Post your mock drafts here….

I will say fields reads a defense now about as good as he did there. Howard evolved from the k-state offense. He also evolved from midseason down that stretch run. That is the difference. Howard I believe is much more coachable. Not as athletic but a better grasp of the position.

 

Just a quick question, how many on this board really think that the Steelers coaching staff can develope
any pick/ position past 3rd round? If we would happen to find (a diamond in the rough) all the accolades
should go to the scouting department that found this player. Can anyone give me an example of a player
other than AB who would fall into this category. We need an overhaul top to bottom, like 10 years ago.

 

mccorrmick. warren. trice. bishop. heyward. herbig. all have done pretty well so far. most teams don't build the team off of 4th and below rounds. if they find a few to work as depth and sometimes a diamond in the rough starter.

 

I agree Warren and Herbig (Bishop,still too early to tell) other examples not so much. Wasn't Mccormick a 2nd rounder? I seem to have seen some teams doing pretty well in finding
late round finds.

 

McCormick went in the fourth round.

 

Yes, I was wrong.

 

bishop as an UDFA started 6 games. he had 4 interceptions. 1 fumble recovery. .5 sacks. 7 passes defensed. 45 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. plus 1 QB hit. pretty darn good for an undrafted guy.

 

I personally was thrilled when the Steelers brought him in, if you go back in last years
draft posts I pumped him hard. He trended terribly the last 5 games as did the whole
defense. I hope he keeps improving.

 

I would second this. Ohio State (at least in the last 15-20 years) has opted for more college style QB's. Guys like JT Barrett, Braxton Miller, and Terrell Pryor. These guys are awesome for what they do in college, but their games were never meant to translate to NFL offenses. Barrett never made it off the practice squad, Pryor failed as a QB but ended up being a nice WR at the end of his career, and Miller just simply played WR. It was a matter of style of offense (particularly the one Urban Meyer ran). Fields was this style, but he was a good enough passer (and electric enough as a runner) to give him the opportunity to get a real shot in the NFL. He's not been a world beater, but he's a NFL caliber player.

Stroud, Howard, McCord, and even Haskins are a bit different. More "prototypical" NFL QB's. Howard is strong under center, in the PA game, and showed the ability to read defenses. Sure, there are flaws and he played on a stacked team... but I think he can be a really nice player in the league. There's no reason he can't be a good facilitator of the ball. He may not have top 5 QB ceiling... but he can be a Dak Prescott or Jared Goff. Or a Flacco even. Backend top 10 QB whose whole legacy will be determined by whether or not he can win the big game. He showed the ability to rise to the challenge in the playoff... I like him. He'd be great as pick 21 if that is who we like.

 

Straight draft no trades. Who I think Steelers take if available?
RD1 #21 Harmon DL
RD3 #83 Judkins RB
RD4 #122 McCord QB
RD5 #163 Ty Robinson DL
RD7 #225 Jack Kiser LB
I hope Steelers FO are doing their due diligence to recoup the
2nd rd pick back or a third rd pick back for trade of Metcalf.
I think these could be realistic selections.
Edit 4-13-25

 

I wouldn't want Milroe as an undrafted free agent unless he agreed to become a full time RB.

 

There's a fine line here.

Pre-draft "value" has a lot of components, at least to professional scouts and the teams they represent, but one of the of the larger ones is risk/reward. Every player has their projected floor and ceiling, and within that an assessed likelihood of reaching certain points along that spectrum. Reward is ultimately capped by a player's position and ceiling. Risk is determined by things like the gap between floor and ceiling, and can be mitigated by adjusting the associated cost. Teams ultimately arrive at a value for each player after considering the pool of draftees, evaluating their base risk/reward propositions relative to the rest of the pool, team need, etc. This is used to construct their big board, which is then broken out round by round.

Analysts, media, and fans do their own version of same thing, but naturally have far less time and player exposure. Still, I think there are enough out there that have scout experience/exposure and perform enough due diligence in their research that it would unreasonable to overgeneralize their input. Your draft example above represents that in the sense that, while it proves plus-level talent can be had at all levels of talent acquisition, those players were outliers. It doesn't support the idea that Will Howard isn't incredibly risky at 1.21 (important position, average talent, mediocre ceiling, elite cost).

 

Yes, I can understand the way the process works... I also am not saying that Howard isn't risky (I think nearly every QB taken is incredibly risky), every pick is risky. These GM's are putting their jobs on the line every draft. Have a couple bad ones in a row and you could be gone.... I was more dismissing the notion that we should be "upset" that we drafted Howard because some mock site or Mel Kiper has a 3rd or 4th round grade on him. Every team's board will be completely different. While most teams would have similar groupings, there are going to be singular players all over the board. There will be teams that have a 2nd round grade on a player that another has a 4th round grade on, etc. There might be someone that gets taken in the third round that a team had a first round grade on... It isn't a perfect science, and we shouldn't be mad or think differently about a player because some geek thinks he had a worse grade than the Steelers did. It was more about that and less about the outlier example for each player...

