Steelers Draft and Mel Kiper sucks thread!!

You're not gonna find a lot of whiffs, especially from the Colbert era. I classify a non-whiff as any prospect who plays out his rookie contract and/or gets extended to a second contract. Even Mendenhall, the uncontested worst first-round pick of the Colbert era according to many, had a pair of productive years before falling completely off the grid. Colbert only drafted one DB in the first round - of course, that was Polamalu. He wasn't around for the DB before that, Chad Scott. You might as well say Illinois is a U.S. president factory despite the fact that Obama is the first Illinois native to become president since the 19th century.

In the first round, everyone is talented and expected to contribute effectively. Colbert and the Steelers have been virtually automatic picking first-round prospects, which is good considering it allows our team to be successful, and it allows Colbert to keep his job. Nonetheless, saying the Steelers are good at picking any specific position in the first round is extremely tinted with hindsight considering they're good at first round selections in general. It's not really firm ground to clamour for a specific position in that case.

 

I hope the draft doesn't go the way David Todd's did over on SteelersDepot, it could very well go that way, and would suck!!!

 

NY, I love the way your mock is going. I would be pretty excited to see that list of names on draft day. I think that is a solid base of players to build depth and eventually maybe two starters.

 

1. Kevin Johnson
2. Preston Smith
3. Markus Golden
4. Doran Grant

 

Link ??

 

It was only a first round mock, and he took the CB from LSU, Collins. Waynes, Peters, Johnson, and Jones were already off the board. No way on earth I can see that happening.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/04/mock-david-todds-mock-draft-pick-for-the-steelers/

 

They were saying last night on the NFLN that as many as 12 Corners could be taken in the first 2 rounds. 6 in the first and 6 in the 2nd. Seems a bit much but I could easily see at least 5 taken in the 1st round. There could be another left when the Steelers pick in the 2nd depending on who's available. I think if they like a LB thats there, they would take him over another Corner. They also said a lot of these guys in the 1st round that are big pass rushers can't play the run. The exception would be the the 1st one taken, forget his name? *SCRATCH*

 

That's a very narrow focus, but I'd understand if your board checked out like this.

 

It was BPA until the 4th in had Prewitt over Grant but opted for the guy I thought Colbert would select. Narrow maybe, spot on though for fixing the D.

 

And looking at the list of players who visited Pittsburgh it isn't outside the realm of probability.

 

I am going offense in round 5, PM me your thoughts. I am actually locked onto 1 player with a handful of contingency picks.

 

The only "whiffs" I can really remember are Ziggy Hood and Mendenhall (with Holmes being CLOSE but still has a Super Bowl MVP to his name). The draft is SUCH a crapshoot, which is why the whole rookie wage scale was implemented in the first place. Of ALL the picks you have, though, you REALLY have to be right on the first three picks in order to continuously be successful and the Steelers have done that more times than not.

 

I wouldn't even say those were whiffs. Ziggy never missed a game. Something that was very helpful for that defense. Plus he was the 32nd pick. He wasn't great, but was always pretty good. Mendenhall was solid when he had time to hit holes, but the O-line was pretty garbage until 2011ish.

 

Matt Jones is the pick for round 5. I think it helps fill a somewhat of a need.

 

Im going O again guys pm me

 

RB out of Florida, correct?

Nice mock so far NYB, I'll take this in a heartbeat.

 

Has anyone looked at a possible correlation between when the Steelers bring in a player and if they were drafted? I know a few of you closely track the visits and have for years, but didn't know if the "high probability players" were brought in early, late or if there isn't a pattern to when they visit and the possibility of the player being drafted.

Was wondering if they'd bring in the player early or later trying to get an idea to gauge their interest in certain players. Any and all responses will be welcome.

 

Don't know exact numbers, but I'm sure there's a pretty high correlation for the Steelers. They tend to draft at least a few guys they bring in for visits and target at certain numbers. However, in the event they don't bring in someone because they value him so high they don't think they have a reasonably good chance to draft that player (DeCastro in 1st-2012, Tuitt last year in 2nd, Dupree this year maybe?), it won't stop them from drafting that player. They're also allowed to meet with and/or interview players at the combine. But in recent years, if you want to see some guys they're targeting for beyond the 1st round, visits have been a good indicator.

