Okay, Draft Hindsight time!!!

Let me start off saying that we had a great day. I loved all our picks right up till the 7th round. Bruner is ok, I can see making him the pick in case Holecome is a shell of himself. We now have a legit four deep at OLB, ILB, and GREAT DL depth and starters!!! But there were some very talented OL, DB, and others in the top third of the 7th where our picks were at.

After the comments about KJ at 83, and that Captain Jack was a luxury pick, I went back and reviewed all the picks in the rounds just to see how we could have drafted differently, and if I thought it would be better.

For me the one player that I would have liked to squeeze in our draft was the WR EA. He was also drafted way lower than thought, slipping out of the 2nd round, and drafted where he was. I'm having a hard time switching picks around and coming up with as good a draft.

RB is really tough. There were a LOT of top notch backs at 83, but is 83 too high for them?? Sampson, Giddens, Neal, Tuten, Martinez. Not in our case if you love one of them, but if you love 2 or 3 what do you do? With GP not going to Dallas for pick 44, WR really had to be ether a pass, or late, late pick.

KJ to me was a mix of Henry, and Bell, but it has been said after we drafted him that he is a good comp to Arian Foster. I think that is spot on, and never even thought of him. If we get 4 yrs of AF at pick 83, I'm not moving off that pick or changing it.

Captain Jack in the 4th was a surprise for me, but after it was made, it was a really nice pick. Value was just too high, plus with Watt getting older, and seeming run down more year after year, it was more of a need than all of us thought until the pick was made.

I wanted to double dip at DT, and we did just that with Black. I was upset seeing Caldwell going as high as he did. Didn't think he was worth a 3rd. Mid-late 4th was where I could see him being taken high, with a slip to us at 156, but not in the 3rd where he was taken. I loved him, but if took him at 83 to pick one of the RBs later I would have called it a reach, plus we had a large hole at RB.

Let's get the QB thing out of the way. I wouldn't have touched Sanders until the 5th or 6th. Just didn't like the circus, arm, talent played, rolling into sacks, too many completions at or behind LOS. Does he have talent? ABSOLUTELY!!! To get Howard in the 6th was a gift! For US I had the QBs as Dart, Slough, Howard, McCord, Milroe, Sanders. None of these would be Firsts! 2nd and on with a bad board, with the only exception Dart.

I would have been thrilled with McCord or Howard in the 4th or 5th, but that would mean skipping Captain Jack or Black, not something I would have done with Jack and Black on the board as the DTs were flying off the board, and Sawyer wasn't making it out of the 4th. I felt that we saw the same and were thrilled to still get Jack and black where we did. I believe Mbow was our target at 186, and when he went two picks before us we felt good with trading down and grabbing Black there.

So on to the 7th. This is where I start to have a problem. I can see Breuner to an extent. I just liked the OL on the board WAY, WAY better, even the DB's. I was actually praying that RB Martinez would make it to us, and he almost did, or even Dean.

For me this is an A+ draft right up until the two 7th, which for me drop this to an A-, maybe even a B+. we left way too much talent on the board at OT, OG, DB, and TE. Our 7ths weren't complete dart throws as they were in the first third of the 7th. If not for the talent left on the board, solid A+, a true Steelers draft that EVERY pick filled a major need with great value at each pick. Harmon if injury IS serious, then the grade drops, but he's STILL the pick!!! Just the PERFECT DE Prospect for us!

Derrick Harmon
DK Metcalf
Kaleb Johnson
Captain Jack
Yahya Black
Will Howard
That's A+ right there
Live with Breuner
Kent, should have been OL

UDFA's ok, we just don't compete with the rest of the league when it comes to SB's to get the top talent out there. Castro? talented, but slow for a S, slow for LB even. Roc Tayler is nice, along with RB, and TE.

Me, I tell Rodgers we are going in a different direction, and my biggest peeve!! Sitting on 68 mil. and passing on Reed, and Hobbs in FA. BOTH MAN CB's. To be able to grab BOTH for 30 mil a year, with 68 mil to spend???? HUGE mistake, even more of a mistake is we're saving that money on a delaying Rodgers, even if the reasons are legit.

Could you just imagine this D, with this draft and Reed, and Hobbs? The only fault I can throw at Kahn, other than not guaranteeing Fields a little more to get him to stay. FA OL? Not at the price.

So, lets here what your draft picks are, now knowing where everyone went, yes every pick change causes a ripple effect thru the draft, but this is just too see what all of our PERFECT draft would have been NOW with some realistic idea of how the rest of the NFL pros see the value. We go MONTHS off of the MEDIA draft experts. Now we see the Pros take. What say you!!!

Allen.

 

So if not Captain Jack at 123 then it's safe to exclude any other LB/DE till pick 146. Here are the names in order that they were drafted till our 5th round pick after trading down. NFL grades for reference.

A Lot closer then I originally Thought! Some GREAT fits and values here besides Captain Jack.
Sampson, Moore, Riley, Royals, Elic.A., Mills even hurt, Giddens, and Mbow!

I don't know if I could have passed on Mbow, Sampson, Royals, Elic A, and Riley in that order. Mills, Giddens, and Moore aren't that far behind.

Even if I keep Captain jack as the pick, over Mbow, I'm trading a 2026 3rd to get Mbow or one of the others. I understand keeping as many picks for 2026 as you cal but there are some star potential players here. that's worth an extra 4th this year!

I'm Definitely Trading a 2026 4th for Mbow, Mills or Giddins, even with KJ and Black.

