Drafting 20th.

What's your best guess on player/move at 20?

Edit screwed that up!

 

i'm pretty sure we will be drafting 20th. the iggles lost and we had a higher winning percentage than they did.
we would have been picking 12th had they lost those last 2 games.

 

i'd like to see something like this

 

my bad Philly got me because of the tie.

 

There's going to be a WR in there. Harris making it to 52?

I'd hate losing Omar Khan, but if it nets 2 3rd rounders...

Can't believe Philly has 3 top 20 picks!

Looking like at least 3 teams might need a QB ahead of the Steelers.

 

3 ? the only teams i see that for sure wouldnt take a qb they like picking before us is jacksonville , chicago, baltimore, jets and the chargers. we'll have to see what happens with the russell wilson and deshawn watson. a lot of people think think 3,4,even 5, qb's are going to go top 20, and im not convinced its going to happen. i hope they do , and a lot of the edge guys and receivers go early to, so maybe a good linemen makes it to us. if only 1 or 2 go before us then it aint going to happen. i wont be surprised if a WR or CB is our 1st pick because that might be the only value pick on the board at 20.

 

Depending if the Steelers fall in love with Sam Howell or Pickett, or one of the other quarterbacks. I would expect the Steeler to try and trade up from 20.

 

I see them going interior OL..... a replacement for turnstile Trai or a true center to push Green to G. OL is very young, so not sure they go either tackle spot. If they can get Najee some decent run blocking, they might be able to manage with a sub-par Rudolph at QB for a season or two.

 

So no super bowl runs for a season or two? Bottom line is if you don't have an above average to elite QB you are not championship caliber, this isn't the 90's.

If they think they can put something together around Harris then they need to improve the QB position while they have him, Harris has a short shelf life. For example, the Titans have Tannehill, while he may not be elite, he's well above average.

 

That's why I said at least 3, because is there really isn't much more than that as realistic 1st round QB's on the board.

I wouldn't be opposed to another center there if your rebuilding and don't think Green is going to make a jump in year 2 w/ technique. Defense was exposed again in it weak belly so if there's a bigger, faster ILB there you take him.

 

what i'm saying is there are more like 12 teams who need to upgrade the QB position picking before us. now how many teams think these qb's are first round talent remains to be seen but i dont think it is going to be as many as people think. i dont see any going in the top 5, and maybe 1 at most going in the top 10 and maybe 1 more going from 11-19. if any of these QB's were in last years draft they would have been the 6th QB taken and not in the 1st round. you would think at some point GM's would get tired of wasting high picks by reaching for QB's, but the pressure and desperation is real. i wouldnt be surprised if 1 QB went in the first and i wouldnt be surprised if 4 went in the first.

 

I think it's the stigma, I looked at a list of the best late round QB's taken and with the exception of Brady, none of them were from this era of football. The closet one they had was Bulger and that was in 2000.

I get it, but you have to know when there's actually talent and skills that translate verses a hope that there is and reaching. At the end of the day it's all a crap shoot.

 

well keeanu benton is going back to school. one more potential defensive linemen gone.

 

Problem with DL is that they actually had a ton of them already on the roster, losing their best 2 really hurt! Loudermilk if he takes lessons from Cam is going to be a monster going year one to year 2!

The problem is in the middle. These ILBs aren't cutting it!

 

i want a REAL space eating NT. a casey hampton 2.0 that teams have to double team ...3-4 ILB are dependent on the Dline.

 

They definitely need to find someone that commands a double team to free Cam and the rest up

 

My best guess is that they will get a good player at #20 .

 

Unfortunately I don't think that will help our defense much. They way the league has gone and how offenses have evolved, that type of player is way less useful. I dont think you will ever see another Vince Wolfork, Casey Hampton, Dontarri Poe type of player have a big impact in the league ever again. I would love to see us bulk up the DL, but a lot of that is dependent on whether or not Tuitt is able to go

 

sign adams back. move loudermilk to the starting rotation. alualu and wormley fill in as needed. cam is still a stud. dump tuitt and save the money. he's not made a full season ever. if he can get right i still play loudermilk more. i think they hit on one here. he should only get better. he's capable in the two down linemen sets which we run a lot. this would be a nice group if we keep the fresh legs on the field amongst these guys. adams back is key here. gives us that interior guy with alualu when we go 3 down.

 

Best guess? For me, Sam Howell. Too many signs pointing in that direction; Kevin's visits to North Carolina throughout the Collegiate Season in addition to his likely appearance at the Senior Bowl makes Howell's all but a certainty of a player the Steelers have their eyes zeroed in on.


Best move? Staying put.... unless there is a player that the Steelers LOVE and would want to trade up for. Only player I see the Steelers doing that for is either Derek Stingley Jr or Kyle Hamilton should either of them fall that far. That said, I expect neither to get past 15; doubly so in Hamilton's case.. injury or not. Others would include the likes of Tyler Linderbaum and DeMarvin Leal though I will advise many of the boards draft fans to have EXTREME CAUTION regarding Leal. Extreme bust potential with him and reminds me too much of Chris Jones.



When Chris Jones is on.... boy oh boy is he one of the best. However, the lack of consistency has been, still is and will continue to be his biggest question mark; effort doubly so and no less. Leal is cut from the same cloth.

