Steelers Draft and Mel Kiper sucks thread!!

So.... I just read Tomlin is comfortable with the secondary he has and will not look at anyone else in FA.
For the moment I hope. Unless it's about money and or guaranteed starter, letting Boykin go is a mistake. Just my opinion of course.

 

I hope you are wrong JC... I see the possibility of 4 QBs taken in the first round. There are more than 1 reason I believe that.
1. Teams like to have QBs with 5 years on their first contracts, which the first round allows.
2. Kapernick, RGIII and Fitzpatrick are question marks. The teams who sign them aren't going to be confident they are the answer.

3. Browns, 49ers, Rams, Jets and Broncos are currently in need of a dependable QB.

Any and or all of those teams are capable of drafting a QB in the first round. IMHO

So don't abandon hope just yet.

 

How does the Steelers have less cap space than 29 other teams?
I think there must be a few way over paid players. I've already mentioned Timmons and Pouncey as being 2 but for having what 3 probably players on the roster.

 

Lots of quality players on the team. Timmons could still be extended to free up several million this year alone, if it was needed.

Pouncey is not overpaid. He's getting what the best centers in the NFL get paid these days.

Cortez Allen $5.75M
DeCastro $8.07M
Mike Mitchell $6.76M
Suisham $3.5M

I would mention these four in the "highly paid" category. Allen and Suisham will probably be corrected before the end of training camp. DeCastro might be addressed, if they decide to give him a new contract this year - his 2016 option makes him the highest paid RG in the NFL in terms of average annual salary and I'm guessing top-5 in cap dollars. Is that out of line for him? Probably not.

Mike Mitchell isn't really overpaid, but it is surprising to see his cap impact when you compare it to his production. He is 23rd in average salary, so nothing out of line there.

 

Pouncey is the highest paid Center in the league and 2nd on the team.
He's a good center when he's not on IR.

 

The problem with Boykin is that I don't think he wants to come back. In Pittsburgh, he'll be a slot CB, and he wants to be an outside guy. He's not getting that here. He said all the right things about being willing to come back to Pittsburgh, but I don't buy it.

As for being comfortable with the secondary he has, what else do you expect him to say? Colbert has already said they plan to target a CB in the draft, that's about as much as you will ever get out of this front office in terms of an admission of need.

On the Steelers cap situation...they are right where they want to be. They have plenty of moves available to them to free up space. Some that are inevitable, like a Timmons extension, a DeCastro extension, cutting Cortez Allen and a trade or release of Suisham.

With no imminent free agent signings, they just don't need to make any of those moves. They can take their time and get things done at their pace. No need to be $15M under the cap just to be $15M under the cap.

 

Im nit putting anyone on the team down but was referring to them not having very many superstars for being almost against the wall

 

In terms of the salary cap Pouncey is #4 on the team for 2016. He is also the 4th highest-paid center in the NFL, although there isn't much difference between #1 and #4.

 

I know its not really a criticism, I'm just trying to give you an idea of why they are where they are.

Two words - Franchise QB

The teams with lots of cap space either don't have one or haven't had to start paying one yet.

And really, what do you consider a superstar, and how many do you want the team to have?

I usually consider a superstar somebody who has All Pro ability. The Steelers have Ben, AB, Bell, Pouncey and DeCastro on offense. Defense is a bit different now, but I'd say Heyward and Tuitt have that ability, if maybe not quite living up to it yet, along with Shazier.

Ben, DeCastro, Pouncey, Heyward and AB all take up good chunks of the cap. Bell needs a new deal, as does DeCastro. Heyward just signed for big money recently and Tuitt and Shazier will need big contracts in a couple of years.

Teams like the Steelers, that pay their own players and try hard to keep the key players together, will rarely be swimming in cap space. Its just kinda the nature of the way they do business.

 

I have thought the same thing since the season ended. I'm still expecting most of that to happen but I'm not as confident that Allen gets cut.

