RPO Draft Evaluation

What an interesting draft. While I don't fall into the group of chicken littles who think the sky is falling because of a few draft picks, I did plenty to be critical of... and even more to be excited about.


From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
1 30 Takkarist McKinley EDGE UCLA
Alternate A Obi Melifonwu S UCONN
Alternate B Deshone Kizer QB Notre Dame

The Pick
1 30 TJ Watt EDGE Wisconsin
My Board: 22nd
Positional Rank: 5th EDGE
Need Score: A
Value Score: A-
Overall Draft Grade: A

No big secret here. We had a dire need at the position, the draft was deep in 1st round Edge rushers. We all had a pretty strong feeling this was the direction the 1st round would go in. I had hoped Takk's injury would have dropped him in our lap (I had him 16th overall in the draft). But Watt is a fantastic pick. I'm not going to break him down here, we've done that enough.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
2 62 Jourdan Lewis CB Michigan
Alternate A Marcus Williams S Utah
Alternate B Derek Rivers EDGE Youngstown

The Pick
2 62 Ju Ju Smith-Schuster WR USC
My Board: 46th
Positional Rank: 4th WR
Need Score: C
Value Score: A-
Overall Draft Grade: B

Boy did that run on safeties hurt... 11 DBs went in the 2nd round before our pick. And that was after 8 on day one. We could've had the 20th best DB in the draft... instead we did the smart thing. Even though our need was at nickel/hybrid, we had a heck of a player fall in our lap. When you take this pick out of the context of need (DB) and remove the myth that we have no need at WR, you'll start to appreciate it. JuJu is unlike any WR we have or have had in a long time. He's going to see the field very quickly in 3rd down situations, red zone, and other opportunities with his physical abilities (over the middle possession, run blocking, contest routes will be utilized. I had us taking a WR in the 4th.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
3 94 Desmond King S Iowa
Alternate A Rasul Doughlas CB WVU
Alternate B Davis Webb QB Cal

The Pick
3 94 Cameron Sutton CB Tennessee
My Board: 109th
Positional Rank: 15th CB
Need Score: C+
Value Score: C-
Overall Draft Grade: C

Missing out on Josh Jones by one damn pick, and then missing out on Jourdan Lewis by 2 picks... is going to stick in my craw for years (I hope they both bust now). I really don't know what to make of this pick, because Sutton is weak in the areas the Steelers traditionally value the most (zone, tackling). How are they going to use him? Obviously, it's a nice addition to special teams from a return perspective, but on defense he's a man corner, who doesn't tackle well. Is he really their solution in the slot?

3 105 Josh Reynolds WR Texas A&M
Alternate A Shaquil Griffin CB Central Florida
Alternate B Samaje Perine RB Oklahoma St

The Pick
3 105 James Conner RB Pitt
My Board: NR
Positional Rank: NR
Need Score: B-
Value Score: F
Overall Draft Grade: D+

I had a battering ram RB as one of my alternate picks at this spot (Perine). There's no other way to describe this pick other than a hometown reach. Everyone knows Conner's story. But a 3rd round pick? Crazy. I am excited about him though, regardless of the poor value of the pick. If Conner can alleviate some short yardage carries, and eliminate our historically inept "1st and goal from inside the 2" problems, he'll change everyone's mind about the value proposition here.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
4 135 Josh Dobbs QB Tennessee
Alternate A Jake Butt TE Michigan
Alternate B Carrol Phillips EDGE Indiana

The Pick
4 135 Josh Dobbs QB Tennessee
My Board: 100th
Positional Rank: 5th QB
Need Score: B+
Value Score: A
Overall Draft Grade: A-

I GOT ONE!!!! This is our 2nd best pick of the draft (Watt). Perfect value at the perfect time. I don't know why everyone isn't thrilled with this pick. Dobbs is going to get a minimum of 2 years development time, behind Ben and with an excellent coaching staff. With Dobbs, it comes down to one thing, building up his lower body mechanics and footwork to match his ability in and out of the pocket. For a "running QB", Dobbs is fantastic at waiting until the last possible second to break the pocket, but he's got footwork issues that lead to his inaccuracy even when standing in the pocket (and even worse when he breaks it). He gets the ball out quick with zip. Sure he throws a LOT of short passes, but they are on NFL style combination routes, very similar to what we run. His velocity on short/intermediate throws is fantastic. And his deep ball is purrrty. I'm not going to regurgitate his character and intelligence, but it is certainly top notch, and doesn't hurt.

