Ward4HOF Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 ...is after most very recent draft classes, the Steelers get 'flambéed' by media, or so-called draft-experts on the draft forum...and most years, we come out smelling like roses, by the end of the next season. At least, that's what I see after the past 4 seasons. Sure, 2018, they were mostly correct, but the other years?? 2017 - TJ Watt, JuJu--Watt was looked at as 'meh', we could have probably done better with that pick, but the name/family was worth the potential...umm...heck yeah! And don;t get me started on Juju...almost every non-Steeler criticized the pick, and that we would amount to zilch...not fast enough, not twitchy enough, blah, blah...by the end of the season, everyone was singing a different tune. 2018?? Yeah, tried the same name/family connection, in hopes of striking it rich, and while he's decent, he's no 1st round talent 2019 - OMG! The Steelers traded away their 2nd, and a 2020 3rd Rd pick for an ILB; a non-critical position...just stupid. Diontae Johnson was no better than a 5th Rd talent, and was way over-drafted...ermmm 2019 - OMG OMG! The Steeler's trade their 2020 1st for a Safety that wasn't producing for the Dolphins...That's a huge risk! Need I say more?? 2020 - Okay, so we were wrong about the value of Fitzpatrick, our bad, but to waste your first pick of the class, on a WR/TE tweener that doesn't show the necessary tools to be able to excel at either position?? Wow, just a horrible pick! And HUGE risk selecting a small school OLB...a waste of a pick on a back-up player...stupid, stupid, stupid... Yes, I get that we failed to meet our objective, the SB, and that's all that matters...but...when studying the microcosm of the draft, with just the level of impact these players have on our team? It's hard to say we've failed in recent drafts. Just take a look at re-drafts over the net...most I saw had Claypool selected somewhere in the 1st Rd. Guess that sure-fire 2nd Rd bust turned out okay... Just trying to brighten the mood a bit, after a dismal finish to the season... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Besides wasting mid round picks on RBs and their inability to draft DBs...I think they draft pretty well off the top my head. The 2020 class of Minkah/Claypool/Highsmith/Dotson is most likely 4 starters...hard to beat 2 years in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VigilantZombie Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Yeah Justin Layne is just the latest example of what is likely a bust. Offensive Tackle is a major need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOSteelers56 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 1 hour ago, wwhickok said: Yeah Justin Layne is just the latest example of what is likely a bust. Offensive Tackle is a major need. We haven’t had to draft a lot of high profile O-linemen in awhile. I hope the FO hasn’t forgotten how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Layne is a great gunner. For a 3rd round CB I do not mind if they excel on ST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warfelg Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 The trading away the 2020 1st for Minkah still cracks me up because people still clutch pearls over "coulda been a top 5 pick!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rivers Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 when I saw the words comical and draft, I thought of Jarvis, Hood, Artie ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I must be an outsider because I ended up liking most of the Steeler's drafts. Buggs has surprised me. I did not think he would even make the team. I remember being excited about Watt. I really liked Claypool and Highsmith and Dotson from this last draft. I did not like Marcus Allen as a DB. I pointed out Johnson had trouble catching the ball but was electric with it in his hands. I like Sutton Smith who amounted to nothing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 3 hours ago, 3rivers said: when I saw the words comical and draft, I thought of Jarvis, Hood, Artie ..... They way you go on these negative tangents, you would think the Steelers go 2–14 every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, jebrick said: Layne is a great gunner. For a 3rd round CB I do not mind if they excel on ST. It would be nice if Colbert could, for once, draft a corner that excels at...I dont know....BEING A CORNER!!! For as much as many Steeler fans complain (including myself), our draft classes are, AT WORST, above average relative to the rest of the league. However, if there is one area that our draft classes have undoubtedly failed under Colbert, its drafting defensive backs. 3 of our 4 starters were either FA's or we traded for them. The other starter is an okay-ish safety we drafted in the first round. Even Mike Hilton was a undrafted guy we picked up after two other teams dumped him. Cant blame it ALL on Colbert, though. Even when we do manage to draft a semi decent CB (Keenan Lewis, Cam Sutton), we underutilize them and they leave in free agency). