steelers draft

Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, And Todd Haley Attend LSU Pro Day

As you might expect, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, GM Kevin Colbert, and Todd Haley are in attendance for LSU’s Pro Day today.

 


Obviously there’s a handful of prospects performing today that the Steelers could have a legitimate interest in, but one would have to think that LSU’s receiving corps is going to be their main focus there. Here is a list of LSU’s attendees.

LB Lamin Barrow
WR/RS Odell Beckham Jr.
RB Alfred Blue
WR Kadron Boone
FB J.C. Copeland
DT Ego Ferguson
LB Seth Fruge
LB Jarett Hardnett
DT Anthony Johnson
RB Jeremy Hill
LB Tahj Jones
WR Jarvis Landry
S Craig Loston
QB Zach Mettenberger
G Trai Turner
OL Josh Williford
WR James Wright

Beckham Jr. stood on his excellent 40 time from the combine of 4.43. Jarvis Landry, who had a very poor showing at the combine for his 40 yard dash (due to a hamstring pull reportedly), improved on it today going from 4.77 to 4.58. Landry is a legitimate possibility for the Steelers in my opinion. He’s an excellent route runner and has great hands. He could very well have a successful future as a physical possession receiver in the NFL.


I’ll close this with a couple videos of both Landry and Beckham Jr. if you haven’t seen them in action. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

Landry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3lII9T3XE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHZVb8vPRWU
OBJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cjvErKu35g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTARGC1MBos

Steelers 53 Man Roster

Predicting The Steelers Preseason Schedule

The NFL will be announcing the preseason schedules for all 32 teams later today. I thought it would be fun to take a shot at predicting the schedule. The league tries to include opponents who are not divisional foes, and who are relatively close in proximity. Here’s my shot at the Steelers preseason opponents this August. Feel free to point and laugh at me later. 🙂

Week 1- Philadelphia Eagles

Week 2- Buffalo Bills

Week 3- @ Detroit Lions

Week 4- @ Carolina Panthers

The real schedule will be announced at 3:15 est. today, check back then for an update. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

 

 

steelers draft

[Gifs] Kevin Colbert And Mike Tomlin Represent Steelers At Penn State Pro Day

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and Head Coach Mike Tomlin were in attendance at Penn State’s Pro Day today.

 


Here’s the list of prospects who participated today:

  • Punter Alex Butterworth
  • Linebacker Glenn Carson
  • Receiver Brandon Felder
  • Offensive lineman Garry Gilliam
  • Offensive lineman Adam Gress
  • Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones
  • Tight end Matt Lehman
  • Defensive back Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
  • Receiver Allen Robinson
  • Offensive lineman Josh Urschel
  • Defensive back Malcolm Willis

As you may already know, there’s one guy on that list who is high on my radar, and likely the team’s radar as well- Allen Robinson. Robinson improved greatly on his combine performance today, posting a 4.4x 40 yard dash and a tremendous 42 inch vertical jump. To put that into perspective, that’s higher than what any receiver posted at the combine, and 5 inches higher than Mike Evans’ vertical jump in February.

The 6’2″, 220 lb Robinson had 97 receptions, 1,432 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. One of Robinson’s stats that jumps out at you is his yards after catch on screens. You may have seen this in the forum a couple months ago, but here are some gifs that capture how shifty he can be in those situations.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

2014-04-07_2154

[Video] Time Lapse Of Baron Batch Painting Troy Polamalu Tribute

As you probably already knew, former Steelers running back Baron Batch is a painter. A pretty awesome painter. Occasionally, he sells his art to help with a good cause. Recently Batch shared a behind the scenes look at the creation of his tribute to Troy Polamalu.

About the painting, the former 7th round pick said, “I played with Troy Polamalu in Pittsburgh, and if black and gold had a face…it would be his.” Here is the video of Batch painting Troy. Enjoy.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”BaronBatchTroy”]

steelers draft

Steelers Hosting Safety Calvin Pryor For Pre-Draft Visit Today

The Steelers are hosting former Louisville Safety Calvin Pryor today according to Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette.


