A new 2027 NFL mock draft from ClutchPoints writer Tim Crean has the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore with the No. 9 pick — and passing on Irish quarterback CJ Carr. The projection, published Thursday as Week 0 of the college season tipped off, treats Pittsburgh as a team that can spend a premium pick on defense if an in-house passer is ready after Aaron Rodgers.
Crean called Moore a steal at that spot. He labeled him “an elite cover corner who picked off five balls as a Sophomore,” per the mock. That line is the whole case in miniature: production, size, and a position that keeps climbing the board.
The order itself is not locked. Crean used Tankathon’s projected 2027 draft slotting, which is a standings guess eight months before the 2026 regular season even starts. Slot No. 9 assumes a Steelers finish that is closer to the middle of the pack than a Super Bowl run. That can flip with two bad weeks or one January win.
Why Moore fits Pittsburgh’s board
Moore is listed at 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds out of Round Rock, Texas. He broke through as a freshman All-American in 2024, then posted five interceptions and seven pass breakups in 2025, according to Pro Football Network’s draft profile. ClutchPoints previously noted that ESPN draft writers Jordan Reid and Matt Miller had him as the top corner in the 2027 class heading into this season.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein put Moore among the prospects he most wants to watch in 2026 after the Senior Bowl’s preseason Top 300 drop. Zierlein pointed to press technique, tight-man stickiness, and catch-point control — the traits that travel when receivers keep getting bigger and faster. That write-up is here.
Pittsburgh already has a contract problem at the position. Joey Porter Jr. is in the final year of his rookie deal. Head coach Mike McCarthy said this week the two sides are “at an impasse,” The Athletic reported. Porter has been holding in and opened camp on the PUP list. A first-round corner in 2027 would not erase that negotiation. It would give the front office a second high-end body if Porter prices himself out or if the tag becomes the fallback.
That is scheme talk, not a prediction. Mike McCarthy’s staff still has to play 2026 with the corners on the roster. Moore would be a 2027 piece. The fit is the size-and-ball-skills profile Steelers defenses have chased for decades: a boundary corner who can take the other team’s best receiver and still create takeaways.
The quarterback fork in the road
Passing on Carr is the louder statement. Crean sent the Notre Dame quarterback to Detroit at No. 26 in the same mock. A separate preseason mock from Dane Brugler at The Athletic, also dated Thursday, went the other way: Moore to the Jets at No. 4, Carr to the Steelers at No. 14.
Those two boards cannot both be right. They show the real split. If Pittsburgh decides Drew Allar or Will Howard can start in 2027, the first-round chip moves to defense. If neither young passer sticks, Carr — or another quarterback — climbs the board in a hurry.
Rodgers has said the quiet part out loud. After signing a one-year deal to return, he told reporters 2026 is his last season. “This is it,” he said, according to NFL.com. He repeated the stance at training camp in late July, per Fox News. That is his stated plan, not a league filing. Players have changed their minds before. He has not left much room this time.
The room behind him is crowded. Pittsburgh is weighing whether to keep four quarterbacks — Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Howard, and third-round rookie Allar — a possibility McCarthy has not shut down, The Athletic reported this week. Mark Kaboly of The Athletic has written that the organization is “probably thinking that Drew Allar is their starting quarterback next year,” as relayed by The Mirror US. That is a reporter’s read, not an official announcement.
| Source | Date | Steelers’ first pick | Leonard Moore landing spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Crean, ClutchPoints | Aug. 27, 2026 | CB Leonard Moore, No. 9 | Steelers, No. 9 |
| Dane Brugler, The Athletic | Aug. 27, 2026 | QB CJ Carr, No. 14 | Jets, No. 4 |
| Industry consensus (PFN board) | Updated Aug. 2026 | — | CB1 in class; overall rank near the top |
The Athletic’s Brugler has also called Moore a “slam-dunk top-10 pick” in a Notre Dame mailbag earlier this summer, per On3. That grade is why Crean’s “steal at nine” line only works if several quarterbacks and edge rushers go first. In Brugler’s board, Moore is gone before Pittsburgh is on the clock.
Moore still has a full 2026 season left. So does Carr. So do Howard and Allar. A mock published the morning college football’s Week 0 slate began is a snapshot, not a pledge. The useful part is the choice it forces: if Pittsburgh trusts the quarterbacks already in the building, the next cornerstone can come on defense. If it does not, Notre Dame’s passer stays in the conversation all winter.
