"Live Blogging" my first-pick.com draft

[warfelg]

Ok so I'm going to go through what my first-pick.com draft was like and comment on what happened:

1-29: So we get to my pick.  According to fp.com my big needs are QB/RB/TE.  I obviously disagree.  I got some trade offers on the table, but I first click "Best Available".  I like a ton og guys there, including Bryce Love, Malik Jefferson, Marcus Allen, Roquan Smith, Sam Hubbard.  I got some trade offers, and ultimately I take the Denver Offer:

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Steelers Trade 1-29 to Broncos for 2-9, 3-9, 4-5

1-32:  I was targeting Malik Jefferson, ILB, Texas.  Philly took him here.

2-9: Again I got some offers on the table, but I am turning them all down.  first-pick.com is still telling me that QB/RB/TE is what I should be looking to draft.  However there is someone here I am looking at that is available, and I'm stopping his slide:

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With the 9th pick in the 2nd round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia 6'1" 225

2-29:  I'm at a bit of a crossroads here.  There's a guy I'm targeting, but the teams that are asking to trade with me might take that guy.  There's some value there.  After taking a look at the BPA list, I think that the team that doesn't drop me far and the team picking behind me have other needs, so I'm taking the deal:

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Steelers Trade 2-29 to the Patriots for 2-31, 3-31

2-31: It's rare, but it worked.  I traded down 2 spots, picked up a 3rd, and got the guy that I wanted at this point.  In the late 2nd, with the chance to have this guy here for 1 year and groom him is a great deal.  So the pick is:

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With the 31st pick in the 2nd round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State 6'4" 230

3-9: I'm not taking a trade here.  I need to make a pick, and I'm going to add to our pass rush.  There's a couple of interesting prospects hanging around right now, most notably Lorenzo Carter and Termaine Edmunds.  It's a tough race as there's also 2 TE's I like in Hayden Hurst and Ian Thomas.  But I bite the bullet so to speak and go with my gut:

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With the 9th pick in the 3rd round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia 6'6" 250

3-29:  No hesitation right now.  I'm going with my man I've liked all year and give us the athletic seam monster:

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With the 29th pick in the 3rd round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State University 6'6" 250

3-31:  Another pick in a short time span.  Teams are clamoring to trade up with me.  I'm ignoring them.  I got my eyes on a specialist.  This guy can return kicks and literally FLY.  Insurance for Bryant, both short term and long term.

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With the 31st pick in the 3rd round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Parris Campbell, WR/KR/PR, Ohio State University 6' 205

4-5: I like collecting picks in this area of the draft for a team like ours.  We're very top heavy, but need a bevy of role players.  It's telling me now to look at RB/DE/DT.  I'm going to ignore them as there's a guy still around that I thought would be gone by now.

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With the 5th pick in the 4th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Brandon Facyson, CB, Virginia Tech 6-1 197

5-5: It really keeps on hitting at me taking a RB, mostly because Bell is an impending FA.  I decide to appease it by taking a guy I see as a short yardage specialist in the NFL, and could take some 3rd and short carries to stop the need to keep bombing those.

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With the 5th pick in the 5th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon 5'11" 240

5-29:  We're at the nitty gritty part of the draft where I'm splitting hairs on who I want to pick.  I take the guy with some positional flexibility here:

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With the 29th pick in the 5th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Tre Flowers, SS, Oklahoma State 6'2" 200

7-29: Again, this late in the draft you aren't looking for much more than someone to push an and of roster player.  After taking a look at what there is I go for:

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With the 29th pick in the 7th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers select:

Christian LaCouture, DT, LSU 6'4" 300

So there you have it.  Here's how first-pick.com graded my draft:

Your score is: 17259 (GRADE: B) 

Your Picks:
Round 2 Pick 9 (DEN): Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia (B+)
Round 2 Pick 31 (N.E.): Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State (A)
Round 3 Pick 9 (DEN): Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia (A-)
Round 3 Pick 29: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State (A-)
Round 3 Pick 31 (N.E.): Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State (A+)
Round 4 Pick 5 (DEN): Brandon Facyson, CB, Virginia Tech (A)
Round 5 Pick 5: Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon (A-)
Round 5 Pick 29: Tre Flowers, SS, Oklahoma State (A)
Round 7 Pick 29: Christian LaCouture, DT, LSU (A-)