 

As the draft approaches, I get this feeling that the Steelers are gonna pull another Ryan Shazam, Maurkice Pounce, or David CeDabra on us. Meaning, I feel another pick out of left field is coming, one that no one really is expecting.

In other words, maybe the conventional wisdom is pure folly and we shouldn't even expect to see Kevin Johnson in black and gold.

Well, sorry, but I don't think they agree. Should Gregory fall to us at 22, all signs point to him being at or near the top of their board. Remember they brought him in for a visit after his failed drug test, and if that went well, there's no reason not to expect the pick to be made within 10 seconds. I'd love the pick, frankly - it's at our biggest position of need, and a team in the Steelers' position doesn't pass on a guy who has a DeMarcus Ware/Von Miller-esque ceiling.

Besides, imagine if we we were to pass on him and the Ravens were to pick him up. Huge value for them, double-digit sack numbers and Pro Bowls every year for the next ten years, all because the Steelers were afraid of a little hash.

While I guess it could, it probably won't. You don't pass on Marcus Mariota for Shane Ray when your team needs a passer badly, and it just shows how stupid a media representative is willing to look for a little controversy. Other than that it looks plausible, but the Steelers would sooner pick Malcom Brown than Jalen Collins. At least, I'd hope so. Collins is clearly injury-prone, and I never thought his skillset worked for us anyway. Hell, I'd sooner pick Diggy than Collins. Maybe even Maxx Williams over Collins.

I'm gonna play devil's advocate since I frankly don't see the Steelers picking two corners. I do think you hit on the possible rounds, though. If we don't pick a corner in the first round, there's a virtual treasure trove of corner talent for the taking in round 4 this year.

There's no telling who would be available for us to pick at 22 since Peters, Johnson, and Jones could be 2A, 2B, and 2C. Of the three, Johnson looks the safest. Peters is also very smooth in coverage but carries a little baggage. Jones has impressive leaping ability, obviously, but I honestly feel like he's rising based solely on his workout numbers. I'd trust the Steelers to know what they're doing if they pick Jones, but he's the guy I want the least out of those three. I just mentioned how I get this strong feeling that the Steelers will pitch a curve ball at us, so I on't elaborate on that.

Preston Smith is a nice thought, but he's getting serious talk of going late-first or early-second. In all my mocks, he's been an early second-rounder, too late for 22 and too early for 56. In this instance I wouldn't trust a gaggle of fans who only reference Combine numbers when it comes to coveted prospects. And yes, I'd be livid if the Steelers reached for him at 22. More realistically, the Steelers might look at Clive Walford from a thin class of TEs and snag one of the very few such players who can play at the NFL level, akin to what they did with Maurkice Pouncey. If they don't go OLB in the first, the second-round is the fertile breeding ground for the position this year. I'd be looking at Danielle Hunter or Nate Orchard. There's an outside chance for Quinten Rollins in round 2, though he'll probably get scooped up in the middle of the round. Let's think outside the box, too. Grady Jarrett might make a great interior pass rush presence. Tevin Coleman is a three-down back who'd make a great substitute/complement to Le'Veon Bell.

Golden is a brilliant pick, no complaints. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the consensus is he'll fall into round 5.

Grant is all right, but I'd rather have Steven Nelson or Senquez Golson. All three are more or less slot guys anyway.

 

Worst mock of the year award goes to Charlie Campbell of Walterfootball. Has Pitt taking Harold over Gregory in the 1st and Carter over Peters in the 2nd. That site is such a hits-based trash can (says the person who visited it).

I'd be ecstatic if Gregory and Peters were the picks int he first two rounds, though I HIGHLY doubt Peters falls that far. Decent chance Gregory is there at 22 if Dupree or Ray is there for the Saints at 13. Maybe the Steelers could trade up in the second for Peters if he falls. Pitt needs blue chip defensive talent, especially at those positions, in the worst way. Assuming they are comfortable with the off-field character stuff I think both are worth it based on talent. Apparently Jalen Collins also had some failed drug tests. Was never in play for 22 w/ limited starts, but maybe 2nd round now.