Steelers 2020 Draft Class

I was thinking the rating was just a fat finger?

 

Or a fat head?

 

Considering how he basically made a complete 360 in terms of his ability to pass this year I think overtime he will continue to grow in thay aspect. He will never be as deadly a passer as some but he can be very good to go with his legs for as long as he has them plus he's only what 22? He at least has those legs long as he continues to stay healthy for another 7-8 years.

 

My problem with the Ben situation is I've always felt he was a notch below the top level guys. If you look at his career he never carried the team deep into the playoffs without us having either an elite defense, elite offense, or both. Whenever he didnt have top tier talent around him he didnt do as well and we don't have elite units on either side. We are very far behind the chiefs and ravens.

 

The results were 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions. That didn't all happen on RPO plays. His completion percentage, yards per attempt and touchdown percentage all rose significantly in 2019 while his interception percentage dropped.

I think Steelers fans tend to focus on one shaky performance against the Steelers early in the season, forgetting how well he played after that. That was one subpar performance against an elite defense. That was in the sweet spot of the season after Fitzpatrick arrived, but before Tuitt was injured.

Of course, at this point it is the combination of skill as a runner and passer that makes him special, but the trend with his passing skills is up, not down.

 

They could definitely move on from Ingram in a year or two, with Dobbins taking more of the load.

That said, they can back off some on Jackson running without eliminating that part of his game entirely. At some point, they have to strike a balance between getting the most out of him and keeping him healthy.

 

I think I’d agree with that. Ben gives the ball away too much to be in company with Brady, Brees or Rodgers. Even the most staunch Ben supporters would probably concede that he is in the tier below those guys.

The defence could be elite next season? That passing attack could also be good with Juju, Washington, Johnson, Claypool, McDonald and Ebron. If it all clicks and they avoid a major injury crisis anything is possible.

Chiefs and Ravens do look to be in very good shape but seasons rarely pan out exactly as expected. Nobody was predicting the Ravens or 49ers to be as good as they were last season for example, or that the Titans and Derrick Henry would steamroll through the playoffs. There is often an outlier that surprises everyone.

 

I will give you always about the outlier. I thought the nines would be good if Jimmy g stayed healthy but not as good as they were because they were competitive all last yr they just didn't have jimmy g. Lamar is what shocked me with he ravens. They always have a semblance of a defense but lamar making the leap he made as a PASSER is how they took off. But always outliers of course but teams with elite qbs remain consistently good. Seattle for example has always had pelnty of holes after the LOB era but russell Wilson constantly keeps them afloat. Unless lamar falls flat on his face I don't see the ravens regressing. I do see San Fran taking a step back. Titans will take a step back cant trust Ryan tannehill.

Now for steelers like I thought before last season juju isn't a number 1. Hes a number 2. Claypool has a lot to work on he will make plays but he's far from a polished receiver. The offense will be better than last yr but won't be elite. Defense can be possibly elite but I need to see more from devin bush in order for the defense to take that next step. The talent we have rn doesn't compare when the team had guys they had in the past who were the absolute best in the business. Its only 2 guys on our roster id call rn elite players and thats minkah and watt.

 

Heyward and Tuitt might be the best interior DL duo in the league, I can’t think who might be better. The front seven have led the league in sacks several times in recent years, it’s an excellent group imo. Nelson / Haden are a top 10 corner pairing based on last season, arguably top 5. The defence as a whole could be very good / elite again, and it’s not all Minkah and Watt.

Offence is a question mark for sure, lots of if’s and maybes but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that things click for them at some stage next season given the depth they have added with Claypool, Ebron, Derek Watt and McFarland. A lot of it depends on Ben though.

 

Far as dline goes you'd have to separate 3-4 and 4-3 becuase alot of guys who are 4-3 De would be a 3-4 lineman like Calais Campbell for example but you got donald and brockers, Allen and Payne in Washington, Wolfe and Calais now in bmore, etc.. but again I said the defense will be good. When I think ELITE I think about a defense that will be special. I mean tbh I don't even think there was 1 last yr maybe San Fran but NE was considered the best all year but no one looked at them and said this is one of the best we've seen and they put up numbers like they were but they looked the roster and said OK they have a bunch of good players but only 1 guy is one you'd consider an elote player and that's gilmore.

Again depth is always good but at the end of the day its about talent. Yeah the chiefs for example keep having depth but they also have 2 skill guys that are both top 5 at their postion along with the best player in the world at the helm. Just having depth isn't enough. Have to have some elite talent too which they don't have on offense at any postion.

 

Not to be splitting hairs but the Steelers are rarely in their base 3-4. Heyward and Tuitt are as good as there is at exerting pressure up the middle imo. Pass rush duo and corner duo are also excellent, as is Minkah at FS

We may have a different definition of elite. I think a game changing unit that leads the league in several important KPI’s is elite. If they stay injury free they will be right up there with the best in the league imo

 

I dont cal the corners excellent and yout junk because two players as a duo is good means they are individually excellent or elite. For example as a DUO cooks and woods for the rams last yr were a very good duo probably top 5. But were either of them elite nor did them as a unit have the same impact of a julio, hopkins, etc.. no. So just being a good duo doesn't make you elite. If you have a duo weee both players individually elite than that's one thing.

 

I don’t really follow what you mean.

There is no point in going back and forth on the definition of elite but just to summarise I don’t think you’ll ever have a defence or offence where every single player is the best at their position. It’s not possible in the salary cap era. It’s about how the units work together and how the individuals complement each other and contribute towards stopping the opponent scoring points. The defence did that very well last year despite getting no help from the offence whatsoever, they lost the time in possession battle game after game.

As it happens the Steelers had three first team all pros on defence last year, all in key positions. Once Minkah came in to the team in week three they were as good as any defence in football as an overall unit imo. Can they repeat that performance in 2020 is the question.