Steelers Draft and Mel Kiper sucks thread!!

Ans J.J. hasn't got it yet on the other side. I personally think a good NT in the 3-4 could be a good 1st round pick, So I'm going to disagree with some. It was brought up that the DT plays 2 downs and comes off the field. Not necessarily true. The NT also can play in goal line and short yardage situations and stop the run. The Steelers were better with Hampton at NT which I think gives merit to have a good player there. Do you think Suh, Ngata or Wilfork is worth a 1st round pick if they were in this draft?

 

I wonder if someone will move up for Hundley @ 22? I
Like an additional pick and move back. Easier said than done, you need a trade partner. Pit Demo on it, or beachbum.

 

If that doesn't happen, we have the Eagles and Cardinals sandwiching us as prime candidates for team who can pluck him in the first without a trade. If he falls past the Eagles, a trade for him is almost inevitable. Whether that trade parter is us or not remains to be seen.

Teams we could look out for include the Broncos (trade partners in 2009), Titans/Bucs if they don't grab a QB in the first, or Jets.

 

Steeler Depot has a big board of 40 players initial thought are the over-value of Maxx Williams & Ekpre-Olumu and the under-valuing of Quentin Rollins. The Absence of Durrell Eskridge & Danny Shelton.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/02/steelers-2015-draft-top-40-big-board-3-0/

 

Geez-Us,

The combine is less than a week away and this thread is dead..... sad.

I really like what Steeler Depot did for a big board, simple, 40 players to start with maybe their end goal is a hundred or so, similar to Colbert's. I do not agree with all of their grades and some of the players, but I really like the format.
It is ironic how we come upon another draft and their are 2 QB's that will either make or break a Franchise, teams at the top are rubbing their rabbit foot, throwin salt over their shoulder and probably walked away from a black cat in front of them.

Winston or Mariotta, you have some pretty good questions Tampa. Is Winston become an even bigger PR nightmare with Millllios of Dollars in his pocket? Can Mariotta translate from the Chip-Kellyesque induced frenzy to a more structure pro offense. Even Kelly had to adjust. You can see how well Kaepernick did, once teams figured out how to defend him. Winston is more pro-ready but Mariotta is light years ahead of him in maturity and character. So there you have it, take the safe kid and hope he translates, or take the Wild Card and hope he matures. Glad Pittsburgh is picking 22nd, how the heck do they pick 32nd again...

To get back on top, they need to dump the vets, sorry it's fact. Troy, Ike, The Beard, Debo all gotta go. It is not what I want as a fan of great players, but it's what the team needs to reload.
I think I would like to see an edge rusher early and then late. Minimum of 2 defensive backs and someone who will eventually replace McClendon and his chronic shoulder. A swing OL player who is a road grater, one that Bell can run behind in the 4th Quarter to ice the game. Another WR in the middle rounds, work the magic and find the next steal of the draft like Antonio Brown. And finally someone who can spell Bell who is not a locker room cancer or a quitter. So there it is.

OLB OLB DB DB WR RB OL DL (based on a comp pick for Sanders, 8 selections in the draft) This is NOT a strong TE class, why reach? It is a strong CB and OLB class, so make this the year. Safties sort of average and pretty good class of WR and one of the best RB classes in some time. Play to the strength of the pool of talent in Chicago, take players who will not only help the team this year but over the next 5 years. - end rant.

 

Good stuff NY - the only vet I'd keep around is Harrison... Especially if Whirlpool goes else where... and they dont pick another up in Free agency.. I do like Brandon Graham.. Liked him when he came out of UM.. as an OLB in a 3-4 - unfortunately he was drafted to play the DE in a 4-3 and I think you and I and some others had Graham labeled correctly... With the proper coaching, I think he could add some value... and if the price is right...

RB - a deep draft - lot's of guys can be had in the later rounds.. I do like that kid from N.Iowa - David Johnson..
TE - yep - slim pickins.. The TE from Kent State got the snub from the combine - bummer - I wanted to see his hands.. If Walford is still around in the 3rd - would be a nice pick...
OL - yep - versatile OLine player - not a great need though.
DL - I may be in the minority here but I do like a (healthy) McLendon.. the Yards per game on the ground when he is in the game will tell ya all you need to know.. DE - yeah - I'd be looking there vs the 1 technique
CB - yes
OLB - yes
ILB - another spot that if you can improve you do it vis Undrafted free agent - One kid got snubbed - Luc from Cinncy.. Kid is a hammer and played very well on ST during the senior bowl..

