TE

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2017/06/devils-advocate-grimble-tops-te-depth-chart/

nice article talking about our TE situation. as i saw grimble this year he looks to have added muscle and looks a lot stronger than last year. good to see he was working hard this offseason. i have been a big fan of his since he got here as some know. his college days showed some of what he is capable of and now his added work should payoff i hope. he also showed us a glimmer of his athleticism last year on the field. the rib injury hurt that growth.

i also love me some jesse james and i think this kid really grew last year for us.

we will have to see where the off season has taken these two with jesse's blocking and grimbles hands but i think we are in very good shape with these two going forward and they will suprise some teams and fans alike.

now the question becomes how many do we keep?

my take is nix also gets brought up in this conversation. he was hurt for much of the year. he seems to be back healthy too. he can do some things for us that we would rely on TE's to do in this offense as well.

i've always been luke warm to DJ and can take him or leave him. will this be the year we leave him?

with these 3 players coming of age and the use of hubbard on game days as an extra blocker in some sets, do we really have a need for DJ now?

remember we have two young UDFA TE's sitting here too. getting rid of DJ opens up an extra spot for another player. WR, S, CB. what say you?

 

While James showed a lot of improvement last year he still has a long ways to go as a blocker. Don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell they cut our best blocking te hoping that James suddenly becomes a great blocker.

 

We will have to keep all 3 ..DJ,JJ and Grimble will be on the 53 man roster ...I also think Grimble will be the main TE by the end of the season...I look at DJ as more of a FB he spends most of his time at that position ...

 

Never been a fan of DJ ,nothing personal . I see Nix being able to bring everything he can and more....some will argue but I agree with Mac...much better options for a roster spot. If we're worried about losing DJs blocking from the TE position,just use Hubbard. He probably offers as much as a receiving threat....what does DJ catch 4 passes a year...

 

both james and grimble grew as blockers. nix also knocks the crap out of people. all 3 can catch the ball. i think the extra spot is much more valuable than dj's slightly better blocking. that was also last year. i think the distance gap of blocking has closed between these guys.

 

Jessie made strides last year as a blocker.


It is just about how much he has grown this offseason that will dictate what will the team do come this season.


Consdiering nothing of major note has been mentioned regarding his blocking ability in a negatvie tone in addition to the good news as well, I suspect Jessie will have the capability to be a blocker who is good enough for what they want him to do.



Keep in mind everyone that Chris Hubbard can still be used given his improvement as well.

 

good to see. http://www.steelersdepot.com/2017/07/xavier-grimble-becoming-gym-junkie-offseason/

 

Maybe this article will change your mind about JJames, he has become a solid blocker and thats why he will be the starting TE this year:

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2017/05/film-room-value-jesse-james/

 

Xavier Grimble's problem isn't fitness or the ability to get open... its is hands.

 

He has one more good hand than Sammie Coates

 

he had two drops. jesse had 4.

 

X-Man had a third of the targets Jesse had... there is a reason he doesn't see the field as often.

I hope he does turn it around, because he was able to get open quite easily when I was watching him at training camp a year or two prior, dude is already crazy athletic.

 

true but he was also dealing with bruised ribs. pretty painful if you haven't had them.

from what i am reading though they are going to be counting on him more than last year as a receiver. his blocking wasn't bad either and thats a plus. him getting stronger will help that. i'm pretty happy with where our young TE's are and do expect them to get better, which is the case with most young players we have. every season they should improve. the extra work he's putting in says he wants to succeed anyway.

between he, jesse and nix we should have some sneaky receptions that teams will have to account for and we know that takes pressure off the main targets. i'm pretty pumped about this offense finally putting all the pieces together. it should be fun to watch.

 

Anyone familiar with Scott Orndoff? Tall blocking UDFA. If he shows reliability in the blocking game during camp than maybe he finds a spot on the practice squad

 

I would instantly dub him Mr. Wonderful. LOL!

 

I've heard good things about Orndoff. How that translates into training camp proper... we shall see.

 

we should keep both orndoff and odom on the PS. while we still have daniels here at least. then we can see what grimble and jesse have but more so DJ is in his 9th season already.

 

The Outlaw and Mr. Wonderful, sounds like a good tag team. Bring in Silverback for a triple threat match and they are golden

 

silverback? we don't want people to get that hurt.