VigilantZombie Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 So first of all, I'm not a numbers guy, so I'm going to list the guys I think we cut, the guys I think we have a real chance to sign, and then the mock. Feel free to tell me if a guy or two wouldn't fit into our cap space. Cuts/Free Agency Losses WR Eli Rogers WR Darius Heyward Bey TE Vance McDonald OG Ramon Foster OLB Arthur Moats CB William Gay FS Mike Mitchell Resignings RB Le'Veon Bell WR Martavis Bryant K Chris Boswell Free Agency Signings G - Zach Fulton ILB Todd Davis OLB Marquis Flowers S Kenny Vacarro R1: ILB Rashaan Evans / Alabama (alternate pick: ILB Malik Jefferson) R2: S Justin Reid/Stanford R3: ILB/OLB Josey Jewell/Iowa R5: NT BJ Hill/ NC State R7: WR Antonio Callaway/Florida Originally when I was typing this I had Ronnie Harrison listed as our first round pick but on reading up on him, his biggest struggle is playing man coverage and as we've seen an increase in that, I don't believe we will select him. IF WE DO expect to see more Zone Coverage play at Safety. Maybe a resurrgence of our "Zone Blitz Defense?" Evans is a football player in every definition of the phrase. Not quite the ILB that Smith is imo. He is fast, powerful, exactly what we need at ILB really. Justin Reid has the potential to be a great safety. He didn't have a strong finish in college, despite what experts want you to believe but during his collegiate career he displayed excellent ability in all areas of his game. He absolutely has the ability to start at Free Safety if he applies himself in camp. Jewell has respectable speed, good power and coverage ability, by no means is he a "Ryan Shazier" but he can still be a factor in each phase of defense. He was impressive to say the least for Iowa this year and it wouldn't surprise me to see Pittsburgh double up on linebackers. BJ Hill has the ability to truly change the pressure we're able to get inside on defense. He is a guy capable of taking on double teams and allowing our two star defensive ends get into the backfield, something we haven't had since Hampton. Antonio Callaway has major character issues, for that reason, despite him being described as a "mid round selection" I think he could actually go undrafted. He is not the typical type of character the Steelers would draft but with strong personalities on the roster at least part of me wonders if he starts to near being undrafted if the Steelers would take the risk. His on-field talent is day 1 worthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 No reason to resign Bryant as he is under contract. I think they make a min offer to Eli Rogers. He is a RFA IMHO, BJ Hill is long gone by the 5th round. Steelers would have to take him in the 3rd round and he may not last til the Steelers pick. I will recommend Olasunkanmi Adeniyi OLB Toledo but he may be gone in the 3rd round as well. He is a James Harrison clone. I am not a fan of ILB Malik Jefferson. Does not make quick decisions. If you are not a fan of Vince Williams than do not draft his clone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeler Hitman Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, wwhickok said: So first of all, I'm not a numbers guy, so I'm going to list the guys I think we cut, the guys I think we have a real chance to sign, and then the mock. Feel free to tell me if a guy or two wouldn't fit into our cap space. Cuts/Free Agency Losses WR Eli Rogers WR Darius Heyward Bey TE Vance McDonald OG Ramon Foster OLB Arthur Moats CB William Gay FS Mike Mitchell Resignings RB Le'Veon Bell WR Martavis Bryant K Chris Boswell Free Agency Signings G - Zach Fulton ILB Todd Davis OLB Marquis Flowers S Kenny Vacarro R1: ILB Rashaan Evans / Alabama (alternate pick: ILB Malik Jefferson) R2: S Justin Reid/Stanford R3: ILB/OLB Josey Jewell/Iowa R5: NT BJ Hill/ NC State R7: WR Antonio Callaway/Florida Originally when I was typing this I had Ronnie Harrison listed as our first round pick but on reading up on him, his biggest struggle is playing man coverage and as we've seen an increase in that, I don't believe we will select him. IF WE DO expect to see more Zone Coverage play at Safety. Maybe a resurrgence of our "Zone Blitz Defense?" Evans is a football player in every definition of the phrase. Not quite the ILB that Smith is imo. He is fast, powerful, exactly what we need at ILB really. Justin Reid has the potential to be a great safety. He didn't have a strong finish in college, despite what experts want you to believe but during his collegiate career he displayed excellent ability in all areas of his game. He absolutely has the ability to start at Free Safety if he applies himself in camp. Jewell has respectable speed, good power and coverage ability, by no means is he a "Ryan Shazier" but he can still be a factor in each phase of defense. He was impressive to say the least for Iowa this year and it wouldn't surprise me to see Pittsburgh double up on linebackers. BJ Hill has the ability to truly change the pressure we're able to get inside on defense. He is a guy capable of taking on double teams and allowing our two star defensive ends get into the backfield, something we haven't had since Hampton. Antonio Callaway has major character issues, for that reason, despite him being described as a "mid round selection" I think he could actually go undrafted. He is not the typical type of character the Steelers would draft but with strong personalities on the roster at least part of me wonders if he starts to near being undrafted if the Steelers would take the risk. His on-field talent is day 1 worthy. Solid mock. I see the mistake that I made in mine in not accounting for the McDonald and Wilcox trades. I agree with all of your cuts/losses except Ramon Foster and Vance McDonald. Health is a concern, but I think they try