Official 2019 Draft Talk Thread - NO SPOILERS

I think he's destined to go to the PS. He already has two other guys both from the MAC as well I believe standing in his way. The development of OLa and especially Adams seem to be taking their sweet time.

 

Oh I agree. This draft screams of special teams as much as anything else. You need quality back ups, but those guys also need to play stellar special teams. Our Sp teams play has sucked. Well they Kept Danny Smith, so let's see who the real problem is, Smith, or lack of decent players. Me thinks a bit of both.

 

It's a pretty bad commentary when we are describing a draft that just finished as a STs draft as much as anything. We got who we got,so we have to wait and see. I will have my doubts that we are gonna make the tough decisions until I see them start happening. I'm just a little miffed at the fact we used our first 3 selections on areas we addressed already in FA. I understand the Bush pick and I'm not mad but then we went WR and CB when we do have some depth there already. I just saw TE and FS as a couple of our biggest needs and not only did we select a TE that gets no one excited but also no FS at all....

 

Last pick is Derwin Gary out of Maryland. He is listed as an Offensive Tackle. I see him more so an Interior Offensive Lineman.


Dude was pretty powerful for a tackle though. Shifting him inside to guard can decrease his deficiencies in his bend. That way, he can focus more on developing his awareness and technique.

 

Maybe but in not too sure about that. Even in his limited action Ola has shown he can hold the edge pretty well. Something SS can only dream about at this point. I also think KA going into his 3rd year where they have spent extra cash to obtain him has a clearer path as well. I don't see SS ever getting to the point where he will be trusted against the run. We haven't ever seemed like a team that employs pass rush specialist only. He will have to be well versed in both,not to mention coverage. Even though I feel if you can get after the QB I don't care so much about dropping. They do though so.....

 

Wow, I see only one (Martavis Bryant) since 2009 that contributed anything at all.

 

Young Willie Colon?

 

STs demon written all over him but like I've said in a couple of my other posts ,they have to be willing to move some bodies from the roster. Not just you but a lot of guys are saying special teams for this guy special teams for that guy. There's still only 46 helmets on game day and veterans in the way. They are also gonna have to be willing to carry more than 3 OLBs. Ola would most likely be the 4th even if they do.
Competition is a good thing though,so we'll see how it plays out.

 

I do not think Willie had 35 inch arms. That is rare for Interior Offensive Lineman.

 

Well guys, as always you all have made my favorite time of the off season even better by discussing the draft with me here a TSF. Thanks for another great draft season. See you all in Latrobe!

 

Missed day 3, had to work.

Snell in the 4th is underwhelming. Not a dig on the player, he's a good power back and that gives us 3 now. I thought they'd try to mix in a guy who could take it to the house once in awhile. I did see they signed Trayvon McMillan from CU so that was good, I mentioned him some. I really liked what I saw when I watched their games. Although I was trying to get a bead on Laviska Shenault.

Gentry in the 5th is another Scott Orndorf signed as an UDFA a couple years ago. This guy isn't really great at blocking or receiving imo. Another position convert.

I did really like all the 6th rounders..Buggs, Gilbert and Smith. All great picks imo. I have high hopes for Buggs to push Big Dan off the roster. Would have taken Daylon Mack instead but whatever.

I know didley about the Maryland OL taken in the 7th.

 

I don't know, other than the first round pick, I'm not too high on this draft. There just isn't a lot to be excited about here.

I was really hoping we were going to draft some guys that were going to push Bud Dupree and Sean Davis, and they really didn't. I'm getting the vibe now that the Steelers are going to try to resign these two guys to cap friendly deals next year. But that might prove difficult.

Draft Thoughts:

Devin Bush -- Great Pick

Diontae Johnson -- Seems to me this pick was equal parts his talent at WR and kick return capability, and that makes me wonder if this was a reach? He is tiny, AB counteracted that with having strong arms to beat the jam or tackle attempts. I feel we needed more of a big Martavis Bryant type to stretch the field deep.

Justin Layne -- Might be good, but then again I thought the same about Cam Sutton? I don't have a lot of confidence of the Steelers devloping corners right now.

Benny Snell -- Seems like he has good vision and a lot of heart, but doesn't have great speed so what is the upside here?

Zach Gentry -- Seems like more of the same type of TE we have hang on to our rosters every year, that never seems to go anywhere

Sutton Smith -- Seems like a special teams only guy, maybe that means Chickillo will beef up to play OLB exclusively? I don't see how Smith pushes anyone at OLB though.

Isaiah Buggs -- I want to like this pick, but we drafted a very similar Alabama guy almost the same spot last year with little to no impact.

Ulysees Gilbert -- I don't understand the pick here with an already crowded ilb room?

Derwin Gray -- Ramon is NOT losing his roster spot this year so not sure why they draft him and also brought in 2 guards as UDFAs. We already have a couple nice players who can play Guard from last years roster (Okafor, Hawkins, and Finney).

