Steelers Draft and Mel Kiper sucks thread!!

That is good strategy, take a chance on a dynamic player who could help the team if Pickett isn't the answer. And by doing this, you are not giving up draft capital. This is why the Justin Fields trade is IMHFO stupid.

 

I actually read the article and draft and looked at all the picks, well well well, Karl Brooks was a first round pick. You know he was my DT sleeper pick who I banged the table for.

 

Interesting look back in time. It's a crap shoot, this draft. But I do remember being fairly high on Travis Kelce. I had him at 44. I also had Terron Armstead the LT out of Arkansas Pine Bluff at 47. Darius Slay I had at 56, all of these guys are still playing at a high level. This is on page 98 of our board from 2013, I posted it on 4/25/13.

2013 War Board

Rank Player Position School
1 Luke Joeckal OT Texas A&M
2 Eric Fisher OT Central Michigan
3 Dion Jordan OLB Oregon
4 Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma
5 Star Lotulelei DT Utah
6 Ziggy Ansah DE BYU
7 Jonathon Cooper OG North Carolina
8 Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri
9 Kenny Vaccaro S Texas
10 Xavier Rhodes CB Florida State
11 Tavon Austin WR WVU
12 Dee Milliner CB Alabama
13 DeAndre Hopkins WR Clemson
14 Sharif Floyd DT Florida
15 Chance Warmack OG Alabama
16 Bakaveous Mingo OLB LSU
17 Jarvis Jones OLB Georgia
18 Arthur Brown OLB Kansas State
19 Jesse Williams DT Alabama
20 Jamar Taylor CB Boise State
21 Tyler Eiffert TE Notre Dame
22 Datone Jones DE UCLA
23 Bjoern Werner DE Florida State
24 Sylvester Williams DT North Carolina
25 DJ Fluker OT Alabama
26 Desmond Trufant CB Washington
27 Cordarelle Paterson WR Tenn
28 Robert Woods WR USC
29 Justin Hunter WR Tenn
30 Cornelius Carradine DE Florida State
31 Jonathon Cyprien S Central Florida
32 Geno Smith QB WVU
33 Kevin Minter ILB LSU
34 Matt Elam S Florida
35 Menalik Watson OT Florida State
36 DeMontre Moore DE Texas A&M
37 Kasheem Greene OLB Rutgers
38 Keenan Allen WR Cal
39 Jamie Collins OLB S. Mississippi
40 Jonathon Franklin RB UCLA
41 Alec Ogletree LB Georgia
42 Larry Warford OG Kentucky
43 Jonathon Hankins DT Ohio State
44 Travis Kelce TE Cincinatt
45 Manti Te'o ILB Notre Dame
46 Eric Reid S LSU
47 Terron Armstead OT Arkansas Pine Bluff
48 Jonathon Banks CB Mississippi St.
49 Eddie Lacy RB Alabama
50 Phillip Thomas S Fresno State
51 LeVeon Bell RB Michigan State
52 Kawann Short DT Purdue
53 Barret Jones OL Alabama
54 Brian Schwenke OC Cal
55 Justin Pugh OT Syracuse
56 Darius Slay CB Mississippi St.
57 Margus Hunt DE SMU
58 DJ Hayden CB Houston
59 Blidi Wreh-Wilson CB UConn
60 EJ Manuel QB Florida State
61 Ryan Nassib QB Syracuse
62 Montee Ball RB Wisconsin
63 Tyler Bray QB Tenn
64 Kyle Long OL Oregon
65 David Amerson CB NC State
66 Markus Wheaton WR Washingon
67 Alex Okafor DE Texas
68 Matt Barkley QB USC
69 Zach Ertz TE Stanford
70 Sio Moore LB Uconn
71 Mike Glennon QB NC State
72 Terrance Williams WR Baylor
73 Brian Winters OG Kent State
74 Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech
75 Aaron Dobson WR Marshall
76 John Jenkins DT Georgia
77 Sam Montgomery DE LSU
78 Jordan Poyer CB Oregon
79 Logan Ryan CB Rutgers
80 Corey Lemonier OLB Auburn
81 Steadman Bailey WR WVU
82 JJ Wilcox S Georgia Southern
83 Marcus Lattimiore RB S. Carolina
84 Trevardo Williams OLB UConn
85 Giovani Bernard RB North Carolina
86 Ryan Swope WR Texas A&M
87 Robert Alford CB Louisiana-Monroe
88 DJ Swearinger S South Carolina
