4/14/19-Steelers 2019 Early Round Draft Needs
By: Mike Pelaia
The 2019 NFL Draft is just around the corner and it’s that time of year where every team has hope. Every team plans to grab the next set of guys that will loft them from pretender to contender, from playoff bound to Super Bowl bound and from Super Bowl bound to Super Bowl champs.
The Steelers are no different. Last season, the Steelers went from a sure fire playoff team to needing a win and help from the Cleveland Browns just to make it in. Only one of those two things happened and the rest is history.
Le’Veon Bell officially left the mix, as expected but then, the Antonio Brown implosion occurred and he’s now gone too. Addition by subtraction? Perhaps, but, a hole that needs to be addressed at some point in this upcoming draft.
Yet, with, or without Brown the Steelers knew the first line of business needed to be gaining and inside linebacker to perhaps finally replace Ryan Shazier and to find a second cornerback to compliment Joe Haden.
They addressed these needs, to a degree, via free agency. They signed linebacker Mark Barron away from the Rams and cornerback Steven Nelson from the Chiefs. They also addressed the Brown loss by signing away Donte Moncrief from the Jaguars.
Had the black and gold not signed Moncrief, I may have stated that replacing Brown would have been a top two priority but I believe they can wait until the 3rd or even 4th round to try to grab a receiver. With JuJu Smith-Schuster clearly the number one receiver, last years 3rd round pick James Washington ready to step up, Eli Rogers returning, Ryan Switzer as a decent slot guy and Moncrief, the Steelers have a decent start at receiver. They can address the need on day three of the draft if necessary.
Despite the signing of Barron, the Steelers number one need in this draft is still to find a replacement for Shazier. His loss was a devastating blow to a defense that was on the rise and hasn’t been able to fully recover since his injury in late 2017. They need to find that playmaker up the middle, the guy who can stop the run, cover the pass and be an overall leader for a defense that desperately needs one.
There are two guys in this draft that stand out above the rest that fit that category. They are Devin White of LSU and Devin Bush of Michigan. Then there is a second tier guy, in my mind out of Alabama, Mack Wilson.
I don’t believe the Steelers have a chance at White at all but think they could potentially see Bush when they draft at 20 and will most certainly have an opportunity for Wilson but he’s a caliber below the other two.
I believe the Steelers should use some of their draft capital and move up a few spots to secure Bush and if they were able to land him, the defense would change over night. He’s a playmaker that can be paired with TJ Watt on the outside and one that will impact this team from day one. As I write this, it is my belief the Steelers will find a way to get Bush, whether they move up or they are lucky enough to see him fall to 20.
In the second round, even with the addition of Nelson, the Steelers have to address cornerback. It’s a position that takes a little time to grow into and with the pending free agency of Haden after the season, it’s an area that must be addressed early in this draft.
There is some depth at corner this year and the black and gold should have an opportunity at a quality player when they draft 52nd overall. While I would love for the Steelers to nab Greedy Williams out of LSU, a guy they could think about in the first round if Bush is gone, I think they’ll more likely have their choice of Amani Oruwariye of Penn State, Justin Layne of Michigan State, Trayvon Mullen of Clemson or Julian Love of Notre Dame.
They need a guy who can play physical football, a guy with size and a guy with football intelligence. I believe Mullen is the man they will select 52nd overall. He stands 6’2’’ and weighs in at 190 pounds. He has the big game experience and playmaking ability. Coming out of the ACC, I believe he has the experience to step in and be a guy who can help in 2019 but really step into his own in 2020 and beyond.
No matter how the draft slices, the Steelers must grab an Inside Linebacker and a Cornerback in the first two rounds. They cannot ignore their most glaring needs. From there, in some form, they need to address wide receiver, defensive line, safety, add offensive line depth, look at adding a third running back and potentially another playmaking tight end.