 

The day 3 picks I like are Snell, Gilbert, and Buggs, I hope Buggs last longer than the Alabama DL we drafted last year . Buggs had 9.5 sacks last season, he should be able to be a backup DL. We got two speedy ILB's in Bush and Gilbert, why not take Jordan Brailford in the 7th edge rusher who they had in for a visit, instead of another project OT . My biggest disappointment from this draft is no FS, this draft was loaded with them too, we have no depth if Sean Davis gets injured.

 

Totally agree about Sean Davis, with no significant back up, he will have the Steelers by the you know what when it comes to contract negotiations. And if he goes down this year we are indeed screwed.

I feel you might be able to shift Edmunds to FS, but then that means you need a new starting SS and by then you are going to have a lot if inexperience in the secondary... bad times all around.

There were a lot of safties I liked in this draft.

 

There were a lot of good safeties available in the 2017 draft as well but they looked elsewhere. Then in a underwhelming 2018 class they get 2.

Justin Layne at CB feels like a Teryl Austin pick. Most of the CBs from MSU are handsy and Cincy took two I can think of. I think Austin was there at the time, but not sure.

 

These two are generally considered OTs. Finney is the only legit interior back up. Patrick Morris is an unproven back up at C

 

You are forgetting about contributions on special teams I suspect.

 

Bush.....we needed a ILB we got one. I think Bush can be a pretty good one.

Dionte Johnson....I would of liked a height /speed guy as well at the WR position . Johnson has quick feet but does he have the speed to seperate outside. His release and footwork is being touted as AB like but AB had the speed you have to respect outside and the strength to beat press man if you challenged him. That will remain to be seen with his slight frame. I think it's gonna take him a while to get used to the physicality of the CBs in the NFL AB made himself what he is. DJ will need to have the same mentality to succeed.

Layne....They like to give their coaches a pick especially new coaches. It probably a pick Austin wanted like Turtle said. I have just as little faith in his development from our staff as well. Don't think he's the playmaker Colbert was blabbing about needing. He's more of a physical CB. Great just in time for the new PI rules.

Snell....a little early like most of our picks seem to be. Thought they would look for more of a HR threat. Instead we got more of what we have. I just hope he makes the same transformation of his body like LB and Conner and hopefully Samuels before him. He fits nicely with our style and the guys in the room. We shouldn't have to adjust to anything in his running style. I just would of liked a change of pace type.

Gentry....4.9 40 at the combine yikes! Supposedly he ran a 4.66 at his ProDay. Funny how everyone is so much faster at their ProDay. Well at least he's a huge body and will be very helpful in the run game. Well besides the fact his scouting report says he can't block. Huge target in the passing game at least....wait what's that? He can't catch either. I wanted a more athletic TE and we seemed to have gotten one of the least athletic. Matt Spaeth 2.0 except for the blocking. Would of liked a higher pedigree selection. If McDonald gets hurt we're done getting anything out of the TE spot. Mr Irrelevant the TE selected last in the draft seems to have a higher upside.

Smith....I don't see his game translating well against NFL tackles. A move to inside is being talked about and honestly I think his best option. The ILB room is already crowded and I had my doubts they were gonna release veterans to make room that easily. Bostic gas been released so they are showing some willingness. Dirty Red will be a tougher call for them,for sure. We'll see but he will most likely still have to learn and develop in a new position and that's never easy.

Buggs....... Has a reputation that his motor runs hot and cold. Hopefully Dunbar can turn the knob to hot and keep it there. Being a rotational piece should help that. He has a chance to win the spot over LTW and Big Dan or he can very well end up like Frazier. If that's the case we will need to start addressing DL much higher in the draft next year.

Gilbert......is a good pick where we got him. He will need to show a lot early to find himself among the 46 on game day. That would mean his STs need to be outstanding to supplant Matakevich. I see him as a nice piece for the future but most likely PS for now. There would be too much youth and inexperience at ILB to have all these new faces crack the 53. I'm a little concerned our ILBs especially with the release of Bostic have no sand in their pants besides VW. Stopping the run is first and foremost...

Gray.....I would of taken a flier on another TE. One with a more athletic profile. Or a big WR that could be a conversion project at TE.

I still don't think we addressed the TE position to the magnitude we needed to. Someone has to make up for JJs 500+ snaps. One injury spells big trouble there.
The same could be said about the FS position. One injury and we're in deep. I still can't believe we did nothing. We didn't need 9 picks no matter how much Colbert said he loves every one. The fact he said he didn't even consider trading up is asinine. Let's see how many stick.

 

Preaching to the choir about FS my friends. Maybe they sign a TE and FS after teams make their cuts

 

Your analogy doesent match the facts that 66% of the players in the NFL are drafted in the 4-5-6-7th rounds along with the UDFAs who some also make it on team rosters, so these picks are far from being wasted....

 

Where are you getting this 66% figure? And UDFAs by their very nature are never wasted picks and so are irrelevant to my point.

 

That's my biggest gripe about this draft class, Colbert talked about needing playmakers on defense, yet he ignored the FS position. I thought a rookie FS could be the dimebacker in this defense. If you draft Bush, then pair him with a playmaker at FS then you got something. Layne at CB really isn't playmaker.