Is he our next franchise QB? Maybe.... maybe not. But we haven't been able to say "maybe" and now is the time.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
5 173 Elijah Qualls DL Washington
Alternate A Jalen Myrick CB Minnesota
Alternate B Wayne Gallman RB Clemson

The Pick
5 173 Nate Allen DB Utah
My Board: NR
Positional Rank: NR
Need Score: C-
Value Score: C-
Overall Draft Grade: C-

This is the kind of pick I like in the late rounds. There is nothing but enormous upside here. I watched Nate Allen play. He's not a CB... not yet. He plays the position as if he thinks he's still a WR and everything he does in coverage looks like a WR. The likelihood, is that Nate Allen never plays CB in the NFL. BUT... there's a small chance that he develops, and if he does... look out. Because Nate Allen has all the athletics and ball skills you drool over. He's a practice squad lotto ticket.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
6 213 Jeremy Sprinkle TE Arkansas
Alternate A Lorenzo Jerome S SFU
Alternate B Keion Adams EDGE Western Michigan

The Pick
6 213 Colin Holba LS Louisville
My Board: NR
Positional Rank: NR
Need Score: C+
Value Score: D
Overall Draft Grade: C-

Yes. It's easy to laugh at drafting a LS. And yes, IT LOOKS like a waste of a pick. The reality is 2 things. First, Greg Warren is 35 years old and takes up over 1 million in cap space. The 2nd, good long snapping is something you get used to. We've had one of the best for over a decade. We don't even think about it. We don't miss FGs/XPs because of bad snaps, we don't give up field position because of bad snaps, we don't have game changing plays against because of bad snaps. If this 6th round draft pick continues that success, then it will have been well worth it. The little things, still impact the game.

From my Steelers Mock/Wish List
7 248 Jahad Thomas RB Temple
Alternate A Patrick Gamble DL Georgia Tech
Alternate B Pita Taumoupeno EDGE Utah

The Pick
7 248 Keion Adams EDGE Western Michigan
My Board: NR
Positional Rank: NR
Need Score: A
Value Score: A
Overall Draft Grade: A

If I was Anthony Chickillo and Arthur Moats... I'd be worried about my roster spot right now. Keion Adams has natural talent. His burst and bend are ridiculous. Joey Porter... DO YOUR JOB! I'm glad we double dipped at Edge. A long term unit of Dupree, Watt, Chickillo, and Adams... we are in a much better place than we were when we drafted Jarvis Jones.

Overall Draft Grade: B-

Pros:
- Addressed the greatest short and long term need on the team in a top tier EDGE Rusher, and even double dipped with a high potential developmental talent.
- Addressed lesser valued needs that could prove invaluable picks in the future (Physical Starting caliber WR, Future QB, Battering Ram RB... even a long snapper)
- Double Dipped in DBs
- Used 2 late rounders on high end developmental athletes (Allen, Adams)

Cons
- Did not add a high end / immediate impact DB
- Missed out on an incredible safety class
- Overdrafted in the 3rd round

 

Overall I agree with your assessment with a couple comments. Totally agree on Dobbs. If he puts it all together lookout. We might have gotten the steal of the 2017 draft class. He's smart, athletic etc.

As for Holba I think you've got his grade and value a little low. If a 6th round pick leads to 10 more years of rock solid stability at LS it's an easy A.

As for Sutton and him being a man corner vs a zone corner. Look back to what Tomlin am doing Rooney said in the offseason. I'm paraphrasing here, but they basically said we need to be a better man coverage team.

That rb pick still kind of annoys me. I'm just going to try and have faith in the FO on that one. Yes we needed a rb, but not so sure he was the one we needed.

 

For what it's worth Dave Te Thomas has been raving about Allen and Dobbs for a while now. I know he's a scout and scouting isn't an exact science by any stretch of the imagination, but it gives me hope

 

Meh, even a narcissistic blind squirrel gets a nut every now and then

 

Re: Holba

I look at it like this. If Antonio Brown is an A+ 6th round pick... how can a 10 year long snapper be anything but a D from a value perspective?

That's why my narrative of the Holba pick was entirely positive. But still recognizing the overall value appropriately, at least that's what I was going for.