89 Chris Harper WR Kansas State
90 Brandon Williams DT Missouri Southern State
91 DeVonte Holloman OLB South Carolina
92 Stepfan Taylor RB Stanford
93 LaVarr Edwards DE LSU
94 BW Webb CB William & Mary
95 Jon Bostic ILB Florida
96 Marquise Goodwin WR Rice
97 Malliciah Goodman OLB Clemson
98 Vance McDonald TE Rice
99 Shawn Williams S Georgia
100 Shemarko Thomas S Syracuse
101 Zavier Gooden OLB Missouri
102 Landry Jones QB Oklahoma
103 Mike Gillislee RB Florida
104 Matt Scott QB Arizona
105 Kiko Alonso ILB Oregon
106 David Quessenberry OG San Jose State
107 Cornelius Washington OLB Georgia
108 Jelani Jenkins OLB Florida
109 Alvin Bailey OG Arkansas
110 Devin Taylor DE South Carolina
111 Andre Ellington RB Clemson
112 Kevin Reddick ILB North Carolina
113 Dallas Thomas OG Tennessee
114 Akeem Spence DT Illinois
115 Leon McFadden CB San Diego State
116 Earl Wolff S NC State
117 Josh Boyce WR TCU
118 David Bass OLB Missouri Western
119 Jawann Jamison RB Rutgers
120 Gavin Escobar TE San Diego State
121 Kyle Juszczyk FB Harvard
122 Tavares King WR Georgia
123 Da'Rick Rodgers WR Tenn-Chattanooga
124 Kenny Stills WR Oklahoma
125 William Gholston DE Michigan State
126 Keith Pough LB Howard
127 Zac Dysert QB Miami (Ohio)
128 Spencer Ware RB LSU
129 Will Davis CB Utah
130 Sean Porter OLB Texas A&M
131 Terry Hawthorne CB Illinois
132 AJ Klein ILB Iowa State
133 Earl Watford OG James Madison
134 Montori Hughes DT Tenn.- Martin
135 Vince Williams ILB Florida State
136 Jordan Mills OT Louisiana Tech
137 Vinston Painter OT Va. Tech
138 Jordan Reed TE Florida
139 Brennan Williams OT North Carolina
140 Gerald Hodges LB Penn. State
141 Knile Davis RB Arkansas
142 Duke Williams S Nevada
143 Josh Evans S Florida
144 Nico Johnson ILB Alabama
145 Josh Boyd DT Mississippi State
146 Joseph Randle RB Oklahoma St.
147 Dion Sims TE Michigan State
148 Coby Hamilton WR Arkansas
149 Jasper Collins WR Mount Union
150 Dwayne Gratz CB UConn
151 Kenjon Barner RB Oregon
152 Christine Michael RB Texas A&M
153 Quanterus Smith OLB W. Kentucky
154 Jordan Hill DT Penn State
155 Kerwynn Williams RB Utah State
156 TJ Moe WR Missouri
157 Lucas Reed TE New Mexico
158 Ace Sanders WR South Carolina
159 Collin Klein QB Kansas State
160 Michael Williams TE Alabama
161 Rex Burkhead RB Nebraska
162 Bennie Logan DT LSU
163 Michael Mauti LB Penn. State
164 Quinton Dial DE Alabama
165 Spencer Nealy DE Texas A&M
166 Nick Kasa TE Colorado
167 Ryan Otten TE San Diego State
168 Aaron Mellette WR Elon
169 Jon Simon ILB Ohio State
170 Zac Stacey RB Vanderbilt
171 Marcus Davis WR Va. Tech
172 Tony Jefferson S Oklahoma
173 Stansly Mapongo OLB TCU
174 Brandon McGee CB Miami
175 Jonathon Stewart ILB Texas A&M
176 CJ Anderson RB California
177 Cody Davis OC Purdue
178 Micah Hyde CB Iowa
179 Rontez Miles S California (PA)
180 Mike Purcell DT Colarodo
181 Marc Anthony CB Cal
182 Kahlid Wooten CB Nevada
183 Kevon Milton TE Louisiana-Monroe
184 Sean Renfree QB Duke
185 Anthony Capasso WR Ashland
186 Nick Embernete OL San Diego State
187 Ryan Griffen QB Tulane
188 Alec Lemon WR Syracuse
189 Jonathon Meeks DB Clemson
190 Marquess Wilson WR Washington State
191 Michael Ford RB LSU
192 Marvin Burdette LB UAB
193 JC Tretter OG Cornell
194 Nathan Williams LB Ohio State
195 Brandon Kaufman WR E. Washington
196 Cierre Wood RB Notre Dame
197 Zeke Motta S Notre Dame
198 Reggie Dunn KR Utah
199 Miguel Masonette RB Stony Brook
200 DeWayne Cherrington NT Mississippi State