With 10 draft choices this year, it will be a busy April for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Grades Are In
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Many draft experts, including the renowned Mel Kiper, give the Steelers a very high grade for what they just accomplished in the NFL rookie draft this past weekend. I’ve seen grades ranging from B to A-. While the Steelers picked up some very good young players, some of their selections were a bit curious and didn’t seem to fit the team’s most important needs. In the first round the Steelers selected OLB Ryan Shazier out of Ohio State. While Shazier may be an ‘A’ player, the team truly needed to grab a shutdown cornerback here. Ike Taylor is heading into the last year of his contract and odds are he won’t be back in 2015. Even if he were to return, he’s not the same guy he once was. The teams’ biggest weakness is its secondary and they should have addressed this here. With Darqueze Dennard still sitting there, he would have been the guy to take. Or, since Dennard actually fell nine more spots, to division foe Cincinnati, the team should have looked to trade back to take him had they felt he would fall past 15. First round Grade, B-. Shazier has great potential but the grade is simply brought down due to the biggest team need not being met. The second round saw the team select 304 pound defensive end Stephon Tuitt out of Notre Dame. Defensive End was most certainly a team need and Tuitt’s size will come in handy when defending the run. This pick also signals Brett Keisel will not be brought back for an additional year. The black and gold clearly like Tuitt’s upside and he may even see starting reps this upcoming season. Second round Grade, A-. In the third round, Pittsburgh elected to select running back Dri Archer out of Kent State. Archer runs a 4.26 40 and can fly. He may have some immediate use as a special teams returner and a third down back but this pick makes little to no sense here. Archer will never be the starting running back with LeVeon Bell in front of him and it’s hard to imagine he’ll line up out wide often enough to validate this high of a selection. The team needed to draft a third down back but that could have been accomplished far later in the draft. Third round Grade, D+. This pick would have been far better served on a corner or a safety.
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The fourth round saw the Steelers finally draft a big wide out for Big Ben. Martavis Bryant out of Clemson is 6’4 and 211 pounds. He can be a big target in the red zone and on third downs and he might even compete for the number two wide receiver position immediately. The team desperately needed a guy like this and with a very deep wide receiver corps in this draft; they knew they could wait until the mid-rounds to grab a guy like Bryant. Fourth round grade, A. The fifth round saw the Steelers make two selections. The first of which was cornerback Shaquille Richardson out of Arizona. In my mind, Richardson should have been the second corner taken by this point in the draft for the Steelers and not the first. He’s a fifth round corner for a reason. He’s not going to be a shutdown guy and may be nothing more than a nickel package player. While the team needed this, and he was certainly the right pick for the round, it’s curious as to why they waited this long to take a player for their secondary. First fifth round pick grade, B-. The pick grade is lowered a little bit since Richardson is the first corner taken and not what should have been the second. The second selection the team made was Wesley Johnson, offensive tackle out of Vanderbilt. Johnson weighs in just under 300 pounds and is six and half feet tall. This is a good value pick here as you can never have too many offensive lineman, the Steelers have proven that season after season with the way that unit sustains injuries. Johnson could range from a solid backup player to a practice squad guy but at the very least he’ll provide the much needed depth this unit will need over training camp and pre-season. Second fifth round pick grade, A. The black and gold had two selections in the sixth round as well. The first of which was used on outside linebacker Jordan Zumwalt out of UCLA. This pick is mind boggling. The team certainly would like to have depth at the linebacker position but they didn’t need to draft two guys at outside linebacker. After they elected to go with Shazier in round one; that should have been it. This pick should have gone to another corner or this where the team should have eventually taken that third down back. First sixth round pick grade, F. The second selection went to 352 pound defensive tackle Dan McCullers out of Tennessee. This was a position the team certainly needed to ‘beef’ up and they did so with this McCullers. McCullers could challenge to be a starter this season and will certainly provide some much needed help on the run defense. Second sixth round pick grade, A.
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Finally, the Steelers wrapped up the draft with their seventh round selection of tight end Rob Blanchflower out of UMASS. Blanchflower most likely won’t make the team. It’s a seventh round pick so it’s hard to rip anybody here but it really just doesn’t make sense to pick a tight end at all, one of the most stable positions on the team. I would have been happier had the team taken a flyer on another offensive lineman, defensive lineman or even another player in the secondary (recurring theme anyone?). Seventh round pick grade, C-. Overall the team drafted a mix of good players in the right spots, good players in the wrong spots, players that fit needs and players that don’t. While they grabbed some ‘A’ grades, they also collected some F’s. Time is the true measure of how this draft will ultimately be graded but initially speaking, I can’t give the Steelers more than a C+ for their efforts this draft. They seemed to miss the mark in some key areas and it’s hard to overlook the fact that they ignored the secondary position as if they had Richard Sherman back there already.