 

Do not be so sure. Like NFL Offenses, NFL Defenses have evolutions of their own. Like the times, the NFL has ebbs and flows; each one different but substantial nevertheless.



Recall back to the 60s and 70s that having a dominant Defensive Tackle could win games so long as they had a great front seven with a very good to even great secondary to go along with it?! How about the 80s when L.T. flipped the league's Defensive Paradigm on its head; an elite pass rusher being the new standard for not just fielding a great defense but possessing one for an extended period of time. The 90s featured some of the greatest ever Shutdown Corners; the position becoming all but a necessity for teams to have any chance of fielding a top tier Defense. The 2000s showcased not just the meteoric rise of the Safety position but the "Big Three" in Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed also demonstrated that the game was no longer about personnel matchups based on formations but personnel matchups based on key exploits within an Offensive Gameplan. The 2010s is a continuation of the versatility of the 2000s but with one major exception; attack the biggest weakness possible and doubly so in the form of the pass rushers. Prior to this decade, Defensive Coordinators would often have their best on the Left Tackle; usually the opposing Offenses best Lineman. With the introduction of players like Von Miller and later in the form of J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack, Coordinators only target specific weak points within the Offensive Line as a whole. Regarding the back end, now, as opposed to have their best Defensive Back just take away an Offenses best weapon, that Defensive Back is now capable of taking away favorable sections of the field; Jalen Ramsey, Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick come to mind.




Given how the 2020 and 2021 seasons have played out, a new trend is already forthcoming before our eyes; position less players. Now mind you, the position less player term technically started with players like Rod Woodson, Darrell Green and even Javon Kearse. However, it has never been as important then as it is now thanks in part to the ever increased usage of sub package football along the continued rules favoring the Offense. While there have been a good deal of position less players to come out in the draft in recent years, 2021 has a bit more to offer than 2020 or even 2019 did. This is again due to the increased need for players who can wear multiple hats to perform multiple roles.



Now, regarding who I believe fits this bill for the Steelers in Round One... there are some good candidates on the defensive side of the ball. They are as follows;




Kyle Hamilton; I am not going to say much here as I have sung this man's praises all season. Just pop in some tape and watch him go!! Definitely worth a look.


Daxton Hill; A Single High Free Safety who might be best served as a slot corner. Take Mike Hilton, supercharge him and that is essentially, more or less, what Daxton is here. Still is a great Free Safety though is dexterity is what really helps him shine.


Jordan Davis; I have come to this mans defense multiple times and will continue to do so until proven otherwise. Some worry about his pass rushing chops. I for one do not as the overall skill set and foundation are there. Just needs some fine tuning. How he is special is that his leverage and natural power make him not just a stellar Nose Tackle but also a great 5 tech 3-4 Defensive End (*looks at possible Stephon Tuitt replacement). For that matter, what I see in Jordan Davis is a supercharged Tuitt and minus the injury woes.


Devin Lloyd; The most versatile LB in the class. Pass Defense is not the best in the class but he does have a natural aptitude for it. Pass rushing and run stuffing is where he can make much of his impact early on. Needs to show more aggression when tackling and taking on blocks for me.


Trent McDuffie; Say hello to my personal favorite Cornerback in the class. Man Coverage, Zone Coverage, Pattern Coverage, Combo Coverage and really, any other coverage is no sweat for him. He is also not just an outside corner but a slot one too. Not as aggressive as Daxton Hill in coming downhill but he can and will get the job done.


JaQuan Brisker; Outside of Kyle, this is the next best option at Safety. Single High or eighth man in the box.. not an issue. That said, not nearly as flexible as Hamilton nor as explosive as Hill. What he is though and, even more than those two, is violent as he brings a pop in tackling and is always coming with hell raising intentions.



David Ojabo; Highly doubt he is an option but he should be included regardless. Some see him as merely someone who's hands are in the dirt but he has shown me enough flexibility to be a rush linebacker; 3-4 OLB as you would call them. The whole one year wonder does scare me but he will be worth a risk given how strong he finished the season.






I wish there were more I could showcase but these players are the best current examples the Steelers can acquire in Round One. I would stress caution on getting ones hopes up in Lloyd as Pittsburgh has not selected a First Round Pick on the PAC 12 since David DeCastro. Regarding Defense... have to go back to Troy Polamalu in 2003. Even if one narrows it down to Utah Utes players, Brian Allen was the last Utah Defensive Player selected by the Steelers in 2017; Stevenson Sylvester in 2010. Oddly enough, the highest selected defensive player to date from that college was Brian Allen himself.



The others though? Some are likely to be out of range; specifically Hamilton and possibly Ojabo. The rest though are more likely options not just due to their likelihood but also due to Pittsburgh's frequency of drafting such players from said colleges; Georgia, Michigan and Penn State, to name a few.

 

Talking to me?



It did not take me much film on his Sophomore Season alone to come to the conclusion he would be a Top 10 player. His Junior Tape would tell the tale of him if I believed he would be the best player in his class; regardless of position. After only the first week, my mind was made up and has not changed since then.


Hamilton is the best Safety prospect to come out in a long, long time. For that matter, I have said it before and shall do so again; at worst his floor is Derwin James and at best? Say hello to the second coming of Kenny Easley.