to restructure his contract. He was a better than average blocker and Big Ben loved using him as a target. While he doesn't have La Darius Green speed, he is a solid weapon at TE a la Heath Miller, when he was in his prime. They could convert money to bounus or extend or whatever to help get his cap number down. Foster is solid and while not a super star at OG, a player who has value. If we could sign him to a decent number, I would try to keep him. Our OL is pretty darn good. While we are not the absolute best with out starting five, our depth is among the best in the league at OL. Could BJ Finney replace him? Maybe, as we do have Matt Feiler and Kyle Friend waiting in the wings as well. I want to keep that OL continuity as much as possible. Re-Signings: I agree with. Note: Martavis is not a free agent because of the 1 year suspension. He is still under contract for another year. Pay Bell and Boz. We need our Killer Bee's! Free Agents: I think Todd Davis and Kenny Vacarro will cost us. I am also a bit scared that Vacarro would be Mitchell Part 2! If I would target a ILB to spend money on it would be Zach Brown. He is 28, but he is also very productive, instinctive and good. I may also consider a lower tier guy who may be able to help like Sean Witherspoon, but health is a concern there as well. If I would spend money, I would make a pitch for Trey Boston. You decide whether you want to pay for top tier ILB or FS. Another option would be his teammate Adrian Phillips. As far as the draft, it is still early to tell where players will go until after the draft and pro days. You did target our needs and I give you credit for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VigilantZombie Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 Zach and Preston Browni expect to be resigned. Youre right about Bryants contract, didnt think about that. Interesting info about Hill Jebrick, it wouldnt bother me to take Hill in the 3rd if he were there. Honestly im also not a big fan of Jefferson, he is more of an open space runner. Good points on the FAs, might be costly. Is there another ILB that could go in the 1st should Evans not be there for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebrick Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 35 minutes ago, wwhickok said: Zach and Preston Browni expect to be resigned. Youre right about Bryants contract, didnt think about that. Interesting info about Hill Jebrick, it wouldnt bother me to take Hill in the 3rd if he were there. Honestly im also not a big fan of Jefferson, he is more of an open space runner. Good points on the FAs, might be costly. Is there another ILB that could go in the 1st should Evans not be there for us? If Smith, Evans and Esch are gone I might try to get Darius Leonard, LB, South Carolina State. I think it is a bit of a reach but he may not be there by the Steelers 2nd pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeler Hitman Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 6 minutes ago, jebrick said: If Smith, Evans and Esch are gone I might try to get Darius Leonard, LB, South Carolina State. I think it is a bit of a reach but he may not be there by the Steelers 2nd pick. I wanna do some homework on him. He seems like he has decent instincts and is probably more quicker than fast. Maybe we could move down, pick up another pick and still get him early round two. He would need to put on 5 - 10 pounds which shouldn't be a problem for his age for our scheme. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't on Coach T's radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDSteeler1971 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Your mock is incomplete. We have 2 5th round picks. Bryant is under contract so no need to re-sign. And why would you draft 2 ILB's and sign another in free agency? Jewell is not an OLB. Plus why not keep McDonald or restructure his contract? If you let him go you leave us shorthanded at TE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armsteeld2 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Ronnie Harrison is a very good man coverage guy. These lazy people writing haven't watched him ? How can one support Vaccaro after cutting Mike Mitchell? Vaccaro is straight up hit ? in coverage. No makeup speed. Fails to recognize assignments quickly. Misses way too many tackles. He was easily the weakest link of the Saints defensive backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeler Hitman Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 58 minutes ago, Armsteeld2 said: Ronnie Harrison is a very good man coverage guy. These lazy people writing haven't watched him ? How can one support Vaccaro after cutting Mike Mitchell? Vaccaro is straight up hit ? in coverage. No makeup speed. Fails to recognize assignments quickly. Misses way too many tackles. He was easily the weakest link of the Saints defensive backs. I agree with your assessment of Vaccaro. I fear he would become a younger version of Mike Mitchell for our defense. He would not be high on my list and I would look at a lot of other free agents before him. I was high on him coming out of college, but has not lived up to his potential in my opinion. He has great physical tools that don't seem to translate in his play a la Mike Mitchell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VigilantZombie Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 2 hours ago, MDSteeler1971 said: Your mock is incomplete. We have 2 5th round picks. Bryant is under contract so no need to re-sign. And why would you draft 2 ILB's and sign another in free agency? Jewell is not an OLB. Plus why not keep McDonald or restructure his contract? If you let him go you leave us shorthanded at TE. Because thats how bad i think our depth is and it depends on what scheme