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Steelers 2014 Draft Needs – A Closer Look
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Normally, by the end of April the NFL draft has taken place and we are discussing the additions the Steelers have made and how they’ll fit in. Not this year. Starting this year, the NFL has elected to place the NFL draft in early May, leaving all draft experts and football pundits the opportunity to pontificate for another few weeks on what they expect will happen, who will get drafted early, late and who won’t get drafted at all. This year the Steelers have nine draft picks across the seven rounds and they have plenty of holes to fill. They’ll need to make the right picks if they want to continue to form a foundation of success that will lead to their 7th Lombardi trophy anytime soon. The draft clock is starting to tick, it’s time for the team to ramp up and get moving. Taking a look at what the team needs, it seems that they will fill the roster somewhat like what I have broken down below. Round 1, pick 15: The Steelers are in desperate need of a young, playmaking cornerback. They would be crazy not to go and grab this position here. With the 15th pick overall there should still be three or four of these playmakers available for the team to choose from. There is an outside chance they could go wide receiver or defensive line here but that would mean that all the top corners were drafted earlier than expected.
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Round 2, pick 46: In the 2nd round the Steelers will still most likely address the defensive side of the ball as they have a lot of rebuilding to do there. My expectation is for them to draft another linebacker somewhere during this draft and I believe it will happen in round two. They can find a hard hitting, tough as nails guy here who can be an impact playmaker to go along with Jason Worilds and Jarvis Jones. Once again, they could go wide receiver or defensive line but I don’t expect it. Round 3, pick 92: The team is in dire need of a big wide receiver. This is the round to do it. While they could take a guy earlier, a wide receiver that can make plays can be found in this round or later and I fully expect the black and gold to take advantage of this pick by picking up a guy they think can make big catches in the red zone and on third down. The point of this pick would be for this receiver to ultimately be their number two guy. Outside chance they draft a defensive lineman. Round 4, pick 118: This team no doubt will draft a defensive lineman here, assuming they haven’t done that already. They clearly need to beef up in the nose tackle spot and a 4th round pick is a prime area to do so. There is a chance they could draft a second linebacker in this spot as well. Round 5, pick 157 and pick 173: There are any number of directions the team could go in the fifth round with these two picks. I anticipate they will be drafting a running back somewhere in the late rounds and having two picks in the fifth, it makes sense to use one of them on a backup running back who can be a third down guy and a guy who can play special teams as well. Additionally, they may elect to use the other pick on another cornerback as the team needs more than just one and you can still find decent nickel backs later in the draft.
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Round 6, pick 192 and pick 215: The two picks in the sixth round will go to whomever the team feels is the best left on their draft board. However, I would expect a second linebacker to be taken somewhere in here as the team will want to bolster the depth they have at that position if they haven’t addressed this already. I won’t be shocked if the team also selects another young quarterback in this round. This may be a guy who won’t make the team but he could be a good guy during pre-season, a practice squad guy or he may have the potential to be the third string quarterback of this storied franchise. Round 7, pick 230: This will truly be the best player left on the teams’ board. Whoever is picked here will be a long shot to make the squad in 2014 but could again be a practice squad player. I look for this final pick to be an offensive lineman to add depth at the position during the pre-season to ensure their main guys are uninjured heading into regular play. This draft will be heavily centered around the defensive side of the ball. It’s time to re build and re shuffle that unit and there is no better way and no faster way to do so than in the draft. The key now is for the Steelers grades on these players to be accurate, their projections to hold true and the character of all of these guys to be what it needs to in order to make a successful NFL player both on and off the field. The clock is ticking… |
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Steel Nation Associations’ Mock Mock Draft
With so many publications and TV stations putting out mock drafts, it all seems kind of ridiculous. Who can really predict every pick in the first round, let alone the entire draft?
Sure, you can predict team needs but who can’t do that. So with that said, we decided to put together our own mock draft. Each team gets a pick, based on something they need.
Enjoy the Steel Nation Association Mock Mock Draft.