I think Cortez Allen is going to make it to training camp where he will have an opportunity to win a spot yet again. We know they asked him to rework his contract but haven't heard if he's agreed yet. They have paid him a bunch of money to do nothing. Personally I feel like they should have cut him already and pick up a FA like Patrick Robinson.

I'm not excited about the secondary they have put together. From what I've read they consider Golson a slot corner so it wouldn't make sense to bring Boykin back and have three players who's best position is slot.

I expected something more especially after hearing Rooney Jr and Colbert talk about the glaring need to improve the secondary. The only improvement I see is Blake will be playing for the Titans.

I know they installed a new coverage scheme last season and communication issues led to many of the issues.

 

Its certainly possible that Allen makes it to, and through, training camp. And if he wins a job, then good for him! Personally, I would love to see Cortez Allen finally live up to his potential and at this point it costs the Steelers absolutely nothing to take him to camp. Whether they cut him today with a June 1st designation or they cut him on Sept 1st, his impact on the salary cap is exactly the same, so why not take him to camp and see what he can do?

The only legitimate reasons to cut him now would be:

A) You just don't believe he can ever help the team.
or
B) You need his cap savings to sign somebody else that you are certain CAN help the team.
or
C) You aren't completely sure of A, but don't want to risk having to pay him for another year on IR if he gets hurt again.

At this point, we may be 95% certain of A, but I am almost 100% certain that we don't need to cut him for B. C is a legitimate concern and about the only reason I might consider cutting him loose prior to camp.

 

Quick pro day update: both Tomlin & Colbert are at Houston's for Jackson. Took him out to dinner last night. Jackson posted a 37 inch vert but obviously wont run after that 4.37 time at the combine.

 

There's lots of speculation that the steelers are going to draft a CB in the first round and this is further fuelled by comments made by Colbert and Tomlin, but I don't see it. After Ramsey and Hargreaves I just don't see any of the other corners being worth pick number 25 due to various holes in there games. If a defensive lineman like billings or butler is available I think it will be an easy decision.

Last year the steelers apparently explored options to trade up in the first to get trae Waynes and in the second to get jalen Collins, so it will be interesting to see what will happen if Hargreaves starts to fall in the first or if guys like Alexander, Apple or Jackson fall in the second the steelers make a move?

 

Who is the #3 CB? The top 2 are the same most places I've seen but after that the rankings vary on each site.

 

Our expert think Alexander.
Apple had a great supporting cast so how good is he ?
Jackson has the size and speed but has been a bit under rated till now, so...

 

I'd say there's not a lot between Apple, Alexander and Jackson. If I had to choose I would go with Jackson as I think he would best fit the steelers. I think Apple can cover but he doesn't seem to like contact and isn't the greatest tackler and we saw last year in the steelers secondary how frustrating that is.

 

What happened to Fuller? I saw his name in the top 5 CBs when the rankings first came out. Now he has dropped.

 

I think, unless something really weird happens, the Steelers will be looking at a CB in the first round. They look to fulfill their offensive line depth issues in FA (although I do see them drafting a guard or tackle late) and, while their D-line depth is embarrassingly bad, they don't exactly need a NT, as they played 70% of snaps in subpackages last year.

The only position I would not be that surprised to see them go other than CB is linebacker (inside or outside). Harrison is done next season, Timmons is coming to the end of his rope, Jarvis Jones has a ton of question marks about his starter capability, and they could use depth at the position.

Truth be told, I would love to see them go Safety (which I think they do mid-to-late) but I think they could really add depth along every position on the defense and I would be happy.

 

I don't to k I'd be against any position taken this year.
There are needs all over unlike previous years when OLB and Center were NEEDS!!

 

Keep in mind guys just because we see the Steelers as very thin on the d-line doesn't mean they feel the same way. Walton is someone they are obviously excited about based on the fact that he stayed on the roster all year and got some playing time. That's saying something for a guy taken in the 6th round.

And I know they like Caushad Lyons. For them to claim a guy the first week of the season knowing they would have to keep him on their roster for a minimum of 3 weeks is another clue about how they feel about his upside.

And I've read positive things about McCullers. So maybe they feel pretty good about their situation?