Hopefully the draft talk picks up -

enjoy,

bb

 

Couple of great articles over at Scout.com talking about the value of a hybrid defense and how it truly brings BPA into play. Unfortunately it's on the paid side so I can't paste it in here but I can give a synopsis:

Baltimore drafted Courtney Upshaw pretty high (35th pick), he actually starts most games but plays less than half the defensive snaps. They signed Elvis Dumervil, paid him a considerable amount of money and he almost never starts but plays about 54% of the time.

Both have completely different roles, both play the same position and the Ravens are able to defend the run and rush the passer at a pretty high level. Obviously, teams don't give you a heads up when they are going to run or pass so each guy has to be able to perform their other role at somewhat of a proficient level but most teams don't put 3 WRs on the field to run the ball and FBs on the field to pass.

In Seattle, they have Tony McDonald as a starter in the base defense and guys like Clinton McDonald and Jordan Hill to rush the passer. It's been equally successful. In '11 and '12 they had Brandon Mebane, Alan Branch and Red Bryant to stuff the run and brought Jason Jones and Bruce Irvin in on passing downs.

Not only have those hybrid teams had success but the rotation has kept those guys fresh. They enter the playoffs without all the wear and tear of guys that play 900-1000 snaps over a 16 week schedule.

Interesting concept that requires depth and I think that's where Tomlin is going.

 

Beach - nice article - anybody that watches with more than a little interest than the W and L.. can see the Steelers D changing. I don't know what percentage of the time ( I'll leave that to ManOmatics and others gunk-U-lations) the Steelers lined up with 2 down linemen on D - but its seemed between 30 and 40% of the time to me... The reason I posted above that we may be looking at players with the skill set of a (no - I'm locked on the kid) Henry Anderson that has played DE in 3-4...and over the center.. He's long player... the point being he's versatile.. You figure that's one reason they brought Cam "Blacktop" Thomas in.. his ability to play multiple spots.. unfortunately you have to be able to actually play - he cant.

enjoy,

bb

Edit: Steelers Depot has another such player they just posted: Xaivier Cooper DL Wash State

 

Also when it comes to OLBs maybe we will move one of our talented ILBs out there. We have 4 quality ILBs in Timmons, Williams, Shazier & Spence. Williams has the build you want in an OLB to rush the QB.

 

Agree with Williams but Timmons has already tried OLB and Stunk!!!
Shazier will need a few years before he has the size to battle with OL. IMO

 

I completely agree with your assessment of who we should draft...right now...but if there isn't a guy on the board at 22, I still think they should either pull the trigger on Maxx Williams or try and trade back. There is a lot of 1st round talent...just not where the Steelers have needs.

 

Truthfully, I am looking forward to a pretty unsexy offseason. The holes in the defense can be minimized by picking up an OLB via FA (Pat McPhee or Re-signing Woirlds), and drafting a couple as well, drafting a couple of CB's and giving Allen another shot to prove himself. I think he will be fine...just had a rough year...it happens.

On offense, it would be nice to draft a TE, though Maxx Williams is about the only guy that makes sense, as this is an incredibly weak class. I don't even think the Steelers touch WR in the draft, as there will be plenty of cheap FA options to plug into the 4th/5th spot.

 

A new article on Wnston vs. Mariota calling them applea and oranges. Pretty Clever, JMFO.

http://live4sportnetwork.com/frontend/your-new-nfl-qbs-are-apples-and-oranges/

 

Re the TE class.. Here's a name that intrigues me..

Nick Boyle Te - Delaware.. 6'5" 267lbs... currently projected 4-5 round pick.. and the big bonus? He can LS....

I want to see some of his times and hand work...

enjoy,


bb

 

Will also be fun to see what Branchflower did on the off season...

enjoy,

bb

 

Well that pick in the 5th might make sense. Must be better than the wasted pick of Paulson, and now possibly Branchflower. I just hope they do NOT take a CB in round 5. Recent drafts have shown that this is NOT the round for Colbert to be spinning the CB Wheel of Destiny.

2009 Joe Burnette
2011 Crezdon Butler
2013 Terry Hawthorne
2014 Shaq Richardson


CLASS THIS MISSED

 

I am actually more interested in Zumwalt and Howard Jones to be honest with you, Colbert needs to fix this D into a hybrid, do-all, kick ass, dominating unit that puts fear in opposing OC's. Right now they are licking their chops. Chit gotta change man.

 

agree'd and I'll throw in the Army guy too.. the big OT - see what Munchak can do with him...

enjoy,

bb

Edit: Alejandro Villanueva OT 6'9" 277lbs - Army

 

Hey don't sleep on Jordan Zumwalt either, he just fell behind because of the UCLA curriculum and the bad timing of it. Then with the afore mentioned ILB's on the roster, it's a numbers game.

 

I mentioned this when he was drafted, but compare Zumwalt's body type to Jack Lambert. I know this is a different league today in terms of what is effective, but the resemblance between the two was interesting to me.