Cornerback & Safety a Priority

You would think a person that handles the ball on every snap like the center does, calls out blocking assignments etc a higher priority would
exist? I mean the center/ qb exchange should be the most fundamental element in football. If this doesn't happen you screw everything up.

 

I can remember way back when all of the great teams had legendary centers. Lombardi's Packers had Jim Ringo, the Raiders had Jim Otto, the Vikings had Mick Tingelhoff, Shula's Dolphins had Jim Langer and of course the Steelers had Mike Webster. That was back before free agency so once you got a great center you had one for the next 10-12 years.

 

Why

 

Thank You Very Much

 

The problem is you also have to take into consideration quality of prospects in the draft at Center and CB and can you wait until the second or third round to get one or the other. In addition what does free agency look like for CB and Center? In my opinion the CB’s go faster in the draft. In addition in Free agency CB’s are alot more expensive. Plus when you look at Free Agency this year there are quite a few Centers available as compared to CB’s. The good CB’s in Free Agency would cost a ton of money. With that being said it all depends who is there at 20. If one of the top four CB’s is there and the top two Centers are also there.... I am taking the CB for sure. To be on the safe side I am probably taking a center in Free Agency since there are so many. In addition with a young QB behind Center in all honesty I think I like the idea of a veteran Center anyways.

 

I think it could go this way, the statement you made 'depends who is there at 20' says a lot. Of course that is helped on who the pick up in FA and then what Omar and co decide what to do with the position in the draft, move up and grab a guy they like, find a trading partner and move down because they feel the guy they want (or position of need) will be there and get the extra capitol, but honestly even if they sign a C (at decent cost), I would not be surprised to see them take one early as well.

 

Not all DBs are the same guy trying to do the same thing. Do you want a DB that is more ball-hawk? Meaning they are a play the ball first DEFENDER? These guys get a lot of highlights when they get it right or wrong. Right and it's an INT, wrong and it's a catch allowed with YAC. Or do you prefer a play the man first DB? A guy that will break up more passes over time but will rarely get an INT and will be more prone to PI calls. Break them down even more into Man cover guys vs Zone cover guys. You need both, but rarely get both from one player. How important is willingness and ability to tackle for you? Smaller, faster guys with elite change of direction and closing skills are typically not the best tacklers. Just my own specific requirement is number of snaps played. The more snaps a DB has played in college, the more experience and better overall defender he already is. Seniors over underclassmen, all else being close to equal.

Although I detest nicknames, my favorite to go to the Steelers if we go DB at #20 is 'Kool-Aid' McKinstry. Just a Junior yet has over 2000 college snaps. Called secondary alignments for Bama defense. Versatile defender that can play Outside/Slot/Nickel. Plus ST ability.

 

I think it is obvious Mitchell and Wiggins will go before the Steelers pick at 20 after their combine. Terrion Arnold was considered the consensus top CB heading into the combine but that may change now. Still he will probably go before we pick. So that leaves Cooper Dejean. If he rocks it at his pro day then we will probably miss out on him too. So I think your wish of a center will probably granted as I don’t thin I would Kool Aid now at 20 after his injury was discovered. Apparently it is an injury that can come back and be chronic. It just sucks because we really need another CB bad and there really aren’t any in FA other than Sneed and Johnson and they are gong to be cost prohibitive or we would have to give up draft capital for them. While there are a ton of Centers in FA. Believe me I would to draft one of the top Centers and CB’s but I just don’t think it is doable draft wise.

 

I want a do it all guy/ Mitchell is a do it all guy as is Arnold and Wiggins. Dejean appears more zone but he is so insintiual and a good tackler and you can move him all over the place. I really like Mitchell first and Dejean second. I would take any of the top four but Wiggins does give me some hesitation as he is slight. I also like Sanistril and Tekee Smith as slot options. We really need to fill both positions as our pass defense was woeful last year outside of JPJ. Minkah was out of position and trying to make up for alot of inefficiencies. Would love to see us get a higher pedigree safety in FA to run with Minkah and draft the CB and Slot CB. Then develop Rush and Trice and we would have a nice Secondary. Maybe bring in a Fletcher Cox on the cheap for a year and then we can draft DL high next year.

 

I already stated how I hope draft shakes out cb, center,Dl.Qb, wr,,Safety until
We get a feel in fa doesn't really matter what I think.

 

Its a guessing game for all of us. It will be interesting to see what they do in FA. It stinks we have to dip back into the well at LB. I was hoping we would have had that established after last year.

 

Just based on the sites I read, none of these prospects are a 'do it all guy'. Mitchell and Arnold are primarily Zone CBs and Wiggins is primarily a Man Press CB. Not that one way is better than another, just need to get the guy that fits what the Steelers need. JPJr is a Man Press CB and you saw how he got picked on at times, and drew flags. You also saw the splash plays that style can produce as well. Darius Rush is also a Man Press CB. Corey Trice is your Slot CB/Box Safety.

 

Culp is similar to Deebo Samuel but seems to be a little faster.

 

It's a bad draft for talent, meaning it is top heavy, there are very few opportunities to draft a good player on day 3, compared to past years.

 

From what I read they said Arnold and Mitchell can play man as well. They said Mitchell really showed the man skill set at the Senior Bowl. I think he is the Steelers number one target but i doubt he slips to them. Im not sure if I see Trice as being a slot CB or Box Safety. The word last year was that he actually was not a great tackler despite his size and you really need that short area quickness to play the inside slot position. Those guys are typically smaller and thicker. Trice is built for the perimeter from my perspective. I really hope he gets back to form and reminds healthy. I think he could be a real asset to our secondary.