the fact he won't last until that pick, something can be said for the need to draft a cornerback that highly. There's a reason they haven't taken a cornerback in the first round since Chad Scott in 1997, and the last first round corner taken before him was Rod Woodson in 1987.
Mock Draft Database
Even with the addition of Milliner to the mix, Georgia's Jarvis Jones and Tennessee's Cordarrelle Patterson lead the in-no-way official poll of who the Steelers will take from the blogosphere.
The likely starting cornerbacks for the Steelers in 2013 will be two former fourth-round picks, neither of whom played cornerback for very long before getting drafted. Taylor was a converted running back, and while Allen played four years at The Citadel, he didn't play organized football until he was a senior in high school.
Oh, and Baltimore grabs Cordarrelle Patterson with the 32nd pick. Not sure if I like that idea...