The 5’11”, 207 lb defensive back played mostly at free safety, but can play either free or strong. Many were surprised when Pryor went from being that “big safety” who was listed at 6’2″, to that averaged sized safety who shrunk 3 inches at the combine. Regardless, Pryor is a first round talent who is the best or second best safety in this class, depending on who you ask.

The big hitter’s specialty is zone coverage, as he didn’t play much man in college. Here are some of his games if you haven’t seen him in action. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Io0tKa1cCeU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2D6uqoUpNgs

steelers contracts

Darrius Heyward-Bey Contract Details & Steelers Salary Cap Update

The details of Darrius Heyward-Bey’s contract are now available, and as I figured the other day, the deal is for one year at the veteran minimum, including a $65,000 signing bonus. As such, the contract qualifies for the veteran minimum salary benefit. Here’s how it breaks down.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Heyward-Bey, Darrius”, 2014, “$730,000”, “$65,000”, “$635,000”

[/table]

After displacement of the top 51, I can tell you that the Steelers should be sitting at roughly $380,000 under the salary cap right now.  Believe it or not, the Steelers still have room to add more veteran depth to the roster before the draft.

They may likely choose to do so without making any moves to clear additional cap space. The team could also work out a long term contract with Jason Worilds at any time, which in turn would clear at least a few million in cap space this year. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Grove_Ryan

Steelers Assistant Athletic Trainer Hired By Dolphins

The Dolphins announce that they have hired Ryan Grove as their new Head Athletic Trainer.


Grove has been with the Steelers for 18 seasons. Grove served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Steelers from 1994-1996, after being an intern athletic trainer for the ’92-’93 season. He has been one of the team’s assistant athletic trainers since 1999.

In Miami, he replaces longtime athletic trainer Kevin O’Neill, who the Dolphins fired at the combine for his involvement in the Martin-Incognito scandal. About the hiring, Grove said, “I am excited to join the Miami Dolphins. The organization has a great history and storied tradition, and this is a great opportunity for me.”

steelers draft

Former Miami OT Seantrel Henderson Has Pre-Draft Visit Scheduled

According to Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel, Seantrel Henderson has a pre-draft visit scheduled with the Steelers.

Henderson was one of the country’s top recruits coming out of high school in 2010. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the hype. He was suspended multiple times at Miami for violating team rules, and his play on the field was never dominant. The 6’7, 331 lb mountain of a man also was hampered by back injuries during his college career.

Henderson split time between right and left tackle last season, and has great size and length to play at either side. Despite his size, he still gets beat in situations you wouldn’t expect him to. Also, his hand work needs a lot of improvement. To make matters worse, some reporters said he “quit” at his pro day today.

Henderson did not speak to media after the event. His agent addressed reporters, telling them that he was dehydrated and began to feel ill. Even though his stock has continued to slip, it seems unlikely to me that the Steelers will take a chance on him, even in the later rounds. His character flags have reportedly caused other teams to take him off their draft boards.

Here are a couple Miami games that highlight the tackle’s performance. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0xy3ZpozCzY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t4hl__3-XVA

Eric_Olsen_62_warming_up_2013_cropped

Titans Sign Former Steelers G/C Eric Olsen

The Tennessee Titans have signed former Steelers C/G Eric Olsen to a one year deal according to The Tennessean.


Olsen was the Steelers only exclusive rights free agent. They did not offer him a tender. Olsen was signed by the team last November, after being released by the Saints in September. The offensive lineman was originally drafted by the Broncos in the 6th round of the 2010 draft.

163px-Darrius_Heyward-Bey_Raiders

Steelers Sign WR Darrius Heyward-Bey

The Steelers announce that they have signed WR Darrius Heyward-Bey to a one year deal today.

It was reported earlier that the team would be hosting him for a workout. Heyward-Bey was signed by the Colts last year to a one year, $3 Mil deal. He struggled with injuries throughout the season, and also with showing reliable hands. The former Raiders first round pick has 69 career receptions totaling 2,380 yards, including 12 touchdowns.

While the terms of the deal obviously haven’t been disclosed yet, it would not surprise me if it were for the vet minimum with a small $65,000 signing bonus. It may be more than that, though. He was the fastest receiver in the 2009 draft class. He ran a 4.23 in 2006 in Maryland, and ran a 4.30 at the combine.

Darrius Heyward-Bey 40 yard dash.