offical visits

[Blitzburgh]

On 4/9/2018 at 6:12 PM, JustPlainNasty said:

I think Maliata goes much higher than 7th/UDFA. Not worried about his experience his athleticism & size at the age of 20 is unmatched. 6'8" 346lbs and runs a 5.12...Thats far more athletic than Tyron Smith. 

I do have him graded as a 6th/7th rounder based on athleticism and mobility as far as grade value.  That said...see the Planet theory.. if he was older it wouldnt be half as intriguing but at age 20, sky is the limit. Based on this draft specifically I have him at the moment as a late 5th/early 6th pick. If I brought him in for a visit and liked what I saw and had two picks in the late 3rd or 4th Id very likely take a chance. 

The Planet Theory: Since there are only so many people on the planet with the size and quickness to succeed on the offensive and defensive lines in the NFL, you have to take those players early in the draft.

A 3rd or 4th for a guy that’s never played a down of football?

Glad you aren’t our GM.

 

 

[mwalker]

I prefer Jerome Baker to D.O'Daniel if we're talking about a mid range, 'mack' backer. Or D.Leonard, frankly.

I just worry about O'Daniel's explosion and athleticism.

[JustPlainNasty]

2 hours ago, Blitzburgh said:

A 3rd or 4th for a guy that’s never played a down of football?

Glad you aren’t our GM.

 

 

 

You mean like Antonio Gates who never played a down of college football. If you believe playing professional rugby has less value than not playing football since high school thats pretty crazy.

Carl Lewis drafted by the Cowboys  

Formers Steelers Pro Bowler ,...Carlton Haselrig ?? An olympic wrestler? 

Or Chris Hogan the college lacrosse player?

Some werent drafted or drafted later, but None of these guys, nor half of the guys in this draft have as much physical ability as this 20 year old. 

Its not rocket science. If you get a compensatory pick in the 3rd or 4th round, its worth a shot on a human of this size that has unreal physical ability. Hell somebody is going to draft Lamar Jackson in the first round based primarily on the fact that he can run and throw hard, because his passing ability is nowhere near up to snuff and is most likely 4th round value. It may even be this team. If you only have 5 picks like the Giants than its definitely riskier. But if you are the Pats or Browns etc its totally worth it if you worked him out and liked what you saw.

There are a lot of fast guys in this world but very few athletic big guys, especially of this size.

This guy is bigger and more athletic than Jonathan Ogden and is two years younger than he was coming out of UCLA. 

You can take all the James Conners etc you want, but you are finding very few athletically gifted big players after the 4th in any draft.

 The 4th round is a good spot to start taking chances. This Steelers team notoriously has taken risks, hell in the 2nd round and busted..taking punt returners, One trick pony defensive ends etc.  

Hawkins was a perfect example of a red shirt reach. He was nowhere near ready to play, had awful technique but had size and athleticism, they drafted him in the 4th round and "medical " redshirted him, while they developed him, yet hes nowhere near as physically talented as this guy. Just like they did Jordan Zumwalt the 5th rounder.

 

 

[Blitzburgh]

1 hour ago, JustPlainNasty said:

 

You mean like Antonio Gates who never played a down of college football. If you believe playing professional rugby has less value than not playing football since high school thats pretty crazy.

Carl Lewis drafted by the Cowboys  

"Bullet" Bob Hayes drafted by the Cowboys

Formers Steelers Pro Bowler ,...Carlton  ?? An olympic wrestler? 

Or Chris Hogan the college lacrosse player?

Some werent drafted or drafted later, but None of these guys, nor half of the guys in this draft have as much physical ability as this 20 year old. 

Its not rocket science. If you get a compensatory pick in the 3rd or 4th round, its worth a shot on a human of this size that has unreal physical ability. Hell somebody is going to draft Lamar Jackson in the first round based primarily on the fact that he can run and throw hard, because his passing ability is nowhere near up to snuff and is most likely 4th round value. It may even be this team. If you only have 5 picks like the Giants than its definitely riskier. But if you are the Pats or Browns etc its totally worth it if you worked him out and liked what you saw.

There are a lot of fast guys in this world but very few athletic big guys, especially of this size.

This guy is bigger and more athletic than Jonathan Ogden and is two years younger than he was coming out of UCLA. 

You can take all the James Conners etc you want, but you are finding very few athletically gifted big players after the 4th in any draft.

 The 4th round is a good spot to start taking chances. This Steelers team notoriously has taken risks, hell in the 2nd round and busted..taking punt returners, One trick pony defensive ends etc.  

Hawkins was a perfect example of a red shirt reach. He was nowhere near ready to play, had awful technique but had size and athleticism, they drafted him in the 4th round and "medical " redshirted him, while they developed him, yet hes nowhere near as physically talented as this guy. Just like they did Jordan Zumwalt the 5th rounder.

 

Look there are always going to be exceptions. Just bc a handful of players have successfully transitioned to the NFL from other sports over the last 30 plus years doesn’t prove anything.   Based on this logic I could say bc big athletically gifted OTs like Tony Mandarich and Bruce Campbell were busts this guy would be too.

Bottom line is a guys with zero football experience is a huge gamble.  You are taking a huge shot in the dark without seeing any tape.  

Im all for taking a late round flier.  I’d be excited if we took him with a 6th or 7th, but a 3rd or 4th round pick is foolish.  

 

 

[TpeSteel]

4 hours ago, Blitzburgh said:

I’d be excited if we took him with a 6th or 7th, but a 3rd or 4th round pick is foolish.  

