My Dream Draft for the Steelers

[VanS]

Last year the Steelers executed my dream draft when they selected QB Joshua Dobbs, RB James Conner, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, and CB Cameron Sutton in the 2017 NFL Draft.  All 4 players were top 2 at their positions according to my rankings.  If the Steelers come out of the 2018 NFL Draft with these 3 players they would have executed my dream draft for the second straight year.

 

• Round 1:  LB Leighton Vander Esch (Boise St.) - I haven't seen him getting mocked very high right now but that could change after the combine.  He's a freak athlete and might be gone by the time the Steelers  pick.  But if he's available, the Steelers should jump all over him.  He's the answer to their problems at ILB and could develop into an All-Pro.

 

 

• Round 2: FS Justin Reid (Stanford) - Rangy, athletic, physical safety.  Another player that could go higher with a great combine.  Steelers need help at safety in the worst way and after Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick, Justin Reid is the best option IMO.  He's a player that the Steelers would jump all over if he was available at this point.

 

 

• Round 3: WR Antonio Callaway (Florida) - If it was just about talent, there is no way he would fall to the 3rd round.  But luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) Antonio Callaway has significant off-field issues that will cause his to fall much lower in the draft than his talent level warrants.  If he falls to the end of the 3rd round, this would be a good spot for the Steelers to take a gamble on him.  Callaway is in many ways similar to Antonio Brown.  He's an expert route runner with a sublime ability to create separation.  This would be a home run pick at this point.

 

 

 

[43M]

Any draft that has us taking a WR that early is an instant fail for me.    

Definitely not a fan of the first round pick, either.

[jebrick]

6 hours ago, FourThreeMafia said:

Any draft that has us taking a WR that early is an instant fail for me.    

Definitely not a fan of the first round pick, either.

Got to agree on the WR.  I like LVE and think he will be in the next Posluszny.  He is football smart and has better instincts than Smith or Evans.

[JustPlainNasty]

You had Josh Dobbs , James Conner & Cam Sutton as your top 2 at each position.. 

I understand liking them but that definitely puts into question your ranking system for me.

I do like Vander Esch, need to see more of him but from what ive done so far like his instincts and ability to scrape and shed blockers.

I have yet to evaluate Reid but i have a few options at the safety position i do like in the 2nd .

If it was a WR we took im pretty sure Callaway would not be on the radar for me. 

 

[VanS]

9 hours ago, FourThreeMafia said:

Any draft that has us taking a WR that early is an instant fail for me.    

Definitely not a fan of the first round pick, either.

What if that WR develops into a perennial All-Pro like Antonio Brown?  To me the draft is all about value.  Its not about always pigeonholing yourself to positional needs.  Sure you need to fill needs but by the time we get to the end of the 3rd round, we are mostly dealing with marginal talents.  If a really good player happened to drop for whatever reason and he plays a position of lesser need, I believe you draft him.  You never let a great player pass simply because you don't think you need that position right now.  Also Antonio Brown turns 30 this summer.  He's not always gonna be around.  Might be time to start developing the next Antonio Brown.

Also, if Antonio Callaway had no off-field issues, he would probably be a 1st round pick.  I think the late 3rd round is a decent spot to take a gamble on a guy with 1st round talent. 

[VanS]

2 hours ago, jebrick said:

Got to agree on the WR.  I like LVE and think he will be in the next Posluszny.  He is football smart and has better instincts than Smith or Evans.

I think he's way better than that.  Leighton Vander Esch is the next Jack Lambert/Brian Urlacher.  I think he's one of the 5-6 best talents in this draft.  Pray to God he doesn't kill it at the combine.  Because if he tests as most predict, he could be long gone by the time the Steelers pick.

[VanS]

2 hours ago, JustPlainNasty said:

You had Josh Dobbs , James Conner & Cam Sutton as your top 2 at each position.. 

I understand liking them but that definitely puts into question your ranking system for me.

I do like Vander Esch, need to see more of him but from what ive done so far like his instincts and ability to scrape and shed blockers.

I have yet to evaluate Reid but i have a few options at the safety position i do like in the 2nd .

If it was a WR we took im pretty sure Callaway would not be on the radar for me. 

 

For what its worth, at this time last year I was also laughed at for having Alvin Kamara ranked as the #1 RB heading into the draft with a player comparison to Marshall Faulk.   Most thought I was crazy to compare a guy who was 2nd string on his college team to a Hall of Fame RB.   Nobody is laughing now about the Alvin Kamara/Marshall Faulk comparison and most would agree that looking back he was the #1 RB from the 2017 Draft.