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Team |
Pick |
Reason |
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Pittsburgh Steelers |
A 250,000 seat stadium. |
There isn’t a Steeler fan out there who doesn’t want to attend a game live. So the Steelers decided to pick the largest stadium in the history of sports to accommodate as many fans as possible on Sunday afternoons. |
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Baltimore Ravens |
A New set of team colors |
Tough guys don’t wear purple, the Ravens decide to man up and pick a color to fit their tough guy mentality. |
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Cincinnati Bengals |
A law abiding Citizen |
The Bengals figured they need at least one on their team. |
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Cleveland Browns |
A Prayer |
They need more than one to get to the promised land but figured they better draft on to get moving in the right direction. |
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New England Patriots |
A better way to cheat |
Since getting caught cheating, the Pats have not won a Super Bowl. The team figured they better devise a better way of not getting caught so they can win titles again. |
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New York Jets |
A QB Controversy |
This is a requirement for the Jets |
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Miami Dolphins |
Someone with Integrity |
Clearly the team lacks this guy so they figured they better add at least one to the roster. |
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Buffalo Bills |
A time Machine |
The Bills figured the only way they’d get good again is to go back to the early 90’s. |
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Indianapolis Colts |
A new Twitter password for Jim Irsay |
The team figures the only way to keep their crazy owner off Twitter is to draft a new password and keep it from him. |
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Houston Texans |
Someone Who Actually Cares about them |
Reality is, nobody cares about the Texans so the team decides to draft someone who does. |
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Tennessee Titans |
A better name |
They currently have the worst name in the NFL so they decide to fix it by drafting a new one |
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Jacksonville Jaguars |
A New City |
The team finally realized the only way they’ll survive is by getting a new city to play in |
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Denver Broncos |
A Ball that bounces their way |
In the big games, that hasn’t happened for them so they decided to draft one that would. |
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Kansas City Chiefs |
A Pick Up Truck |
It’s the only way to get Andy Reid on and off the field these days. |
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Oakland Raiders |
A Clue |
They haven’t had one in over a decade |
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San Diego Chargers |
Cool Temperatures |
With the perfect weather year round, the players stop caring about football and only care about surfing. The cool temperatures were brought in to refocus the team back on the task at hand. |
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NY Giants |
A Ball that only goes to their players |
It’s the only way to stop Eli from throwing picks |
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Washington Redskins |
A new owner |
They finally realize they can’t win anything with Danny Boy so they draft a new owner. |
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Dallas Cowboys |
A real GM |
Jerry Jones finally understands he’s not an actual GM and brings in a real one to run the football operations. |
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Philadelphia Eagles |
Santa Clause |
After booing him out of the stadium years ago, they decide to bring him back to make things right. |
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Green Bay Packers |
A QB who isn’t a jerk. |
They haven’t had one since before Brett Favre. |
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Chicago Bears |
Mike Ditka |
They decide the only way they’ll truly be relevant is to bring Iron Mike back. |
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Minnesota Vikings |
Brett Favre |
He’s better than any QB they currently have and lord knows he’d probably play. |
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Detroit Lions |
Changing football into hockey. |
It’s the only thing they win in that town. |
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New Orleans Saints |
Another devastating Hurricane |
It took that to motivate the team last time so they decide to draft another one. |
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Atlanta Falcons |
Deion Sanders |
They decide to bring Prime Time back to make them relevant again. |
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Carolina Panthers |
A league change |
The team decides they are better suited for Arena football and draft a league change. |
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
A Pirate Ship |
They figure they need one to board so they can get out of town after continually disappointing their fans year after year. |
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Seattle Seahawks |
A better musician to attach themselves to. |
Out of all the great music to come out of Seattle, the team hitched their wagon to Macklemore in 2013. They realized what a drastic mistake this was and they draft a truly talented Seattle musician this time around. |
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San Francisco 49ers |
A punching bag with Jim Harbaughs face on it |
Everyone in their building wanted one. |
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St. Louis Rams |
A highlight reel of 1999 |
They needed something to watch that they could enjoy |
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Arizona Cardinals |
A Toilet Bowl |
The team realized they belong in one. |
Taking an In Depth Look at The Steelers Draft Needs
The NFL offseason is in full swing and as we move into April it’s time to focus on the draft. The Steelers have a long history of building via the draft and keeping the guys they draft when they prove they are valuable assets. The black and gold are in a transitional period as they have just released several big name veterans at different positions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The time has come to infuse some more youth with the existing core of vets to try to continue this current run of success the team has enjoyed.
