Edmunds Regressed

Can we all agree now that Edmunds was not worthy of a first-round draft pick?

He was awful today. I don't just mean the missed tackle on the touchdown. Once again, he was taking bad angles. The Ravens did a lot of damage today just finding Edmunds and Barron and going after them.

The most disappointing thing is that he seemed to regress late in the season. If the Steelers can somehow keep Dupree, they still have a problem at strong safety. As long as they are using Barron, they have a problem there, too.

 

Edmunds simply doesn't have any instincts on how to play football. The Steelers fell in love with his physical gifts and paid no attention to the fact that he is lost out on the field. If he was a 5th round pick you could understand taking a chance on him. As a first round pick he has been a failure.

 

Pretty much all VA Tech defensive high draft picks not named Bruce Smith underachieve. It's amazing.

 

I have said all along that I would have loved the pick if they took him in the third round and event the second would have been okay. He shouldn't have been taken in the first round.

 

I was just think that at the 4th or 5th round I would be accepting, not thrilled, but accepting of his play thus far. But, as a 1st round pick? No way.

He was drafted a half a round after Minkah. Let that sink in. If Minkah won DPOY, I wouldn't be surprised. If Edmunds was cut tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm not giving up on him yet. He's a good kid. But he has to at least become a non-liability.

 

Let Edmunds hang out in the weight room this offseason with his little brother Tremaine Edmunds; and then come in next year ready to compete for that Inside LB position.

Edmunds will completely reinvent himself at the LB position.

 

The Steelers thought he had the talent to be a late 1st round pick. He's still learning how to play safety in the NFL.

He did good things this year. It wasn't all bad. People passed judgement quickly on Dupree and he had a good year. I swear some people never learn.

If someone loves a pick then I don't understand the problem? I guess it's just how some people's minds work????

 

I'm not saying he can't learn...he can. Maybe some good defensive backs coaching.

But I did say this last year, and I'll repeat it again after watching another season-full of him - we always seem to see the back of his jersey when passes come his way. And that's not a good thing for a Safety. That usually means you've been burnt.

 

Not to pick a fight with you but I do not believe you need to wait four or five years for a 1st round pick to develop into a starter of high quaity. Edmumnds is a bust in my view. We have one good year for Dupree and now have to pay him. Not good. Edmumds or Jackson. that's the question. we missed on it. Course with our offensive coaching staff Jackson probably would not have developed into what he is now so there's that. Edmumnds can't tackle and continually takes horrible choices when the ball is in the air. He is rarely in position to make a play. cut him, eat the money this year and move on. The Steelers thought he had talents. Key word, thought. They were wrong. NO ONE would have picked him in the first round not a single team. We swung and missed badly. Again not trying to pick a fight with you it just seems he has zero instincts when it comes to playing safety in the nfl,.

 

Yeah Edmunds was picked at 28th and could had easily gone in the 2nd round. I guess we will never know. We can play the hindsight game with every draft pick. I don't see the point. Can't do anything about it at this point.

I think you should reevaluate what you consider a bust. Burns and Jones were busts.

Edmunds didn't play perfect games. What player did? He's starting but fans don't know how well he is playing with in the structure of the defense.

I'm a wait and see type. I'm not willing to pass judgment on players to quickly. Edmunds has time to improve on his deficiencies. Even if he improves he will still be a whipping boy for some. Every mistake will be scrutinized as bust level while the plays he makes will be overlooked. That's ok though because the only opinions that matter are within the organization.

It sounds like you would give up on 1st round players after one or two years.
Let me ask you if you invested X amount of dollars and in resources in drafting 1st round players how long would you give those players to develop before you cut them lose? Or would you have more patience?

 

What sense does his draft position make? Would be be a good enough starter as a 3rd round pick? That's crazy.

As for barron, I'm not sure why all the hate for him and the love for vince. Barron did a lot of good things this year for this team. Most of all helped our rookie, which really isn't his job. Quit trying to make these guys play multiple roles and it will run much smoother. If it were up to me barron, Bush and UG3 would be the starting rotation at ilb. When your ss is making that many tackles there is a problem in front of him. Clear assignments are lacking. Sometimes it's a LB in coverage, sometimes it's a safety in coverage, sometimes it's a corner on TEs and RBs. Then they have to stop the run as well. I believe barron, Bush and Edmunds are over tasked in this defense on any given play. Way too many assignments on way too many players on way too much field. More defined roles would help these players. blame of the player when scheme is more of the problem is what I see. This all harkens back to butler.