 

This is where I feel you're over-generalizing. And when you refer to some "geek" and their opinion it implies disrespect toward those that would think differently. I can be both disappointed and supportive of the picks they make - hell, frustration is part and parcel with any passionate fanbase.

Just because I'm not a professional scout/expert doesn't mean I glance at a Kiper mock to tell me how to think about a player. I typically invest enough time to have some substance behind my view, and I assume others here do as well. We're not always going to agree, with each other or the team.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I like this. Sneaky move down to still bag Harmon and then pick up Morrison.

Harvey is intriguing. He was committed to remaining a 5'8" QB until he transferred to UCF. Heupel was still there and convinced him it would be a good move. The scholarships had all been doled out for the season though, so he had to wait a year to receive one. The next year Heupel took the Tennessee job, but still kept his promise and made sure Harvey was on scholarship before he left.

Video of two guys with differing opinions on him. They do a pretty good job of covering the basic pro/cons. The tape starts with them talking about Martinez out of Miami just because I like him in the Rd 3/4 discussion as well, then rolls into the guy that has Harvey ranked in his top 10. Scroll back to 10:37 to hear the other one break him down, listing some of his concerns.

 

It isn't meant as disrespect towards them (they get paid well to do what they do), though I can understand your point of view. I just know the knowledge gap between "casters" and media types and the people that are actually paid to do the work. The whole point of my response was just to say that NFL boards look vastly different than mock simulator boards and Mel Kiper's big board. We shouldn't get all hung up on the value of players when the guys assigning that "value" aren't part of NFL talent acquisition teams.

I kinda feel the same way with golf stuff. I won't dismiss someone's opinion just because they are a 7 handicap (they can still be right about a lot of things), but I played at a level so much higher than that, so I just take most of it with a grain of salt. It comes across a bit elitist on paper (unfortunately), but it isn't meant as a disrespect. There's just a vast knowledge gap there and I can understand (and take) opinions for what they are.

 

PFF Version -

 

R1-21: Jahdae Barron CB, Texas

R3-83: Will Howard QB, OSU

R4-123: Damien Martinez RB, Miami

R5-156: Malachi Moore Safety, Bama

R6-185: Jalen McLeod OLB, Auburn

R7-229: Roc Taylor WR, Memphis

 

If Jahdae Barron slips to 21 I am running To GB to put in
the ticket.

 

Start running now.

 

I only meant that to make it to GB for the first round selection....start running now.

I have no idea who we will pick. 9 RBs and 9 DL counting Shemar Stewart who is listed as Edge, 4QBs, 4WRs, & 4DBs according to Steerers Depot. Plus 4 local visits.

I'm not a big fan of first round RBs, but the Steelers have brought in 9, plus they met with both OSU RBs, Mafah from Clemson, and Martinez from Miami. I think RB is a strong possibility if the right guy is there at 21. Top on my list would be Omarion Hampton

I do see the need to improve the DL. Work has already been put into the DL to the extent I'm not sure what type DL the Steelers would be looking at. They have experimented with the 'giant in the middle' and it hasn't worked. But they took later round guys or UDFAs for that role. Maybe they see a guy in this draft for that role? They have brought in 9 DL but Derrick Harmon is really the only pick#21 prospect from this group, depending on how you feel toward Shemar Stewart. Top on my list would be Derrick Harmon

I honestly do not think the #21 overall pick will be a WR. Why would we go WR in the 1st and 2nd round, same draft? I just don't see that happening.

DBs are a wildcard in this draft. First round and second round grade guys should be viable picks at #21. There is so much talent to pick from. I believe experience matters for DBs. Typically, experience is learning for the position and not the wear and tear it is for other defensive positions. SO, the more snaps a prospect has, the better. Of the 1st and 2nd round DBs in this draft it is difficult to find a prospect with over 2500 career snaps. Top on my list would be Jahdae Barron, but since he has no shot, Trey Amos

QB is always in play except when you have a franchise QB already. I do think QB is the most likely pick at #21. We can continue to measure the pros and cons of each for the next week, or debate why we should or shouldn't go QB in this draft, but the fact remains that without the QB the rest of the team doesn't really mean much. Sure, there are outlier examples of teams winning with sub-level QBs, but those teams had generationally elite defenses. EVERY team that has maintained consistent success has a franchise QB. I have no idea who my top prospect would be here. The only QB I watched consistently this past college season is Will Howard. Because of the position, I do think he can be a 1st round selection. If the Steelers are to take him, he must be a 1st round selection.

 

what the hell you gonna do with him? tackling dummy?