 

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Broncos trade back into Round 1 for Bo Nix, Cardinals pick Rome Odunze, Byron Murphy II

Chris Trepasso's latest effort. 1000 times better than anything ESPN/Kiper puts out there. I don't think the pick is Mitchell, but I like the logic of his mock.

 

I remember when the Steelers took Bell and I felt Lacy was the better pick. Looks like I was wrong.

 

I was on some other Steeler sites today, draft coverage is very good. I was noticing a pattern though, some of the authors are cutting and pasting crap from other sites. I post links and give MY TAKE. Right, wrong, or indifferent I post my own evaluation after reading, watching, and listening to credible information. PFF, ESPN are to quote Charles Barkley, "turrible". You have to be an 18-30 year old living on mom's futon to be paying $10.99 a month to be an ESPN insider. Rumor has it Ryan Clark may be leaving one of the better true thinkers they have left.
Enough of that bullshit, let's start looking at CB's, my opinion is that they will target taller corners who can give some run support or special team value. here is a list of the corners who are listed at being 6'2" plus, pre-combine.

Nate WIggins Clemson
TJ Tampa Iowa State
Khyree Jackson Oregon
Cam Hart Notre Dame
Kayron Pruntry NC A&M
Shyheim Battle NC State
Myles Jones Duke

this is a very small group, keep in mind these dudes are hard to find.,

It would be stupid not to include players who are 6'0" and taller.

Quinyon Mitchell Toledo
Terrion Arnold Alabama
Kool-Aid McKinstry Alabama
Kamari Lassiter Georgia
Ennis Rakestraw Missouri
Cooper DeJean Iowa
DJ James Auburn
Caleen Carson Wake Forest
Josh Newton TCU*
Jarius Jones FSU
Kammal Hadden FSU
Nehimiah Pritchett Auburn
Sheridan Jones Clemson *
BJ Mayes Florida*
Dwight McGlothern Arkansas
Demorie Tate FSU
Jerimiah Walker Stephen F. Austin
Jalen Kimber Florida
Al Blades Duke
Storm Duck Louisville

Now if a guy is over 190 lbs I will bold them.
If a guy has a 40 under 4.40 I will underline them
If a guy played in a Power 5 conference I will put him in italics
Now if a guy is slow, over 4.55 I will put an asterisk *
Now if I am banging the table for him he will be in red. subject to change.

lets have some fun. My obvious choice for CB1 is Quinyon Mitchell, the only knock is his conference. None of these guys I have discounted and this is not the order in which I have them rated. This also does not count out Mike Sanristil who is sticky in coverage, his height just took him off this comparison list.