There are certainly some very obvious position the Steelers need to draft and positions we all believe they should draft in the early rounds. However, despite what we the fans may think they should do; the Steelers are known for taking the best player on the board when it’s time for their pick; no matter what position the player plays or if the team actually needs to fill that position. It’s a strategy some may call flawed, but how can we argue with the documented success it has brought upon the men of Steel?
The two most glaring positions that must be filled in this draft in the early rounds are offensive line, both tackle and guard and defensive line, in particular nose tackle. While many of us in the Steel Nation have been clamoring for an offensive lineman to be picked in the first round for many years now, the Steelers generally don’t do that, with the exception of Maurkice Pouncey, who has turned into a perennial pro bowler already. Drafting an offensive lineman in the first round to help protect Big Ben and boost the run game would be something we’d love to see, and as Ben turns 30 this year it seems logical the team would like to prevent him from taking the punishment he’s been accustomed to over his career. Art Rooney II has also proclaimed he’d like to see the team run the ball more. Beefing up the line can only help that endeavor as well. As much sense as this all seems to make; our suspicion is it won’t happen in round one. The draft pundits all agree this draft is very deep for o linemen and we believe the Steelers agree with that assessment. Drafting two linemen this year, at least one in the first two rounds is an absolute must for this team, in what portion of the early rounds they do that will keep us guessing til draft day.
Working with the assumption the Steelers do believe the offensive line class is deep this year; we believe they will go with either a Nose Tackle in round one or possibly an inside linebacker. Both positions are team needs but we think the team is a little deeper at linebacker. Nose Tackle has Casey Hampton coming off an injury and playing in the final year of a three year contract. Really it may be the final year of his tenure as a Steeler too. Finding his replacement, a run stuffer who can play in the 3-4 scheme and clog the middle of the field is a huge priority for this team and a draft pick that you can bet will be made in one of the first three rounds for sure.
The first three rounds will in all likelihood bring that inside linebacker as well. The team said goodbye to James Farrior and Larry Foote is most likely playing in his final year with the black and gold as well. Bringing in a big time play maker is a priority as the Steelers are the class of the NFL when it comes to linebackers and have been for years. They want to stay strong in this unit and will find a guy who fits into the 3-4 scheme and plays hard hitting-aggressive Steeler football.
After filling the needs on the offensive line (we project 2 picks), nose tackle and linebacker, we believe there are several different directions the team could go. The next position we anticipate they’d go would be back on the defensive line at the defensive end position. Aaron Smith was released and retired. On top of that, Brett Keisel is another vet who is most likely facing his final year with the team and the Steelers have drafted a couple of young bucks in the first round the past couple years with Ziggy Hood and Cam Heyward to begin to fill the big shoes of their predecessors. That said, they could stand to add some depth and don’t be shocked if they do.
Many fans believe the team should draft another cornerback as they believe the unit is weak. The unit is not weak, it was the best pass defense in the league last year and the corners, led by Ike Taylor, had a great year covering the opposition’s receivers. Don’t let the Denver playoff game sway you, the unit is one of the better units on this football team on either side of the ball. Even with William Gay departing via free agency; they really don’t need to draft this position this year. Ike Taylor will be back as the top corner on the team, Keenan Lewis will most likely be back as a nickel back at the very least and the team is very high on both Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, draft picks from last year. The real positions they need to look at in the secondary is Safety. Yes they have Polamalu and Clark, both are great players, yet they are aging players. Polamalu is one of the best to ever play the position but he’s so aggressive and plays with such reckless abandon that he is injury prone. Bringing in a young safety would be extremely beneficial. They could learn from Polamalu and Clark, pick up the defensive scheme and when it comes time for Polamalu and Clark to move on, the replacement is already on the roster. It takes a bit of time for the safeties to learn and understand the defensive schemes the Steelers run. It’s no secret the team has many blitz packages and currently allows Polamalu the freedom to lineup where he sees fit. That didn’t happen overnight. Many forget that Polamalu was nothing more than mediocre his rookie year simply because he was learning how to play in the system. Picking the replacement now is a great way to avoid that situation again later.