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rivers Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, AFF said: They way you go on these negative tangents, you would think the Steelers go 2–14 every year. not quite. I expect decent - good drafts, and the occasional fail. Colbert really failed on defence for a while but he's human as well. I don't know how we actually grade out vs others, probably above average to good. 2-14 is a bit exaggerating . I don't know whats worse though, an overachieving 9-7 WC team or an underachieving team with washed up HOF qb that can't defeat a good team in the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 For Colbert, he is relying on the coaches to tell him what they coach wants for their system. A corner who can cover in M2M is highly sought after and tend to go fairly high. The Steelers used to be able to cheap on CB when they played mostly zone or off-man ( Willie Gay anyone?). Now they are competing with 31 other teams. I want to see them take some chances with some small school CBs. You have to trust in your coaching to bring them around. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ward4HOF Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) 14 hours ago, jebrick said: I must be an outsider because I ended up liking most of the Steeler's drafts. Buggs has surprised me. I did not think he would even make the team. I remember being excited about Watt. I really liked Claypool and Highsmith and Dotson from this last draft. I did not like Marcus Allen as a DB. I pointed out Johnson had trouble catching the ball but was electric with it in his hands. I like Sutton Smith who amounted to nothing. No, I'm with you...I don't think our classes are usually bad. My point isn't really taking Steeler fans into account, because we (yes, I'm also guilty...) are spoiled and expect to win every year. My point is with 'others'...other board members, draftniks, Evan Silva (lol...had to point him out specifically...might be a top 5 Steeler hater of all time...seriously, the Ravens never grade below a B-; the Steelers earned a B...ONCE...lots of C-/D grades, lol...he has to be a Baltimore native...but I digress)...my point basically, is, usually, Steeler fans are more well informed, of course, so we can see a train wreck when it's coming...we knew 2016 and 2018 were--I'll be kind--'below average' classes, but to receive the ridicule that the Steelers receive from most 'outsiders', for picks like Claypool, Minkah-trade, Devin Bush, Shazier, Juju, and even Watt?? It's just funny to see 're-drafts', with some of these players being taken well ahead of where they were drafted, or end up being exactly what we expected them to be, while others were just being haters...I know, what else is new...grass is green, sky is blue, etc., etc. Edited January 24, 2021 by Ward4HOF spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 hours ago, jebrick said: For Colbert, he is relying on the coaches to tell him what they coach wants for their system. A corner who can cover in M2M is highly sought after and tend to go fairly high. The Steelers used to be able to cheap on CB when they played mostly zone or off-man ( Willie Gay anyone?). Now they are competing with 31 other teams. I want to see them take some chances with some small school CBs. You have to trust in your coaching to bring them around. I get that, but the resounding lack of success in that area is troublesome. Im not saying I expect Darrelle Revis in his prime type of play, but we can barely get remotely decent play out of most of our drafted corners. Artie Burns was a laughably bad pick and a major reach for the type of corner they wanted. Skimping on the corner position and flat out blowing picks has cost us ALOT over the years. Even when we played heavy zone and had a pass rush, our CB picks were extremely underwhelming. CB is one of the hardest positions to draft, because you have no idea how well a player is going to adapt and translate to the pro game more than pretty much any other position, even QB. Im not expect Colbert to be perfect since no one else is, but regardless of who you want to blame, this team has struggled mightily to draft defensive backs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 All CB coming out ( according to Deion Sanders) are raw and need coaching. They have been taught just enough for to learn their college coach's system. The coaches/scouts need to be able to ask the questions to find if the player can learn. I have tried scouting DBs and just have a really hard time. College WR, for the most part, suck at route running. It is extremely hard to judge how a DB will handle good route running and complex schemes with hearing interview questions and seeing them against someone that can run routes. I would love for the Steelers to pay Diontae Johnson or JuJu to go to the pro days and evaluate the WRs. Let the DBs line up against them and see what they got. I am sure they can only do that in private tryouts but I would still like to see it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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