Now this is not to say my evaluations and rankings are perfect.  I'm just saying I have hit on a bold projection before.  Also, its too early to write off Dobbs, Conner, and Sutton.  Sure they barely played last year.  But in the little bit I saw from them, I thought they showed potential.  For example, James Conner averaged 4.5 YPC last year compared to Bell's 4.0 YPC.  Sure he had way less carries than Le'Veon but still I thought he showed a lot of promise.  Sutton dealt with injuries unfortunately.  But when he did play, I thought he played really well.  He looked great against the Patriots in his only start.  And finally Dobbs.  He definitely looked shaky in the preseason.  But that is to be expected.  I really like his physical tools to be a dynamic dual threat QB in the mold of what Deshaun Watson showed early this past season.  This summer is big for him.  I'll be curious to see how he develops.  Typically if a QB is gonna be a star eventually, he makes a big leap from year 1 to year 2.  If Dobbs is who I think he is, he should make a huge leap this summer.  And his performance in training camp and preseason 2018 should show it.

 

[Steeler Hitman]

Solid post, but I don't agree with some of your picks or evaluations.  I think we all have players that we like, but I have learned to go with the evaluations and not always what the eyes, heart or even what Combine numbers say. I agree that you can find diamonds in the rough and that you can get burned with drafting simply for need over best player available. However, when you are a piece or two from being a Super Bowl winner,  you have to consider that as well.  ILB, FS/SS, NG/DT, and OLB/Edge are much higher priorities than a WR who would sit on the bench behind AB, Ju Ju,  and Martavis. I could see maybe drafting a WR, but definitely not that early. I am happy with going with the same roster for 2018 as 2017 with the WR's. 

Yes, AB was a sixth round pick who turned to gold.  Yes, who wouldn't want that, but the likelihood is not as good you find that player.  The Steelers are pretty good at drafting WR talent, but another WR won't get the Steelers over the top like the defensive help they need will.

Good stuff on LVE.  I would like to see some game tapes of him on typical plays not just the highlight reel.  My initial impressions are that he reminds me of Kiko Alonso from the highlight reel. I don't know if he is #1 worthy like or over prospects like Roquaan Smith or Rashaan Evans, but he has some tools and looks like he moves pretty good. He seems instinctual and more quick than pure fast a la Shazier or Smith. I have to see more before I make a final decision, but he looks like a prospect, just not sure where (2, 3, or 4 round).

I have Justin Reid on my safety radar as well. I don't have as much time to watch as much tape, take notes and evaluate players as I used to do.  He has some tools and safety is a position that I could see the Steelers drafting one or two players or even signing a free agent and still drafting another player for depth.

I would be curious to see your entire mock draft.

[JPeezy55]

As for the mock, not a huge fan, like Reid in the 2nd but don't really like the LVE value at 28, not sold on him yet and no to a WR in the 3rd. Especially a WR like Callway who has a plethora of off the field issues, which is EXACTLY what the steelers aren't looking for.

[VigilantZombie]

The first two pics I love the wide receiver as far as the player I really really like but I'm not crazy about taking a WR the third round

[Blitzburgh]

I think LVE is way too over rated.  His stats make him seem like a better player than he is.  He makes way too many tackle at the second level.  He almost waits for the ball carrier instead of attacking the LOS.  He is slow to diagnose and gets caught up in the wash.  I wouldn’t touch him until the 3rd round.

[VanS]

1 hour ago, Steeler Hitman said:

Solid post, but I don't agree with some of your picks or evaluations.  I think we all have players that we like, but I have learned to go with the evaluations and not always what the eyes, heart or even what Combine numbers say. I agree that you can find diamonds in the rough and that you can get burned with drafting simply for need over best player available. However, when you are a piece or two from being a Super Bowl winner,  you have to consider that as well.  ILB, FS/SS, NG/DT, and OLB/Edge are much higher priorities than a WR who would sit on the bench behind AB, Ju Ju,  and Martavis. I could see maybe drafting a WR, but definitely not that early. I am happy with going with the same roster for 2018 as 2017 with the WR's. 

Yes, AB was a sixth round pick who turned to gold.  Yes, who wouldn't want that, but the likelihood is not as good you find that player.  The Steelers are pretty good at drafting WR talent, but another WR won't get the Steelers over the top like the defensive help they need will.

Good stuff on LVE.  I would like to see some game tapes of him on typical plays not just the highlight reel.  My initial impressions are that he reminds me of Kiko Alonso from the highlight reel. I don't know if he is #1 worthy like or over prospects like Roquaan Smith or Rashaan Evans, but he has some tools and looks like he moves pretty good. He seems instinctual and more quick than pure fast a la Shazier or Smith. I have to see more before I make a final decision, but he looks like a prospect, just not sure where (2, 3, or 4 round).