youre using Jewell in. Im not taking 2 starters in the draft at ilb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeler Hitman Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 2 hours ago, MDSteeler1971 said: Your mock is incomplete. We have 2 5th round picks. Bryant is under contract so no need to re-sign. And why would you draft 2 ILB's and sign another in free agency? Jewell is not an OLB. Plus why not keep McDonald or restructure his contract? If you let him go you leave us shorthanded at TE. I did a mock and missed this as well as the fact that we lost our 4th and 6th from acquiring McDonald and Wilcox. I agree with restructuring McDonald. My only concern is him staying healthy. He was out every other game it seemed like, but he did some good things catching and I was even more impressed with his blocking. He could quietly be a huge weapon for our offense. I don't like his cap number though. I could see drafting two ILB's and signing one in free agency. While we are all praying that Shazier can resume his career and come back, we really don't know if it would be in 2018. Sean Spence did nothing to show he could fill in even as a capable back-up. Dirty Red was hurt and could only play special teams. He also had shoulder surgery, so you hope he is alright, but still not viewed as a starting caliber ILB. LJ Fort is a guy that I love his physical tools, but again, is he really more than a back-up or someone who would be a specialist? Williams is the ultimate back-up in my opinion. He is limited as well and just doesn't have what we would like from our starting ILB. It would be nice if we could sign a veteran who can take over for Shazier/Spence's spot. We would hope that a draft choice could start or split time with Williams. Then You would want to have a young guy to develop should Shazier not be able to come back. Yeah there are a lot of numbers, but competition will sort out the back-ups. Are we really better by just adding a veteran like say Navarro Bowman and then keeping Williams, Dirty Red and Fort? I think we need more competition and ability from the position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 In terms of salary cap room, especially if the Steelers want to resign or tag Bell...it seems the Steelers will need to extend or restructure at least 1 OL...maybe 2. My guess they might extend Pouncey and restructure 1 of Villy/DeCastro. Theyll cut Wilcox and Sensabaugh for $3.5 mill more room. Cuttung McDonald will create 4.5 mill in cap room but leave a hole...I think he stays unless they absolutely have no other resort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFF Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Btw we also have 2 5ths...we have SFs from the McDonald trade...it was a salary dump trade on their part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VigilantZombie Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 10 minutes ago, Steeler Hitman said: I did a mock and missed this as well as the fact that we lost our 4th and 6th from acquiring McDonald and Wilcox. I agree with restructuring McDonald. My only concern is him staying healthy. He was out every other game it seemed like, but he did some good things catching and I was even more impressed with his blocking. He could quietly be a huge weapon for our offense. I don't like his cap number though. I could see drafting two ILB's and signing one in free agency. While we are all praying that Shazier can resume his career and come back, we really don't know if it would be in 2018. Sean Spence did nothing to show he could fill in even as a capable back-up. Dirty Red was hurt and could only play special teams. He also had shoulder surgery, so you hope he is alright, but still not viewed as a starting caliber ILB. LJ Fort is a guy that I love his physical tools, but again, is he really more than a back-up or someone who would be a specialist? Williams is the ultimate back-up in my opinion. He is limited as well and just doesn't have what we would like from our starting ILB. It would be nice if we could sign a veteran who can take over for Shazier/Spence's spot. We would hope that a draft choice could start or split time with Williams. Then You would want to have a young guy to develop should Shazier not be able to come back. Yeah there are a lot of numbers, but competition will sort out the back-ups. Are we really better by just adding a veteran like say Navarro Bowman and then keeping Williams, Dirty Red and Fort? I think we need more competition and ability from the position. Honestly I would love to have NaVorro Bowman I just don't necessarily believe that we will go out and get him. I also don't necessarily think Kenny Vaccaro is better than Mike Mitchell however I don't believe that would stop the Pittsburgh Steelers from signing him. there isn't really another safety out there unless they're going to go out and get Brent Grimes to play safety or someone of that nature anyway that I feel like is drastically better than Mike Mitchell I feel like the draft is probably our best opportunity to get a guy. I did miss the extra V 2 for argument's sake I think that we would go an offensive position there. Maybe running back or offensive line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VigilantZombie Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 I'm planning on doing a third mock but I wanted to get a lot of input on what people thought about different people different prospects and what I did with my first month obviously. I haven't watched as many of these players to be honest so a lot of what I'm talking about I'm getting from other supposedly professional analysts who have done their homework on these players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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