 

Why would you love him at any round? Guy is terrible

 

You beat me to it.

Is it possible that something clicks and he becomes a productive member of our defense? Sure. But it is also possible that he ends up being a failed project.

At this point, his draft position doesn't matter. What matters is what he can do to make our defense better next season, or if he can.

This defense has the potential to be really good next season. But right now, Haden and Fitz are not enough to make a top flight secondary. And that is keeping our defense from being truly feared.

 

Edmunds is a bust, I know some think it is early but it is what it is. I got flak for calling Artie Burns a bust in his second season, how'd that work out? The problem is Edmunds is a DB, in order to be even a decent DB in the NFL a player has to have a certain degree of instinct, Edmunds has none. He can't recognize offensive formations so he is often out of position.

If he misses a tackle or something every now and again, well it happens, he is human. The issue is you see so many of these bad angles and missed tackles that don't improve but seem to get worse. He has had a full 2 seasons now and the same issues, and you can't compare him to Dupree when it comes to time. Dupree has a few things going for him that nobody talks about. The fact that RBs chip Watt and Heyward draws double teams which leaves Dupree singled up almost every snap. Then you have Fitzpatrick in the secondary meaning Dupree doesn't have to drop back in coverage 50% of his snaps.

So there are a lot of factors that are benefitting Dupree so it isn't just him finally getting he, he has help. Edmunds has help as well, I thought Fitzpatrick could help him be better but again, the overall lack of instinct is tough to ignore. Without that instinct he could learn to be in perfect position to make a play but he will still take bad angles because he doesn't have the ball skills, and perhaps he would be better as an inside LBer but as a DB he is a bust.

 

This is so true, you always see him with his back to the ball. A lot of the times his coverage isn't bad, if he would turn around he could knock down the pass or even intercept it. It all goes back to instincts, he barely knows where he is on the field let alone where the football is.

 

The guy stinks I was so pissed watching him yesterday miss tackles. We have seen this year after year and add to that playing out of position half the times cause he can't read the offense. We need an upgrade here so bad, I like AQL and thesteeldeal's idea of moving him to back up ILB. After all wasn't the whole thing about drafting him was MT loved the "hybrid" style he pays????????

 

Kam Chancellor?!

 

Beside his missed tackles, he is worse at playing the ball in air. He never sees the ball and can't turn to the ball to make a play. Horrible instincts on plays where he has to make a play on the ball. Coaches should of seen these problems before the draft.

 

all we need is serviceable and he is not that lol

 

You do not draft a guy in the 1st and hope for him to be a 5th year breakout like Dupree.
The Steelers have had a habit of drafting this project type players. For some odd reason, they want these hybrid players that don't seem particularly good at any one thing. You do not draft a guy in the 1st who is a good athlete but a poor football player and expect to teach him how to play football. That's what 5th round draft picks are for.

There's been a decade of wasted picks on defensive players. We have completely wasted Ben's prime years with poor drafting. I would expect a DB coach to know what he needs to improve the defensive backfield. Instead, we have to trade for them.

 

Ever player has expectations regardless of where they are drafted. At the end of the day there are no guarantees. Every player that comes from college is a "project". Some players develop quicker than other players. I shouldn't even have to explain this to people who pay enough attention to the sport. A little understanding goes a long way.

There are many factors that go into building a team. I don't view years as wasted. The Steelers won a lot of games with Ben. Ben is just as responsible for the wins and losses. 1 his salary took up a large part of the cap. 2 he didn't always play well enough on a consistent enough basis to elevate this team to a higher level. Especially in the playoffs.

The Steelers probably drafted as well as any team in the league. Like all teams they were to miss on players. I don't think people's expectations fit with reality regarding the draft.

 

Good point here mac. I am hoping that this all does point back to Butler as, even with Minkah, this team STILL gave away points on opponents opening drives. However, after seeing Terrell not make any turnovers this season, I am not too sure about his future at the position

 

honestly feel like sean davis would do a better job than edmunds, but davis is gonna sign elsewhere. i'd draft a safety or try and sign a journeyman because edmunds how has 2 complete years in the NFL and he does not look starter quality. He looks like a depth player. there is literally no evidence that supports otherwise. Not everyone is going to be a minka caliber safety but edmunds is incompetent