Would You Draft a Running Back in Round 1?

They got gashed because the front 7 couldn’t apply any pressure. Man we’re not getting our money’s worth on D

 

And I believe that with good CBs you don't need to blitz because of "Coverage" sacks that you get out of your front 4.

You remember when the Steelers were leading the league in Sacks in 2020? How many of those were coverage sacks?


2020, was this as good as it got for our DBs?

 

Coverage and pressure go hand in hand. Still, they blitzed significantly more in 2020 (40.3%) than last year (22.1%).

The scheme has gotten a lot more vanilla under Austin.

 

No.

Would not in the 2nd either.

 

I would for the right guy. Jeanty would definitely be worth pick 21 IMO. If we decide that there are other good RB's that will be available in the second round, that is fine (there should be a couple guys that could be game changers at the next level if they develop correctly). I think walking out of the second round without a RB would be a terrible mistake by the FO. We need to add weapons to this offense if we ever want to score any points.

We can address CB and WR in FA (and probably add a DL too). If we REALLY want to get younger on the DL in the first round, fine. But then RB is priority #1 in round 2. Guys like Hampton, Judkins, and Henderson should be the targets (not all will be available by 52, but one or more could and should).

We could go heavy DL and take a 5th ranked run defense to #1 and it will have minimal impact in the overall aggregate. Maybe we go from an 8th ranked PPG (20.4) and get that down to 18.5? The best defense in the league (LAC at 17.7 PPG allowed) wouldn't be far off.... But its all for naught if we go into next year with no weapons (and we know we are going to be average at best at QB no matter which option we go with). We're just going to struggle to score points against the playoff caliber defenses and we will lose those games 17-10 or 19-13 because we don't have anyone that can make them pay. Or god forbid we don't have a dominant defensive game and actually have to score 27 points against a good team to beat them.... Can't do it without weapons. WR2 has to be addressed in FA and RB has to be addressed in the first two rounds of the draft. Simple as that.

 

And I wouldn’t take Jeanty in the third

He has nice stats against poor defenses

Against Penn State he very mediocre

He’s too small

And I’m not thinking his receiving will be anything special in the nfl

But some team will draft him too high

 

The only thing he lacked was long speed. His burst was great. It had to be to facilitate his running style.

 

I think Bell showed more lateral agility, giving him the fluidity you mention. I do think Jeanty matches him in patience and vision, and his burst once he sees a crease is on the same level as well.

Bell had size to pair with his cutback ability/elusiveness; Jeanty is more of a bowling ball - lower center of gravity and excellent contact balance. He'll also drop a shoulder and just try bowling people over - something I wish Bell would've done more often in short-yardage situations, but he had the size to back it up. Not sure Jeanty gets away with that against NFL defenders.

Ultimately, you've got to give the nod to Bell since he continued to elevate his game at the pro level. I think Jeanty's got the chance that do that as well, though that doesn't mean I'd want the Steelers taking him at 21. But depending who was on the board, it could be a tough call.

But let's get @SGSteeler in here to tell us about TreyVeyon Henderson.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with it. I like taking the best player available at a position of need in the draft. If Jeanty makes it to the Steelers, he will almost certainly be the best player available at a position of need. He is a far better back than Najee ever was, in my opinion, so Colbert's mistake doesn't scare me off Jeanty. Although he won't be able to do it all himself, a back like that can help an offensive line look a lot better than they are. Ask Barry Sanders and the Lions.

 

I agree with what you said until the trade. NO WAY I'm moving off Jeanty, Grant and Harmon for anything less than a swap of 1st, a 2nd, and maybe even an added 4th. NO WAY for a 3rd or 4th. Sorry, anybody else would fleece us for any of those three if roles were reversed!

What the Eagles did isn't the only reason to go DT R1, and maybe even R2. The constant triple chips on Watt factor in also! We don't have to move Watt around, just get an actual DT NEXT to Watt. You remember Tuitt? Didn't see that crap happening when he was playing!! Our D has and WILL work just fine just as soon as Larry O is gone and replaced with a top shelf DL. This IS the year to double dip if not triple dip at DT to make up for ignoring it for so long.

The Steelers almost HAVE to pick up a FA WR 1/2, and CB 2. Only way to fill all the holes on this team. That will allow us to go get the PRIME beef we so desperately need!

This D with all the talent it has is TOAST if Cam goes down for the year. It's just a fact that 35+ yr DL can pop on any play. Benton while showing some promise, didn't progress as we had hoped, still high on him, but he can't play all three spots at once. Who currently on the team can even play at Benton's level? Leal? Come on. Yes with Pickens we are in the same boat at WR, BUT there ARE WR and CB options in FA that we can afford for the D. we have the cap room, plus the cap just got a boost today of an extra 7-10 mil. We have Warren, and can pick up a real nice RB in 3 or 4, or even bring back Harris at the right price.

This is just the year to grab the DL BEEF!!

Allen.