 

 

I understand your point.

 

Nonetheless, I'd say a 3rd or 4th round pick of this rugby player is risky, rather than foolish.  Not all risks are foolish, even if you end up paying for the risk.

[jebrick]

8 hours ago, JustPlainNasty said:

Formers Steelers Pro Bowler ,...Carlton Haselrig ?? An olympic wrestler? 

You mean the 12th player taken in the 13th round?  I love Haselrig.  One of my all time favorite players but look at where he was drafted. 

Antonio Gates was a UDFA in 2003.

Mitigating risk.  The Steelers, by running his pro day, and having him in for an interview may be trying to build a relationship with him so he will sign with them as a UDFA. 

[Blitzburgh]

9 minutes ago, jebrick said:

You mean the 12th player taken in the 13th round?  I love Haselrig.  One of my all time favorite players but look at where he was drafted. 

Antonio Gates was a UDFA in 2003.

Mitigating risk.  The Steelers, by running his pro day, and having him in for an interview may be trying to build a relationship with him so he will sign with them as a UDFA. 

Yes, once you get through the media hype and PR this is really what it comes down to.

[jebrick]

Bob Labriola
‏Verified account @BobLabriola

Draft visitors 4/11: WR Russell Gage Jr., from LSU

[mwalker]

We all know there will be great players who go un-drafted. Hardly anyone knows who will blossom late,

commit themselves in some way you couldn't predict, or just fit an NFL scheme perfectly. But in a year

where you have don't have that many picks, are close, very close, to being a Super Bowl team and have

some seemingly obvious holes (Bell and Bryant leaving in '19, Ben at 36, ILB and S) it's just unlikely you're

in a position to reach. We'll see though...

[Chieferific]

Man, I hope that list starts to look better. Hill would be the only one I'd be excited about.

[AFF]

25 minutes ago, Chieferific said:

Man, I hope that list starts to look better. Hill would be the only one I'd be excited about.

Steelers usually use the 30 visits for mostly mid-late and UDFAs...however with history it shows who we have a good chance of picking starting rd 3.

[AFF]

On a side note, I’m surprised they haven’t brought in any of those mid rd RBs...a ton of quality guys at RB this year...can nab one as late as 1 of their 2 5th rd picks.

Makes me think interest in Guice from LSU is legit.

[Chieferific]

2 hours ago, AlanFanecaFan said:

Steelers usually use the 30 visits for mostly mid-late and UDFAs...however with history it shows who we have a good chance of picking starting rd 3.

Yeah but I'd rather see some Mid-Late Rd guys like Samuels/Kelly/Freeman at RB, Poona and Norton at DT, Scales and Sam at ILB, Turay, Aruna, Holland, Warner and Leonard at OLB. I could go on but I don't want to be long-winded. These are guys I'd be excited about. If they are looking to switch Stewart and Dawson to FS then that peaks my interest a bit. Otherwise that list is pretty blah imo. I hope some of these guys are on their radar. 

[AFF]

2 hours ago, Chieferific said:

Yeah but I'd rather see some Mid-Late Rd guys like Samuels/Kelly/Freeman at RB, Poona and Norton at DT, Scales and Sam at ILB, Turay, Aruna, Holland, Warner and Leonard at OLB. I could go on but I don't want to be long-winded. These are guys I'd be excited about. If they are looking to switch Stewart and Dawson to FS then that peaks my interest a bit. Otherwise that list is pretty blah imo. I hope some of these guys are on their radar. 

Dawson is a good cover corner IMO...the LBs seem to have some ability.

Agree on the RBs for sure.

[JustPlainNasty]

17 hours ago, jebrick said:

You mean the 12th player taken in the 13th round?  I love Haselrig.  One of my all time favorite players but look at where he was drafted. 

Antonio Gates was a UDFA in 2003.

Mitigating risk.  The Steelers, by running his pro day, and having him in for an interview may be trying to build a relationship with him so he will sign with them as a UDFA. 

 You've been around here long enough to know that I don't get excited over gimmicks or nickname players. I see a 20 year old player with extraordinary size and talent combination that played an even more brutal similarly physical contact sport, demonstrates balance, ability to move his feet well and utilize his hands quickly and effectively. Thats a lot more than I see from the hundreds of Olineman I have scouted thoroughly over the years. Is it a roll of the dice? Of course it is. Not unlike picking a punter in the 3rd or 4th round, or picking a player with injury in the 2nd that you know wont play for a year and it is highly questionable if he will ever be able to contribute regularly. They are risks. Foolish could easily be drafting a qb in the first round when no one sees him anywhere near the same because the potential quality and rate of long term success of that rounds picks are so much greater than say the 4th round.  

I graded what I could as a late 6th/early 7th round value in general, which is a player that can play in the league, special teams, roles and/or could use development.. In this particular draft that value put him in the late 5th/early 6th realm for the 250 or so players I have graded.  Because of his size and position potential you may need to do more than is valued to get him if he demonstrates enough at his workout to arouse interest. 

In comparison most of the qbs are drafted arent even close in grade to many of the position players they are drafted ahead of, the market/demand/need is what moves them up. The market/interest could very well move him up from that 6th round potential. 

 If there is little interest then no market, and your points are valid.  I believe there will be a market.  

Apparently the Steelers thought there was a market for an average sized human long snapper last year.

Where his head is at and his ability to learn and pick things up will matter significantly.