Some positions that have minor needs would be Tight End as Heath is in his final year of his contract and the backups are unproven. Wide Receiver may be a position the team needs to go after if Wallace and Cotchery end up bolting via free agency, also with the knowledge that Antonio Brown is a restricted free agent after this season as well. Drafting a kicker could be an option for this team as well. If you’re sold on Suisham as the long term answer for this team then that makes one of you. We don’t trust him in the clutch and there’s a good reason he’s bounced around the league during his career. Lastly quarterback. Yes, Quarterback. The team certainly isn’t going to be looking for a new starter or not even for Ben’s eventual replacement quite yet, but, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a young guy in the fold as a backup. Right now they will most likely have Leftwhich and Batch as the 2nd and 3rd string guys and will let Dennis Dixon walk away. We’d like to see Leftwhich back and then have that new young guy playing in the 3rd QB spot for a year or two before they become ready to become the top backup on this team by 2014. This may be asking for a lot but if they could grab someone similar to Matt Flynn like the Packers did in round 7 a few years back, the Steelers will have made a fantastic pick.
Whether the Steelers draft the way we think they will, completely opposite or somewhere in between; the one thing we will always do is trust in what they are doing until they prove otherwise. They traditionally leave the football decisions to football men and unlike other teams around the league, they draft players that fit into the schemes they run rather than trying to plug guys who may be talented in a scheme that just won’t work for them. The Steelers will do what’s right for the 2012 team and beyond and they will continue their run of success because of it.
Steelers Draft Re Cap
Well, it’s been a few days since the 2011 draft finished and we wanted to take our time to get a good look at the new crop of Steelers. A lot of media outlets like to rate and grade each team’s draft but we aren’t going to give it a score of letter grade of any kind. As Kevin Colbert says, it takes a few years before you can really grade a draft class and he seems to know what he’s talking about so we’ll buy into that. Now, do we buy into what the black and gold did? Let’s find out…
In the first round with the 2nd to last pick (sure wish it were the last pick!) the Steelers took Cam “Iron Head” Heyward, the defensive end out of Ohio State. We had suspected they would take a D End at some point in the drat but we were a little shocked they did it here. However, Craig’s son can play some ball. He’s a big man, 6 foot 4 and 295 pounds and he has a little bit of a Pittsburgh connection considering his dad played at Pitt. He can really cause havoc for the running backs on the opposite side of the ball, get to the QB and plays with intensity. We think he could have a nice long career and will be a book end with Ziggy Hood very soon.
Check out some Cam Heyward Highlights here:
In the second round the Steelers picked up a 6 foot 6, 330 pound offensive tackle out of Florida, Marcus Gilbert. We were hoping the offesnive lineman they would get out of Florida would have been Mike Pouncey but that would have been in the first half of the first round, so this is a good pick in the 2nd. We all know the Steelers need offensive line help and he can plug a much needed hole with the Steelers not sure who will and won’t be returning from the Super Bowl line of a season ago. He can help keep Big Ben healthy and that’s obviously the most important thing here.
Here’s a little of Marcus:
Roud 3 saw the Steelers bring in a much needed corner. The secondary was exposed in the Super Bowl and the teams’ best corner, Ike Taylor is a free agent as soon as the lockout is over. We believe they need to keep him but that’s a story for another day. Right now, we’ll talk about Curtis Brown, the 5 foot 11 185 pound corner out of Texas who the Steelers seem to believe is a shut down corner. If they are right, we’ll be very happy as they need someone opposite Taylor starting next year. Brown has the potential to start right way, keeps the receivers covered and could be a huge impact right away.
The 4th round saw the team bring in another cornerback. His name is Cortez Allen and he’s 6 foot 1, 197. He played his ball at the Citadel and was a defensive player of the year in the football sub division. That all said, we feel this may be a reach. We hope we’re wrong and sure small school guys have had success in the NFL before, but it’s usually rare and you only hear of the guys who make, not the many who fail. We hope he can be a good nickel back at the very least but we think he may be gone in the next 2 to 3 years, sadly.
The 5th round saw an old Steeler staple brought in, an outside linebacker, Christopher Carter out of Fresno State. He was a force in the WAC last year and could be what the Steelers think is a replacement for LaMarr Woodley. Don’t laugh, we’re serious. They haven’t given Woodley a long term deal, but only the Franchise Tag. That’s a one year deal. They may string Woodley along a couple years but you know the Steelers don’t overpay for guys. This could be a signal as to what their future plans are. We think Carter can and will be a good one. The Steelers don’t typically miss on linebackers.