 

Plus they did get the top CB in the draft in a deep class, maybe the top TWO in the class. I'm all for two top shelf DT's in the drafr and get the WR's and CB's in FA. Kahn, and Weidle know this, we have the cap space, plus the extra cap boost that came out today!

Allen.

 

I agree, but for me I'm hitting DT in the 3rd then. We truly only have two NFL worthy DT's on the team right now, A 35 yr old Cam, and Benton, who HAS to show out THIS year or we are in serious trouble. Look what happened to Watt this year. There was NO fear from the right triple chipping Watt! That isn't Watt's fault. We had crap lining up next to him.

To not take advantage of a DT crop that in this deep, and this talented would be a crime. Same goes for RB, and Maybe even CB. With that said DT has to be addressed high and often to get the best value out of the draft this year. The first three rounds this year will almost always have a higher value DT in each round. I personally wouldn't throw a brick thru my TV or leave the team behind if DT was picked 1st AND 2nd for THIS year.

Allen.

 

You're welcome to try for that, but you're simply not getting a 2nd and 4th for moving back three spots in the 20s. There's a draft value chart GMs use that lays the general groundwork for what compensation will be involved when swapping picks. To put it in perspective, look at a couple of swaps from last year's draft:

• Jags move back from 1.17 to 1.23 - received a 5th in 2024, and a 3rd and 4th in 2025. (Slight overpay by the Vikings here, but also picks from the following year's draft lose a little value.)

• Cowboys moved back from 1.24 to 1.29 - received a 3rd, but also gave up a 7th in 2025.

• Bills moved back fro 1.28 to 1.32 - received a 3rd and a 7th, but also gave up their 4th and 7th.

 

Hi Allen

Maybe it’s just me but I never get excited about the extra cap boost

Every team gets it so I don’t see it as an advantage

 

I'd wait til the 2nd rd. This draft
Preferably Hampton ,he had production behind a below average line

 

It isn't really going to impact the FA market; $7M isn't that much in the grander scheme of $279M.

Where it could help is with teams tighter to the cap looking to help finance the 2025 portion of an extension.

 

I think that matters less, its about how he runs, his vision, his speed/explosion/strength/etc. All college backs put up big numbers on bad defenses (because college defenses outside of a small handful, are really bad). He was mediocre against Penn State because PSU's defense absolutely dominated his OL. I wouldn't overreact to one game, as it is very unlikely he has many NFL games where his OL is as overwhelmed as it was in that game. He is plenty big enough at 5'9'' 215....

While I agree that his receiving won't be special in the NFL, you're drafting him with the premise that his rushing ability will be. Guys like Marshawn Lynch, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, etc. all are very mediocre (at best) receivers out of the backfield. What made them all special was their ability to be the best rushing RB's. They could do it all. Explosive, great vision, run with power, score 60+ yard "home run" TD's... That is what the expectation of Jeanty is going to be and why teams are going to value him highly in the draft.

He is certainly worth a first round pick. Whether or not he ends up being a top 5 back is anybody's guess, but the tools he possesses make him worth that investment IMO. I think there are other backs in the draft that will be really good NFL players as well (Henderson, Judkins, Hampton), and I have a feeling that all of them are going to be gone in the first two rounds. I don't think we HAVE to draft a RB in the first round, but I think that we COULD. I personally wouldn't leave the second round in this year's draft without one. Our second round pick is probably the right spot to target one, and though my preference is Henderson, I still think we'd do great to leave with Hampton or Judkins.

 

I don't necessarily agree that we had crap lining up next to Watt. We had one of the best front 7's in the whole league last year, and we were 6th in rushing yards against and 4th in YPC allowed. We got steamrolled by the Ravens the last two times we played them, but they were one of very few teams that had rushing success against us in 2024. We even held the Eagles well below their weekly rushing average. Benton is a decent player, solid but not great, still hope that he improves. Obviously Cam is a time defying stud, but we won't have him forever. Ogunjobi is a solid player, but aging and kinda running hot and cold. Our depth was pretty good last year, as Adams, Loudermilk, and Lowry were solid in rotation when needed. Adams has turned out to be a very quality back up, and an excellent addition off some other team's PS a few years ago.

Our biggest issue on the DL is age, which can be fixed pretty easily though the draft (and it doesn't HAVE to be fixed in one draft). I think we need a DL in the first three rounds somewhere, and can do that in 2025's draft and 2026's draft. We can round out the room with a couple of day 3 picks in there too. I am not in panic mode at DL like some, but it definitely needs to get younger soonish. The only place this team is TRULY in panic mode is our offensive weapons. They were HORRIBLE last year. We need to upgrade the WR room and grab a young RB that can add some explosion to the backfield. It won't matter how good the DL is if we simply can't score points. Lots of ways to lose games in the NFL.

 

I would wait until the 4th rd to take a RB, we need DL, WR, and CB help too.

 

Or an udfa what we got with Warren who will be our #1 ball carrier.