My thoughts on draft day 2...

1. In one breath I hurled curses at the Raiders when they snatched JPJ... in the next breath I was planning a block party over Frazier being gift wrapped to us

2. On paper, our o-line looks better than it has in decades

3. Rumor has it that we tried to trade for Deebo Samuel, but the price was too steep...
Glad they didn't overpay.... we can silence the Aiyuk talk as well since we drafted his clone in Roman Wilson

4. The more I see Payton Wilson, the more I'm reminded of Ryan Shazier

5. After last yrs draft, I wondered what the Khan man could do for an encore.... the answer to that...... have an even more epic draft the 2nd time around

6. Our cross town rivals in Philly are rebuilding their secondary in one draft

7. Still plenty of really good talent at cb and d-line and S left

8. In Buffalo.... no Diggs, no problem as they start the 2nd rd grabbing essentially Diggs clone

9. The Texans aren't gonna go away

10. The rest of the AFC North has officially been put on notice

 

Beginning third when Tampa and Wilson were both still on the board, I hoped against hope that one would still be there at 86. When they both were still there and we went with the other Wilson (I understand, WR was a major need), I hoped one would fall to 98. No way did I think we could get Payton Wilson at 98, but here we are.

Also, it's a good thing we're drafting OL, because the rest of the division is drafting DL.

 

Love it!! Nice job!

 

Best round 2 press conference- Colts GM Chris Ballard after picking Adonai Mitchell- Half a dozen bulls---s and even threw in a fu--ing for good measure. So many bleeps on ESPN it sounded like a dump truck backing up.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40033982/adonai-mitchell-colts-nfl-draft-backed-gm-profane-rant

 

I was getting nervous when the Raiders took JPJ, I was worried Frazier might not make it to #51.

 

My biggest worry was Dallas trading up in front of us.

 

Payton Wilson isn't as fast as Shazier, but I get your point with the build and production in college. Wilson was a more consistent tackler in college. He doesn't miss many, which was a problem for Shazier early in his career. That said, he's got much bigger injury red flags coming out of college.

 

Count on good ole' Jerry boy to make life easier for us!!


HOW 'BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!

 

On a serious note... some takeaways of my own; all highlighted in Red

Excellent write up as always good sir!!

 

If they raced side by side when Shazier hit the tape at the end of the 40 Payton would be exactly 1.36 feet behind him….. approx 16 inches……… soooo there is barely a difference in their speed. Payton is very quick to diagnose the play so his playing speed may be even faster than Shazier , maybe, and he’s bigger than Shazier.

The Acl thing worried me until I read Hines Ward had the exact thing, plus he’s been injury free for two years ……. So maybe we got a steal!!!

Cajun

 

Actually he said some pretty accurate things, I have no idea how Mitchell will respond short or long term, but the media storm on these kids is relentless and often brutal, based on hear say that gets multiplied on media platforms before any truth is verified. It's the world we live in, but getting to a team with vet leadership can help these kids IF they will learn and listen.

 

https://x.com/BaldyNFL/status/1784310220157804778

The Steelers got the best ILB in the draft according to Brian Baldinger.

 

I like the pick. He is a risk, but one worth taking. Those tiny margins mean a lot on a football field, and Shazier was good at diagnosing plays, too. One thing Payton seems to do better is tackle. Shazier missed too many tackles, probably for the same reason he ended up getting hurt. He threw himself at ball carriers with his head down.

 

Overall liked the draft, just a little concerning with the receivers, as it takes a great passing game nowadays to get far.

 

On item 2 I called up my brother in law the Jets fan to thank him for the J-E-T-S taking Fashanu and leaving us Fautanu. So that's the 'nu's on that. I had already asked him to tell the Jets to leave us a slot receiver who's not a crybaby primadonna which brings me to items 3 and 4: The more I see Roman Wilson the more I'm reminded of Hines Ward. Not only is he willing to block; he likes it.

 

And hey we're not gonna run all outta linebackers like last year. Until recently the Stillers depth chart after the draft would always show 5 or 6 guys stacked up at ROLB til they sorted them out. Nice to finally see a return to that.

 

Jeez Adonai Mitchell. About my 3rd wish coming into the draft was don't let the Steelers fall for that guy. We got enough headaches.

 

Payton doesnt have an ACL, did i understand that correctly? how does or could that limit him?

 

Hines Ward played without an ACL, he turned out okay .

 

Agree

 

The knee is not as stable as it would be with an ACL. That can make it more likely he suffers some other sort of injury. I knew Hines Ward had the same issue. I had forgotten that Greg Lloyd did, too.