I have Justin Reid on my safety radar as well. I don't have as much time to watch as much tape, take notes and evaluate players as I used to do.  He has some tools and safety is a position that I could see the Steelers drafting one or two players or even signing a free agent and still drafting another player for depth.

I would be curious to see your entire mock draft.

I'll have an entire Steelers mock draft done after the combine.  Right now I only feel comfortable with players projected to go in the first 3 rounds.  For guys that are projected to go in the 5th-7th round I need more time to be able to identity who would be the best fits for the Steelers.

A guy who I like early on as a nice 5th round pick at nose tackle is Reginald McKenzie Jr. (Tennessee).  He was a highly regarded recruit that failed to live up to expectations.  I have no idea if he'll be available that late but he has a nice combination of size and athleticism.  If he falls to the 5th round, he would be a nice pickup for the Steelers to develop behind Javon Hargrave.

I also like Kemoko Turay (Rutgers) as a late round edge rusher that could develop into a starter.

[43M]

4 hours ago, VanS said:

What if that WR develops into a perennial All-Pro like Antonio Brown? 

Then we would have the best WR corps of all time and not enough balls to go around to all of our weapons, and we still wont have a defense good enough to get us where we want to be.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

To me the draft is all about value. 

I agree...to a point.

You cant just ignore that WR is one of our strongest positions and that we have glaring needs elsewhere.

Seriously....how is a 4th WR going to help us win NOW?     WR isnt even remotely close to the reason we cant get over the hump.  

If you just want to hoard skill position players, then so be it....but thats not going to help us win a Super Bowl.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

Its not about always pigeonholing yourself to positional needs. 

There is a difference between pigeonholing and not wanting to waste an early pick on a clear cut luxury pick.

You want us to draft a 4th WR when we dont even have quality starters at several positions.    And if thats what you want, so be it....but I will never get behind that.  

Im all for value....but value at a position of need.      Im not in favor of luxury picks for arguably our strongest position.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

Sure you need to fill needs but by the time we get to the end of the 3rd round, we are mostly dealing with marginal talents. 

To a point, yes.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

If a really good player happened to drop for whatever reason and he plays a position of lesser need, I believe you draft him. 

Once again, a 4th WR does nothing for us to win now.

At what point do you stop focusing on pure value and start trying to address the glaring holes?    

Im fine with addressing a position of lesser need....but spending a 3rd rounder on a luxury pick at arguably our strongest position will never make sense to me.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

You never let a great player pass simply because you don't think you need that position right now. 

Sorry, but we are in full on "WIN NOW" mode.       Everything we do should be focused on winning IMMEDIATELY.   Drafting a 4th WR in the 3rd round is building more for the future.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

Also Antonio Brown turns 30 this summer.  He's not always gonna be around.  Might be time to start developing the next Antonio Brown.

Brown's skillset will allow him to be great for another 4-5 years.    He has at least another 2 or 3 elite years left in him.     

This comment right here pretty much sums up the most glaring flaw I see in your logic...you seem more concerned about building for the future rather than winning now while we still have our top 5 franchise QB.  

Should we trade Ben?    Seriously?    I am focused on what the team looks like in 2018....not 2022.

4 hours ago, VanS said:

Also, if Antonio Callaway had no off-field issues, he would probably be a 1st round pick.  I think the late 3rd round is a decent spot to take a gamble on a guy with 1st round talent. 

Just what we need.....another troubled WR....that would be the 4th WR AT BEST to start the 2018 season.

Bottom line, if you want to draft him in the 3rd round.....thats fine.     I will never support picking a WR in the 3rd round of this years draft.....I dont care who it is. 

[VanS]

23 minutes ago, FourThreeMafia said:

Then we would have the best WR corps of all time and not enough balls to go around to all of our weapons, and we still wont have a defense good enough to get us where we want to be.

I agree...to a point.

You cant just ignore that WR is one of our strongest positions and that we have glaring needs elsewhere.

Seriously....how is a 4th WR going to help us win NOW?     WR isnt even remotely close to the reason we cant get over the hump.  

If you just want to hoard skill position players, then so be it....but thats not going to help us win a Super Bowl.

There is a difference between pigeonholing and not wanting to waste an early pick on a clear cut luxury pick.

You want us to draft a 4th WR when we dont even have quality starters at several positions.    And if thats what you want, so be it....but I will never get behind that.  

Im all for value....but value at a position of need.      Im not in favor of luxury picks for arguably our strongest position.

To a point, yes.

Once again, a 4th WR does nothing for us to win now.

At what point do you stop focusing on pure value and start trying to address the glaring holes?    

Im fine with addressing a position of lesser need....but spending a 3rd rounder on a luxury pick at arguably our strongest position will never make sense to me.

