ball hawking DBs

another draft strategy that I like the Steelers to duplicate is the 1981 49ers. They pick 3 DBs Ronnie Lott, Carlton Williamson, and Eric Wright. They did not have dominating DLs or LBs but their DBs carried them to a Super Bowl season in their rookie season. I would be happy if they get 2 (CB and S) to be instant starters and carry the defense.

 

Speaking of DBs. Is there a strong safety in the draft or Free Agency that can get Minka back to playing "Center Field" for the Steelers. Minka is an all pro when allowed to play in the back of the defense as a Free Safety.

Minka had ZERO Ints last year. Tomlin has him playing up front close to the line of scrimmage to help with run support. Every time you have Patrick Peterson trying to play safety, it means you are moving Minka closer to the line of scrimmage to play more of a strong safety roll. That is why I cringe every time I hear someone talking about Pat Peterson moving to safety, because this means Minka is getting bumped out of his "Centerfield" role with the Steelers that made Minka an All-Pro.

My biggest complaint on Kazee is that he too is a Free Safety and should not be pared with Minka as then you have Minka trying to cover for run support.

How Minka made the pro bowl this year was a joke. The Steelers are wasting one of their best players on Defense by playing him out of position.

 

James Williams out of Miami with one of our 3rd or 4th round picks. Listed at 6'4"-230LBs and runs a sub 4.5/40.

 

i liked what i saw from trenton thompson last year. he did pretty well around the los and wasn't lost in coverage. he and minkah could be a decent tandum for us.

slot corner and a corner opposite jpj and we could be younger and faster back there.

 

We also have Keanu Neal coming back next season after his injury, so maybe they can get Minka back to Centerfield in 2024.

 

Don't forget the 7th rounder from last year that was having a great camp. Corey Trice. I think they may have found a good one there

 

One of the things the Steelers need is more speed in the secondary, they could release Kazee and Neal and try to upgrade.

 

Next Question would be are the Steelers going to be Buyers if Mike Hilton gets released by the Bengals? Bengals will save 6.5 million if they release Hilton this year, and only have a $1 million cap hit for Mike's $7.5 million cap cost in 2024

Right now I would gladly release Patrick Peterson to throw some of his Cap savings of $6.75 million at Mike Hilton. Pat P has a $9.8 million cap hit this year.

 

James Williams really helped himself last week at the Senior Bowl. He had a great week at practice and had 5 tackles and blew up a play in the back field for a loss. He could move up into the second round especially if he has a good combine.

 

Hilton wouldn't help them much in coverage, they need to get younger at the CB position.

 

That secondary was absolutely epic, but don't sleep on that d-line.... it was better than most think and was overlooked because of the star power on the back end

 

We played against Eric Wright in high school. One could see he was going to be good. His teammate, Bobby Johnson, went to Kansas and later played WR for the NY Giants, scored touchdowns on his first two touches against us and he hadn't even played on offense, yet - a pick 6 and a punt return.

 

Slot CB is one position that MUST COMMAND a lot more attention this coming draft. Mike Sainristil from Michigan, Josh Newton from TCU or even Kalen King from Penn State would be good choices for the team. As much as I would personally enjoy upgrading that other CB spot, given how woeful the production in that area has been since Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton left, it is all but paramount at this point. With any luck, finding one in the draft is the best play for there are not a lot of FA ones I would target.

 

JALYX HUNT S/EDGE HOUSTON CHRISTIAN | NFL DRAFT PROFILE & SCOUTING REPORT
ROLE: MAN-ZONE FREE SAFETY
LAST UPDATED: 02/28/2024
DRAFT YEAR: 2024
40 TIME: 4.64 SECONDS (24%*)
BOWL INVITE: SENIOR BOWL
MEASURABLES:
HEIGHT: 6-4 (97%*) WEIGHT: 252 (100%*)
HANDS: 10 (80%*) ARM: 34 3/8 (95%*) SPAN: 82 7/8 (100%*)
FORTY: 4.64 (C) (24%*) TEN YARD: 1.60 (C) (35%*)
VERTICAL: 37.5 (C) (75%*) BROAD: 128 (C) (89%*)
0% 100%
(C)- NFL COMBINE (P)- PRO DAY (O)- OTHER (HS)-ESTIMATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL COMBINE
FOR AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THE (HS) DATA IS CALCULATED SEE THIS ARTICLE
ALL HOUSTON CHRISTIAN DRAFT PROSPECTS
SHARE THIS PROFILE:

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OVERALL RATING: 80.5 / 100
AVERAGE RATING OF OPPOSITION OFFENSE PLAYER HAS FACED
OFFENSE RATING: 57%
CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO VIEW HOW PLAYER RANKS VS OTHER PROSPECTS.
QB RATING WHEN TARGETED: 47.2
TACKLING: 73%
RUN DEFENSE: 75%
COVERAGE: 93%
ZONE: 00%
MAN/PRESS: 83%
DRAFT PROJECTION: 5TH
OVERALL RANK: #167 POSITION RANK: #39
COLLEGE GAMES: 31 COLLEGE SNAPS: 1484
PLAYER COMPARISON* (SIMILARITY LEVEL)
JL SKINNER - BOISE STATE 04%
Sterling WEATHERFORD - MIAMI (OH) 03%
Kyle HAMILTON - NOTRE DAME 03%
DRAFT PROFILE: BIO
Following high school, Hunt opted to join Cornell.

In 2021 as a freshman Hunt saw action in 10 games and played a total of 234 snaps at safety for the Big Red. He recorded 11 tackles, 5 assists, while adding 4 stops. In coverage Hunt notched up one pass breakup, no interceptions, and a disapointing QB rating when targetted of 126.7.

After the end of the season he transferred to Houston Christian where as a sophomore for the Huskies in 2022 Hunt played in 11 games and logged 718 snaps for the Huskies. He made solid 56 tackles, 14 assists, and had 40 stops. In coverage he totaled one pass breakup, no interceptions, and QB rating when targetted of 64.6. In addition he forced 44 total pressures, and 7 sacks during the year.

In 2023 as a junior Hunt played in 10 games and contributed on 532 snaps. He chalked up 29 tackles, 6 assists, and added 29 stops. In the secondary Hunt forced 2 pass breakups, one interception, and gave up an elite QB rating when targetted of 42.9. He also logged 32 total pressures, and an excellent 8 sacks on the year


SCOUTING REPORT: STRENGTHS

• He’s an enforcer in the middle of the field and flashes the ball skills to create turnovers.
• Flashes intimidating attitude and will crush tiptoeing receivers across the middle.
• Flashes some physicality as a hitter.
• Has a tall frame and long arms, plus strong hands, giving him a huge catch radius.
• Good hustle player who puts himself in the action when he's not directly involved. Knows how to use his height and vertical leap.
• Tracks the ball well downfield and has the innate feel for high-point passes. He’s willing to come up and fill against the run and seems to take pride in delivering violent hits in run support.

SCOUTING REPORT: WEAKNESSES

• Inconsistent getting off of blocks. Can be a step slow to react when a quarterback comes back to his side of the field late in progression.
• Lacks the quick feet to mirror underneath and is slow to transition out of his backpedal and close on the ball
• While Hunt has man coverage skills, he can struggle when sitting back in zone. He’s not instinctive and struggles reading downfield routes and tracking the deep ball.

JALYX HUNT PERCENTILES VS OTHER SAFETYS(NFL COMBINE HISTORICALLY - HIGHER VALUE REPRESENTS BETTER PERFOMANCE)
PREVIOUS: #38 SIONE VAKI
NEXT: #40 DWIGHT MCGLOTHERN


HOW OTHER SCOUTING SERVICES RATE JALYX HUNT (OVERALL RANK)
ALL SCOUTS AVERAGEOVERALL RANK
174.0
ALL SCOUTS AVERAGEPOSITION RANK
47.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance. For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.

*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.


maybe a move to ILB for this kid. has ball skills and hits hard. has the size to do it.

 

I watched the combine yesterday and he had a really good showing there.

 

Houston Christian? Is that like division 7?

 

D2