An offensive guard, Keith Williams out of Nebraska, was picked in round 6. We like the pick, you can never have too many offensive lineman and they Steelers truly need them. We think he can be a nice sub and eventual starter. He’s a big guy, 6 foot 4, 318 pounds. We love the big guys blocking for Big Ben, opening holes for Mendenhall and taking up space. This guy has the assets, is agile and can be here for a while.
Lastly the Steelers picked up running back Baron Batch, no relation to Charlie, from Texas Tech. They see him as a much needed 3rd down back. We aren’t sure here. He had good numbers, posting over 800 yards on less than 200 carries last year but with Jonathan Dwyer on the roster can he oust him? There’s only so many guys you can carry at each position. We think he’ll be a practice squad guy to start and will need more time to see.
Overall the team picked up what they needed positionally and now it must translate onto the field. Some of these guys will be here for a while, others won’t make it at all but as the man who picked these guys says, we’ll see how well we did in a couple years.
Draft Needs and Opinions
The NFL may be in chaos right now but one thing is certain, the draft will go on as scheduled. The draft has always been the key to success and failure in the NFL and the teams with a history of championships and playoff appearances hae a history of drafting well. Those poor teams who don’t draft well, those are the same teams that rarely make the post season, let alone win titles. Fortunatley for us Steeler fans our beloved black and gold have traditionally done rather well in the draft and we expect nothing less from them again this year.
So what is it that the Steelers need? Well, it’s well documented that they need offensive line help, they have needed this for some time as a matter of fact. A good shut down corner back would be a nice addition as well as adding some help on the D line and they may even need to consider some depth at safety. The team is still very much in tact but they are aging and the best way to replace age is by an influx of good, young players. We would absolutely love to see the Steelers land Mike Pouncey, the Center/Guard out of Florida and the twin brother of last year’s Steeler rookie pro bowler Maurkice. From what we are hearing though, it’s unlikely they will see him with pick 31. Would they consider moving up to get him? Possibly. We think for the right deal, it would make sense to get him. He can play guard and backup his brother at center as well, if need be. A flexible player like that, with talent like that is hard to obtain, which is why we fear we won’t get him. So, let’s say they stay at pick 31. Our thought is they need to take the very best O lineman available at that spot unless there is a true shut down corner available. Our thought process there is there will be at least 5 top O lineman gone by this point, so is the 6th best O lineman better than a true shut down corner? Not in our opinion.
That takes care of the first round, but they must land either a good O lineman or a top corner in round two, depending on what they end up doing in round one. They need to fill those two positions first. After that we think they can fill in the gaps, D line may be the next spot to look at, specifically defensive tackle with “Big Snack” aging, but a Defensive End isn’t going to be a bad pick either. We’d also like to see a safety picked somewhere as much as we love Troy he’s starting to show his age a bit, yes defensive player of the year and all, and he is a free agent after this next season and you just never know what the Steelers will do. They don’t typically sign players to a third contract, which this would be for Troy, so they better get some help. Plus Ryan Clark is not as good as he used to be. Other than that, the linebackers, receivers, tigh end, running backs and QB are pretty solid. You may see a RB picked, possibly a receiver and a linebacker but we highly, highly doubt that you’ll see a tight end or quarterback drafted.
So with that, it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little football talk that doesn’t focus on the lock out, collective bargaining or any other un interesting and frustrating items that have dominated the news surrounding the league lately.
NFL Draft Round 2
Title: NFL Draft Round 2
Location: NYC
Description: NFL Draft Round 2
Start Time: 6:00pm
Date: 2010-04-23
NFL Draft Round 3-7
Title: NFL Draft Round 3-7
Location: NYC
Description: Day 3 of the NFL draft sees rounds 3-7. Steelers need to fill in some holes during these days
Start Time: 10:00am
Date: 2010-04-24
NFL Draft Round 1
Title: NFL Draft Round 1
Location: NYC
Description: The opening round of the NFL Draft-who will the Steelers take?
Start Time: 7:30pm
Date: 2010-04-22