What's your opinion? Think I'm nuts double dipping at RB, or the triple play at DT? True 5 techs are super to find, and Warren is on a 1yr RFAT. Talent this deep at DT/RB only come around once a decade if that. Mbow at LG for 2026 for a 2026 4th should have been added.

Jack Sawyer, OLB, 6.32


Dylan Sampson, RB, 6.33

Jalen Travis, OT, 5.82

Jaylin Lane, WR, 6.16

Malachi Moore, S, 5.90

Quincy Riley, CB/SCB, 6.10

Jalen Royals, WR, 6.32

Tonka Hemingway, DT, 5.94

Elic Ayomanor, WR, 6.19

Joshua Farmer, DT, 6.29

Jordan Watkins, WR, 5.80

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, DT, 6.18

Cam Jackson, DT, 6.21

Carson Vinson, OT, 5.89

Rylie Mills, DT, 6.12

Jordan Phillips, DT, 5.84

Shedeur Sanders, QB, 6.30

Mac McWilliams, CB, 5.99

Jordan James, RB, 6.17

Ty Hamilton, DT, 6.20

Jaydon Blue, RB, 6.11

Jason Marshall Jr., CB, 5.87

DJ Giddens, RB, 5.97

Jalen Rivers, OT, 6.17

Marcus Mbow, OT/G, 6.25

Dante Trader Jr., SAF, 5.88

Elijah Roberts, DT, 5.88

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, 5.98

Marques Sigle, SAF, 5.99

Mitchell Evans, TE, 6.14


Yahya Black, NT, 5.86

 

I’ll read this when I’m younger

 

You need cliff notes!

 

At this time, I like this draft a lot. I like Khan and Weidl's approach a lot.

We will see how it actually grades during the year.

I still think that passing on Sanders was a mistake in the 4th seeing how cheap of an option that is at the most important position on the team.

I would have still picked Will Howard to promote competition.

I do like the OLB taken there and think he will produce in the NFL.

So overall I like what they did. I still see a huge gaping hole at QB though. Need to get the ball to these WRs.

 

Sanders wasn't going to play this season, and they didn't see him as a franchise QB.

 

No faith in this guy to throw the ball to the WRs?

 

Other than Donte Kent I truly liked this draft class quite a bit. Just as good as Khan's first though Khan's first is something that I don't think he will replicate for at least another draft or so. A+ grade for me. As I said, I would have chose either Holland Pierce or even Xaiver Truss over Donte Kent but I do understand why Kent was selected as I had him ranked 9th out of 10 of Slot CBs in this class. He doesn't have too many INTs and is a bit too aggressive in Zone Coverage but he has more than enough athleticism to play both types of coverages while being a good run supporter.


Of the selections though, Yahya Black remains my personal favorite. He will start producing more sooner than others believe. It will never showcase itself on the stat sheet but Black is a unnaturally naturally gifted double team destroyer. Just needs some coaching up with pad level and hand placement; both of which I believe he can learn quickly.

 

He's not. And how perfect he is on the Cleveland Clowns. A team that Deion shunned.

 

I really do think that Cleveland drafted him with the plan to never use him. I think they got him as a fifth round pick knowing that they will probably be able to trade him for something better than a fifth round pick. His supposed value was much much higher. Now they can trade a supposedly first round pick that is on a NFL minimum rookie contract. They should be able to get some really good value for that.

 

The entire league had many shots at him. They aren't trading much for him any time soon.

Also, I don't think they drafted him with any plan in mind at all. I think the owner stepped in and made the front office take him.

 

Yep, I believe Haslem stepped in and wanted him drafted ( he always makes the right decisions ) while we witnessed despair on the faces of GM Berry and Stefanski when the pick came in. Classic Clowns moment! What's not to love.

 

I just wish they had gone a different route in the 4th. Maybe Take Farmer there

 

3starters.
Doesn’t move the needle much from a10-7 team, but builds a better team around the franchise QB we draft next year.

 

31 teams passed on him

Why in the world would they trade for him

 

I think it was a solid draft, and the defensive picks were all great!

I'm still concerned about offensive line. The starting tackles, and offensive line depth overall, are a huge unknown.

 

I hear ya jeh. Leo Tolstoy is rolling over in his grave right now.

 

I agree. Only way I can even fathom it is if a bad Qb injury happens.

 

You believe Haslam played a hand in Shedeur being drafted.


I am all but convinced he did. Signing DeShaun Watson to a max contract should have been a major clue as to how Cleveland operates. Shedeur being drafted by Cleveland has Jimmy Haslams influence all over it.


Hell, how the entire Cleveland FO reacted to it was telling compared to Dillion Gabriel.

 

This is the kind of thing that not only keeps an org in chaos, it brings to question how long the FO will even want to stay around regardless of how good they may be. There was a guy on the radio this morning stating he heard (take with grain of salt) that they wanted to trade down further from 5th, had no takers so took Graham. Not a bad pick and it certainly makes that line and D possibly formidable, but the indecision and inability to follow a specific plan makes one wonder who is in charge.

 

Trading away from Graham isn't a bad idea by itself. The problem is, as you said, lack of focus. Not having a plan soon thereafter is even worse.


As for Mason Graham, call me a skeptic because I believe he is a bit overrated. If one looks back to the 2024 tape of the Michigan Defense, Kenneth Grant was the IDL teams were more focused on as Grant's overall latent abilities far exceeded Grant's. Grant no doubt had a rock solid, if not excellent, college Career but it does bring to question of what would not having Grant's prescene there do to Mason.


That said, having Myless Garrett is gonna take a lot of eyes off Mason; that aforementioned point being null and void. However, NFL Offensive Lineman are much different than College ones.