Steelers' options at FB

I wanted to start a thread to discuss about what's going to happen with our full back position this upcoming season. I ran across a few articles and I wanted to list and discuss a few of our options. We know Todd Haley uses a full back more than Bruce Arians does. Arians' full back was a tight end who can maybe be a full back as compared to what I've read about Haley is that he uses a H-back type full back with a bit more emphasis on blocking and catching out of the back field as opposed to out wide. Full back is not a strong position of need so we don't have too much talent invested in it and I feel it's one of the few positions we're having an open competition with. It's all up to whoever shows up at camp. I found this interesting link about our full backs and tight ends. After I read it I did some research on our potential full backs and he's a break down of that list.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2012/05/po ... fullbacks/

David Johnson:
24 years old, 6'2". 260 lbs. I think we have all seen Johnson and all know what he's capable of. We drafted him in the 7th round as a TE who could block. I guess they thought since he was a good down line blocker he could handle the lead blocking roll as well. Well we've all seen how that turned out. As far as catching, we know he doesn't have the hands to be a traditional tight end nor can he catch very well out of the backfield. He seems to be a jack of all trades master of none. He's here because he provides position flexibility. Listed on our official roster as a TE but we use him as a FB, and is only one of 2 people attending the FB meeting according to the link above.

Jamie McCoy:
24 years old, 6'3". 242 lbs. TE out of Texas A&M. He was a TE in college but we used him as a FB in preseason and from what I've read he did a decent job lead blocking. He wasn't much of a pass catcher though, and had mediocre numbers in college in that category which is probably why he didn't catch on in the Bruce Arians system. He's listed on our official roster as a TE but we figure to use him as an H-back in this system. Not a lot of info on him, but here's a few links.
http://tamu.rivals.com/cviewplayer.asp?Player=59041
http://www.steelers.com/team/roster/jam ... ab8bcedf7/

Will Johnson:
22 years old, 6'2. 240 lbs. WR/TE out of West Virginia. This is the most intriguing prospect for us. He began at West Virginia as a WR and then became a TE and went undrafted after he graduated. He claims to have fallen victim to the lock out as owners were more occupied with getting that situation worked out than they were looking for undrafted talent. He then got a few jobs and did the infamous cross-fit training to keep himself in playing shape. Apparently it worked and he caught the eye of Tomlin and Colbert at West Virginias pro-day (I'm assuming they were there checking up on Wes Lyons.) He ran a 4.49, 40 yard dash and did 30 reps of 225 and figures to be a FB/H-Back. He is the other person attending the FB meetings according to the article and he's also listed on the official roster as a FB (the only person to actually be listed as a FB at all.) The video I found on him shows him training and he comes off as a very motivated and intelligent individual. He's a dark horse pick but he's the guy I'm personally pulling for. His strength and speed are off the charts, lets see how he does with pads on.
http://vimeo.com/38167602
http://www.wvillustrated.com/story/1719 ... h-steelers

Thoughts? Who are you personally pulling for on this list? Or are you hoping the Steelers go with Mr. Outside Hire, or do you believe we won't have need for a FB at all this year?

Edit: Found another video on Will Johnson. It's a good breakdown of what he's capable of. He seems to be a real good pass catcher and can catch well out of the flats. Decent lead blocker as well and seems like a good hard worker from the short interview at the end of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouwkrBkagkQ

 

i'm a will johnson guy. i'd say d.j. would have had a leg up on him coming into camp because he knew the offense, but now with a new offense coming i think will j. will beat him out. he has pretty decent range as a pass catcher. getting him in the flats mismatched could be a big play in the redzone. they can lead him through the hole, fake the handoff to the back and catch them sleeping in the flats for the TD. it's only got to work once and teams will have to account for it after that, opening up someone else. he's a better athlete then DJ. i like the kids commitment to getting bigger and faster and i think he will work hard at lead blocking until he gets it.

 

I work on the assumption that anyone has to be better than David Johnson. He's probably the one player who hasn't been cut this off-season that I wanted to see go.

However, while the other's are potential upgrades, I don't think any of them strike me as being the kind of excellent blockers that most around here see as necessary for a FB.

There seems to be two conlficting views about Haley on this: on the one hand, he's used FBs more in the past than Arians did; on the other hand, he works with the weapons he's got. So I guess I would rather see him play to the strengths on the roster, than go another year with a mediocre version of a FB.

 

Eh...whoever is the best of the bunch haha.

I read that rookie FB Chad Diehl was cut recently...a lot of people were screaming his name around the draft. Obviously he isnt on the team right now so he doesnt count...but just wanted to throw it out there.

 

Wow thats nuts...I did a search after reading your post and found a couple myself.

http://www.tigernet.com/view/clemson_update.do?id=5839

http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012 ... artner=RSS

That sucks....cross him off the list I guess....

 

One other thing I will say is Will Johnson is the ONLY one of the 3 (mentioned by the OP) thats position is ACTUALLY listed as a FB.

 

This combined with the fact that we have an abundance of TE's on the roster I think David Johnson's days here are numbered. I think it might come down to who contributes more on special teams.

 

Just seen andrew sweat a browns rookie just gave up football due to concussions

 

Yeah i agree but still he was good enough to get an invite. You never know what couod happen after that

 

Yeah I agree. He's roping himself with people like Diehl who actually do have a history with concussions. Diehl would be a decent pro, but his injuries were just one after the other. Then you have guys that just need an excuse as to why they're giving up their dreams like Sweat. But this is why I like Will Johnson, he took a year off and got a few odd jobs to allow himself to continue to train and not give up on his dream. Back on subject

 

sweat was a good player. he was smart and a try hard guy without all the physical traits, but that's not why he opted out. he's going to law school. good for him. why keep beating his brains out? he can soon represent these athletes and get paid like them without the bruises.

 

Sooo...you're saying he'll be working for the Bengals?

 

Extensively...LOL

 

:hello: i'll be your counsel.

 

i hope we don't use a fb we need to pass the ball to win

 

I think that a full back to the offense is like a nose tackle to the defense. Ten years ago they were very important; today they are important but less important. Just like the nose tackle the full back is on the field fewer snaps.

I think that a full back today needs at least two skills. One is run blocking and the other is either pass blocking, receiving, or running the ball. When he steps on the field the defense must account for him. DJ is not this guy.

A guy with ok blocking skills and anything else is an upgrade to this offense.