 

So now I have a list of 27 CB's to look at. Some of which I am going to toss, for one, DJ James is too light. I was not very high on Emmanuel Forbes, the second CB taken in the 2023 draft, one of Mel Kipers favorites........ LOL Washington benched him. Seems like 166 lbs was a hinderance. They had Gonzalez there for the taking, but hey we are talking Washington here, not a shock. Cannot wait for the combine and the backpedal drill. Yeah I know it's the underwear olympics, but the jumping will show you altheticism and for me the 3 cone drill is one I like to focus on for footwork as well. The Guantlet, can these dudes just catch the ball naturally, another drill I really like.

 

Several 2024 NFL draft prospects make this year’s CFB ‘Freaks’ list

I do have Carson Steele on my big board, I think I may have mocked him a bunch of pages ago. Interesting on how freakish some of these cats are. I cannot give the full list because you have to subscribe to The Athletic.

Now for some fun, here is a 4 round mock, one I do not really hate. I will break down each pick for The Steelers tell you if I agree or if I like a better player who is still available.

2024 NFL draft: 4-round mock draft update, Super Bowl edition

Keep in mind you need to flip SF and KC, since this was down last week. My BPA will be in red.

20. Jackson Powers-Johnson arguably the best OC in the class. Still availble: Quinyon MItchell Amarius Mims, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Keon Coleman, Tyler Guyton,
51. Mike Sainritsil sticky CB on the smaller side. Still available: Kinglsly Suamatia OT Eddgerin Cooper LB, Chop Robinson OLB, Xavier Worthy WR note here they have the Rams at 51 taking Suamatia which is wrong. Darius Robinson DL also available, hmmmm...
84. Payton Wilson NC State LB very good ILB, his medical concerns me, combine will sort this out. Still available: Malachi Corely WR W. Kentucky Tykee Smith S Georgia, Johnny Wilson WR FSU, Christian Jones OT Texas,
119. Jordan Jefferson DT LSU not really great value here but still available: Cedric Gray LB NC Khyree Jackson CB Oregon, Jordan Travis QB FSU, Nazir Stackhouse DT Georgia
120. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson S Texas Tech sorry not buying it. see above for BPA my BPA would be Khyree Jackson

So you have to put a mock together, only 1 CB, 1 LB, 1 OC, etc..,

20. Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
51. Kingsly Sumatia OT BYU even though Cooper is rated higher, the OT herd is running thin and I know there are still good talent at ILB out there. .
84. Malachi Corley WR all friggin day long, this is one good player to add.
119. Cedric Gray LB
120. Jordan Travis QB

The way things fell, I regret not taking Powers-Johnson. I have this feeling that Mitchell is going to be a stud. But you can't know that Frazier went at 44 and Van Pran will go at 78. Maybe Kahn moves up or just takes JPJ @ 20. Cooper is a stud at 51 much better than Sainristil. I do not think Malachi Corley makes it to round 3, but hey we said the same thing about Darnell Washington remember. Back to round 1, Amarius Mims has tremendous upside, but only 8 starts and a ankle to sort out medically. Coleman is a freak, but you already have Pickens as your WR1. I have no idea how they think Chop Robinson makes it to the 3rd round, in that case Carolina is doing a happy dance. I am thinking the Ravens at 62 are fielding calls for teams that want to jump up. I did not address safety or DL. Since this mock only goes to round 4 and they have no pick in the 5th, I guess I can throw some names out there.

196. Josh Proctor S Ohio State
237. Logan Lee DL Iowa

Thoughts??

 

I think they take Mitchell in the 1st and move Peterson to safety. With Minkah there and JPJ, I think they have a very good secondary.

They could go for Williams or James for C in the free agent market depending on what the Dolphins or Raiders decide to do.

