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BTSC's Steel34D gave his first ringing endorsement of the year to Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson in a random email last week. He loved how quickly he flies to the ball and noted what appears to be excellent instincts.
Perhaps the folks at Walter Football were seeing the same thing.
In our first edition of Mock Draft Monday, the Steelers select Johnson with the 22nd overall pick, making him the first cornerback the Steelers have taken in the first round since Chad Scott in 1997.
Their reasoning:
Cortez Allen was so bad against the Colts that he was actually trending on Twitter. Ike Taylor, meanwhile, was miserable in his return from injury. The Steelers are in desperate need of help at the cornerback position, and they're getting a prospect who fits their scheme well.
A brutal, but fair, assessment. Why Ben Roethlisberger wasn't trending in that Colts game is beyond us, but Allen certainly had his share of issues. Suggesting Johnson (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) will step in and take the job of a player the Steelers signed to a five-year extension this offseason is a tad silly, but Johnson has excellent overall skills, and after a year of getting stronger, he could definitely be the high-level cornerback the Steelers covet.
Consider him, along with Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes and Kentucky outside linebacker Bud Dupree excellent candidates early into this draft season.