 

Nice write up thanks for taking the time. I just have some questions and thoughts starting from the top.
You had Jourdan Lewis as your pick in the 2nd but then you said we could of settled for the 20 th best CB but instead we did the smart thing and took a WR instead....why not take Lewis there then you wouldn't be upset he went a couple picks before us in the 3rd?

With Conner you seemed to be a little bit higher on him when we first picked him and now you are souring saying he was a reach(which I agree with). Also his scouting report tells of a guy who is less than spectacular on short yardage because of his upright style and his power won't translate as well as it did in college,imho...

I the 5th you had Qualls (who I also like)who went the pick right after we took Holba so Qualls would have been much better value at that point. Yes Warren is 35 years old but he has been Mr. reliable for many years and I'm pretty sure a LS can play almost as long as he wants. I know we don't really pay attention or give credit to th LS until something goes wrong but so far so good and who is to say Holba will be as flawless as Warren has been....if it ain't broke don't fix it,I say. We will be saying Warren was worth every bit of that 1 million when Holba costs us a game...

Everything else I agree with. I just feel we could of done better for sure......

 

I still argue, if you slide Conner, Dobbs, and Allen back one pick each and don't draft the LS plus take a TE at the comp pick you end up with a great draft. The 3 guys all were drafted a round early but aren't bad picks. By passing on TE at 3b we left a need unmet that could have been.

My guess is the FO watched the safeties go in round 2 quickly and worried they'd miss out if the waited so they just took the guys they wanted even if it was a round early.

 

Great point on Lewis. You're correct, I was simply counting the SNs drafted and forgot one of my top corners was there.

I don't like the Conner pick, But I like him and the projected usage his pick implies.

Agreed on Qualls/Holba as well

 

I didn't see TE as a need. I did expect a mid-late round depth add, especially someone on the blocking side (which is why I liked sprinkle late.

 

It's Brian Allen CB from Utah

 

nice write RPO. we did good. nice draft and some guys here better pick it up because they will be pushed. we drafted motivation for several players and if not they will be gone. add this to our FA pickups and i'm pretty happy about going into this season. not to mention we have some talent in our futures picks already here. very good competition going to be going on this year and next.

 

doh!
My Steelers Mock 2010 Wishlist was
1ST Pouncey
2ND Nate Allen
3RD Alex Carrington


I guess I never let go.... lol

 

TE need or not comes down to one thing......Green's health. If he stays healthy, it wasn't a need. To me that may be a big IF.

 

Cameron Sutton a C overall?


Not the first time I have seen this. Interesting.


Pittsburgh did state they wanted to use more man coverages. I suppose Sutton not only paves a way for this change to happen but also acts as a contingency plan should Senquez or Cody not be able to supplant William Gay or if Gay is hurt.


As for the rest, JuJu's capabilities are still being underestimated even now by some for some odd reason. It will not be long for he makes his grand debut.



Side note RPO, my opinion did not change about Takkarist Mckinley either. I was just too estatic about the selection of T.J. Watt. He also would have been fine.

 

But you said "phew, glad someone else took him", when Atlanta took him (before we took watt)... I was puzzled by that.

 

I thought the run on edge rushers would happen shortly after Harris. I thought Atlanta would select TJ Watt then Green Bay acquire Takkarist soon thereafter. That would have made me beyond upset.


However, when I did say I was glad someone else took him, I was glad for the fact that TJ Watt was still on the board for I thought Green Bay would take him; much like the above statement.


Either way, either would have been fine. I am just a bit more estatic for Watt dropping because if McKinney were to drop, who knows if Green Bay would have still traded out.

 

Indeed. Versatility is often on Mike Tomlin's draft menu.

 

I don't follow your logic
But I forgive you

 

Good write up, thanks.

And I never let go either. I liked Nate Allen coming out. I'm also still mad we took Ziggy instead of Laurenitis and Worilds instead of Sean Lee lol.

 

Fair enough.


I think we both can be happy we got a value and need in the first; 2015 also being the exact same scenario in terms of what we needed.

 

i think we got more scheme knowledge with tj watt than we would have gotten with mckinley. they played our defense and our hybrid at wisconsin. i do believe we got the smarter player. we now have good starters in our front 7 and good depth behind them.

 

I didn't want McKinley at all, a guy that just had shoulder surgery would worry me.

 

I hope Brian Allen doesn't become this years version of Doran Grant, get cut and then to the practice squad and then eventually end up on another team.