 

That is one way of thinking. Hold onto Cole, he is a solid backup and a good teammate. One of the reasons Chuks was sent packing was his bitching and complaining
What about some of the other picks? I really like Cooper and Gray for ILB, like taking Jordan Travis in the 4th in agreement with Gideon, I don't see any great DL players early that are fits. Day 3 or UDFA there are about 5-6 guys. I am wondering if he falls to 51, unlikely, but Darius Robinson is interesting as a swiss army knife DL guy. In fact I should have listed him as available with the Sainristil pick, I will do an edit.

 

Cooper really would be a fit IMO because they praise his coverage skills and it seems like the Steelers use their ILBs to pedal back in coverage with the TE. They got exposed a bit last year in that area. I'll look at some of the others and see.

 

Darius Robinson Defensive Line - EDGE Missouri | NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Here is a profile for Darius Robinson. For me, the eye test at the Senior Bowl, this cat was a wrecking ball.

NFL.com has him at 25th overall , multiple other sites he's late second. PFF has him at 111, so you know he's a day two guy. I just don't like their computer generated grades as the standard basis for putting a board together.

 

They used computers to pick the DPOY this year because it gave them a chance to give the award to Garrett. Otherwise they would have had to go with the stats that matter, which are sacks, tackles, TFLs, FF, fumbles recovered, INTs and TDs. Garrett beat the oline more often to do nothing.

 

2024 NFL Scouting Combine: Biggest snub at each position

Sleepers to keep an eye on.

 

I think the next exercise I will focus on is ILB. We got some names out there Trotter Jr. Cooper, Gray. Rounds 2-4 seem to be the area they fall. 32 teams whiffed on Ivan Pace last year, glad I had him on my board at 140, 5th round guesstimate.

Edgerinn Cooper Texas A&M
Jerimiah Trotter Jr. Clemson*
Payton Wilson NC State
Junior Colson Michigan
Cedric Gray NC*
Tommy Eichenberg Ohio State
Jaylan Ford Texas
Trevin Wallace Kentucky
Marist Liufau Notre Dame
Ty'Rron Harper Missouri
Tyrese Knight UTEP*
Edufuan Eulofoshio Washington St.*
Curtis Jacobs PSU
Nathanial Washington Miss. St.
JD Bertrand Notre Dame
Michael Barret Michigan
Jontrey Hunter Georgia State* (also predicted as a large Safety)
Omar Speights LSU*
Steele Chambers Ohio State*
David Ugwobgu Houston *

If a player is over 235 lbs. I will bold them.
If a player runs under 4.55 I will underline them
If a player played in a Power 5 conference I will put him in italics
If a player runs over 4.65 I will give them an asterisk*
If a player is short 6-0 or less they will be in grey
If a player I am banging the table for, he will be in red.

Subject to change, really only Cooper and Gray wow me and Gray is slower than ideal, while Cooper is lighter than ideal. Payton Wilson may be the best of the bunch but his injury history scares me. JD Bertrand was a tackling machine at the Senior Bowl, but I think he may be limited athletically.

 

Matt Lee

 

I think ILB needs to be more of a priority thinking 2nd round.

 

how about a category for players 6-2 and over.

 

I don’t see the value for selecting an ILB within the 1st 2 rounds… Yes we definitely need one, but I’m thinking they might do the same thing as last year and take OL and CB first two rounds, although the choices may flip predicated on who’s available when they select. I hope they select more based upon BPA vs reaching due to a need. Maybe they’ll try to address ILB during free agency. Really like Arnold and was really high on Mitchell, but seems more people are catching on to both of them and they may go earlier than expected.

 

see my mock above.

20. Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
51. Kingsly Sumatia OT BYU even though Cooper is rated higher, the OT herd is running thin and I know there are still good talent at ILB out there. .
84. Malachi Corley WR all friggin day long, this is one good player to add.
119. Cedric Gray LB
120. Jordan Travis QB
196. Josh Proctor S Ohio State
237. Logan Lee DL Iowa

The only thing I did not address is the Elephant in the room. OC