nice read on the situation

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/03/steelers-drafting-hybrid-linebackers-first-round-risky/

this seems to lay it out with some perspective in mind. i thought you guys may enjoy the write up.

 

The way people have Jarvis Jones sliding has been getting me excited, because I think he's the best prospect of the pass rushing bunch. Ansah seems good too, but I'm always wary of one year wonders, regardless of anything else they have shown. The rest I am not sold on for us at all.

However, in all the fuss about these pass rushers, a lot of people are forgetting about Worilds. I have not given up on him. Far from it. I think he'll have his best season in 2013. I think that a lot of other people might agree that Worilds will be fine, but are still drooling over all these pass rushers because of the superb athleticism they offer. But they still seem inherently risky to me. I like my 1st round picks to be safe, and we have enough needs at enough positions that we should be able to find a safe pick with good value where we are. OLB might be a need, but it might also be fine. And since we historically are so good at finding OLBs later in the draft (zero first rounders in my lifetime, and look how good we've been), I trust us to find one later. We still have OG and ILB, which, depending on who's available at those positions and OLB, are the positions I'm leaning toward in round 1, even if it means trading down. And I don't trust us half as much with finding those positions in later rounds.

 

I think Steelers used to draft tweeners in later rounds years ago just because of the fact that no one else was playing a 3-4... 4-3 teams were passing on the tweeners...and so all the value for them was in the mid rounds for the Steelers to snatch up.

That goes for 3-4 D-ends too. Steelers used to have the luxury of picking up an Aaron Smith in the 4 round.

Nowadays lots of teams are looking for the exact same players. I still think if they like a pass rusher in the 1st they should take one.

 

I've actually heard Jones referred to as not only the best LB in this draft, but the best PLAYER in this draft, so if he were to fall to the Steelers that could be a great thing for us as long as there are no spinal issues going forward, and that has to be a major concern. I also like Worilds and believe this is his make or break season. I loved what I saw of Robinson in the pre-season last year and look forward to seeing what he can do with a little more playing time this year. That guy dogs the passer!

 

This article makes a good point... I would also bring up however, that the BPA very well may be one of those hybrid guys. With a draft that seems to be weak at the top, OLB/DE seems to be the strongest position toward the top.

The more I watch Jones, the more he reminds me of Timmons, and I wonder if he could move inside which is actually a bigger need. He interests me because I think there's options with him like there was with Timmons. The two of them in the middle makes for a pretty dangerous combo because either one can drop back or blitz on any given down.

 

If Jones slides to us AND his spinal issues are behind him, he could potentially be a day 1 starter. I really believe that, but he really wouldn't need to be even if Harrison is cut. To me the most important thing this team needs to do is find some talented contributors at the skill positions. WR, RB, and TE are all going to be needs for us this coming year regardless as to what we do on the defensive side of the ball during the draft. We are going to need to find some gems because if you thought this offense was bad this past year, we are going to be worse in the coming year unless we find some talent that can contribute.

I am almost at the point of believe that this is the year we actually look for some 1 year gems in the UFA market because to put it bluntly....we need some.

 

How are we going to sign them with no cap space?

 

the trouble with his spinal issue is that is something that gets worse in time and doesn't go away. it does take time for it to worsen though, how much is a good question and i'm sure each person is different.