Sorry, but we are in full on "WIN NOW" mode.       Everything we do should be focused on winning IMMEDIATELY.   Drafting a 4th WR in the 3rd round is building more for the future.

Brown's skillset will allow him to be great for another 4-5 years.    He has at least another 2 or 3 elite years left in him.     

This comment right here pretty much sums up the most glaring flaw I see in your logic...you seem more concerned about building for the future rather than winning now while we still have our top 5 franchise QB.  

Should we trade Ben?    Seriously?    I am focused on what the team looks like in 2018....not 2022.

Just what we need.....another troubled WR....that would be the 4th WR AT BEST to start the 2018 season.

Bottom line, if you want to draft him in the 3rd round.....thats fine.     I will never support picking a WR in the 3rd round of this years draft.....I dont care who it is. 

I doubt Martavis is long for the Steelers.  Which is why I don't see it as a situation of adding onto a strength.  The position could become weak very quickly. 

Also its not like the 2 biggest needs for the Steelers next year weren't addressed with the first 2 picks.  ILB and S are the biggest needs right now.  And if I'm right, then Leighton Vander Esch and Justin Reid will be immediate impact players like TJ Watt and JuJu Smith-Schuster.  The only other glaring need I see is CB but that position group isn't very strong or deep in the 2018 draft so I doubt you will find much value in the 3rd round at CB than could approach the value Antonio Callaway could potentially bring as a WR.

If I suggested taking a WR in the first round, I think your criticism would have tremendous merit.  But we're talking about a 3rd round here after already hitting on the 2 biggest defensive needs in rounds 1 and 2 with immediate plug and play starters.   The Steelers can afford to take a WR in the 3rd round if he's a special talent like Antonio Callaway that falls because of character concerns.  Its the perfect spot to take a high risk/high reward gamble.

 

[43M]

27 minutes ago, VanS said:

I doubt Martavis is long for the Steelers.  Which is why I don't see it as a situation of adding onto a strength.  The position could become weak very quickly. 

Also its not like the 2 biggest needs for the Steelers next year weren't addressed with the first 2 picks.  ILB and S are the biggest needs right now.  And if I'm right, then Leighton Vander Esch and Justin Reid will be immediate impact players like TJ Watt and JuJu Smith-Schuster.  The only other glaring need I see is CB but that position group isn't very strong or deep in the 2018 draft so I doubt you will find much value in the 3rd round at CB than could approach the value Antonio Callaway could potentially bring as a WR.

If I suggested taking a WR in the first round, I think your criticism would have tremendous merit.  But we're talking about a 3rd round here after already hitting on the 2 biggest defensive needs in rounds 1 and 2 with immediate plug and play starters.   The Steelers can afford to take a WR in the 3rd round if he's a special talent like Antonio Callaway that falls because of character concerns.  Its the perfect spot to take a high risk/high reward gamble.

 

Yes, you addressed ILB and safety.     EVEN WITH THOSE PICKS...

ILB is still a bigger need than WR (we need 2 new starting ILBs)

S is still a bigger need than WR (while Im sure we give Sean Davis another shot, an upgrade to him is a higher priority that our 4th WR)

OLB to replace Dupree is a much bigger need.

NT to replace Hargrave is a bigger need.

CB in general is a bigger need.    We have 3 starting caliber WRs AS OF RIGHT NOW.....we have MAYBE 1 starting caliber corner.

If Bell leaves, RB is undeniably a bigger need.

We wont take one, but QB of the future is a bigger need.

And beyond that, we need depth at pretty much every position just as bad, if not worse than we need another WR.

You are downplaying the 3rd round as well.    I know its not a high success spot, but there are still quality talents to be found at almost every position.

This is a pretty deep draft.    If WR is BY FAR the best player available when we pick in the 3rd round, given our current circumstance, I would trade down 10-15 spots, pick up and extra 4th or 5th, and if that WR is still there, perhaps take them and grab another player at a position of need.     Im not even a huge fan of that, but if we could at least get another pick out of it, I could deal with it.   If we just straight up take WR in the 3rd round (which I will fully admit is POSSIBLE), I will seriously have to question this teams priorities.   

No, Bryant likely wont be here in 2019, but again....we are in WIN NOW mode until Ben retires.   MEANING....we should be building season to season, trying to put the best product on the field and addressing IMMEDIATE needs......not addressing something that MIGHT be a need a year from now.  

If we are doing that, then like I said, we should trade Ben to a team that is ready to win with the right QB.   How about trading him to the Vikings for Teddy Bridgewater,  Anthony Barr and their 1st round pick?   Then we dont necessarily have to focus on winning now, and a pick like that makes more sense.

PS....the bolded wasnt serious.    Im not chrissyororke.