The pittsburgh steelers need a cornerback room, and at 20th overall, it seems like they will be in the position where many of the best cornerbacks will still be on the field. Terrion arnold, cooper dejean, kool aid-mckinstry, and quinyon mitchell have been mocked in the past. Nate wiggins of clemson is a name that hasn’t but could certainly be more. Wiggins lands in pittsburgh in a recent mock draft by cbs sports. With patrick peterson getting older and both levi wallace and chandon sullivan entering free agency, the steelers could use another young corner to pair with joey porter jr. Standing 6-2 and weighing 185 pounds, the first-team all-acc will fit right into the pittsburgh mold at the corner.
Wiggins is a long, athletic cornerback with a high-end speed. They wrote, “mike tomlin will have fun with this pick.” Wiggins is a versatile, ball-hawking cornerback who can be used in most defenses. On clemson’s tape, they often played him toward the boundary, and he rose to challenges throughout their games. Wiggins’ ability to drop back in zone coverage and make impressive plays with his route recognition shines a light on how clever he is on tape. Wiggins, who is 6-foot-2, has both good size and length, as well as the ability to step up a bit on receivers and get physical with him, but he is only 185 pounds, which can lead to some issues.
His frame is a bit thin, and although it isn’t as bad as emmanuel forbes from last year, he does have some reps where he is bullied in the screen game or against the run. Despite this, he has put a lot of effort into his tackling, particularly on plays in space. At 20th overall, he is a good pick and would look great against joey porter jr.
