Galax Steeler
02-20-2013, 03:55 AM
By Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kevin Colbert already has framed the offseason plan for the Steelers. He and coach Mike Tomlin are not going to stand pat after an 8-8 season in which the team lost three of its final four games to miss the playoffs.
Not to mention the need to deal with serious salary-cap issues.
The road to change begins Thursday when the NFL combine gets under way at Lucas Oil Stadium, a six-day testing and research mission in which the Steelers need to further define the players they will seek to help them in the April draft.
And, for the first time since 2004, they need to find at least two skill players on offense -- a wide receiver and running back -- and an edge rusher who can pressure the quarterback on defense, something team president Art Rooney II suggested would help the team create more takeaways.
What's more, the Steelers cannot afford to use their No. 1 draft pick on a player who will be groomed to play in another year or two. That's a luxury they can afford after a Super Bowl season when not many roster openings are available. Not now.
With 17 unrestricted free agents, they need players to come in and play immediately, especially the one who will be the 17th overall pick.
While this crop of collegiate players does not have a defining star such as Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III on offense or Von Miller or Ndamukong Suh on defense, it is considered a good year for defensive ends who project as outside linebackers in the NFL.
"I wouldn't want a top-10 pick this year," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said in a conference call. "I think the fifth pick in the draft and the 25th pick in this draft are very similar. The top 10 picks, I don't see the difference-makers that we've had the last several years."
The combine might help to sort out some of that top-10 uncertainty, but, either way, that could bode well for the Steelers.
There is no question they need at least one wide receiver, and likely two, from the draft to give Ben Roethlisberger additional weapons. And there will be a need for that receiver to play immediately with the expected departure of Mike Wallace.
But, with postseason declarations from Colbert and Rooney about the lack of pressure, the need for a pass-rushing outside linebacker would appear to be tantamount. And that need is heightened because of the situation surrounding James Harrison, who will be 35 and is scheduled to make $6.57 million this season. Harrison is coming off a season in which he had six sacks in 13 games.
Some mock drafts have the Steelers selecting Georgia's Jarvis Jones (6-2, 242), a defensive end who is projected as an outside linebacker, in the first round. That would make sense to Mayock.
Other potential edge rushers who could be converted from defensive end are Ezekial Ansah of Brigham Young, Barkevious Mingo of LSU, Alex Okafor of Texas and Dion Jordan of Oregon.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/hunt-for-three-key-draftees-heats-up-for-steelers-676086/#ixzz2LQpIEhCM
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kevin Colbert already has framed the offseason plan for the Steelers. He and coach Mike Tomlin are not going to stand pat after an 8-8 season in which the team lost three of its final four games to miss the playoffs.
Not to mention the need to deal with serious salary-cap issues.
The road to change begins Thursday when the NFL combine gets under way at Lucas Oil Stadium, a six-day testing and research mission in which the Steelers need to further define the players they will seek to help them in the April draft.
And, for the first time since 2004, they need to find at least two skill players on offense -- a wide receiver and running back -- and an edge rusher who can pressure the quarterback on defense, something team president Art Rooney II suggested would help the team create more takeaways.
What's more, the Steelers cannot afford to use their No. 1 draft pick on a player who will be groomed to play in another year or two. That's a luxury they can afford after a Super Bowl season when not many roster openings are available. Not now.
With 17 unrestricted free agents, they need players to come in and play immediately, especially the one who will be the 17th overall pick.
While this crop of collegiate players does not have a defining star such as Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III on offense or Von Miller or Ndamukong Suh on defense, it is considered a good year for defensive ends who project as outside linebackers in the NFL.
"I wouldn't want a top-10 pick this year," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said in a conference call. "I think the fifth pick in the draft and the 25th pick in this draft are very similar. The top 10 picks, I don't see the difference-makers that we've had the last several years."
The combine might help to sort out some of that top-10 uncertainty, but, either way, that could bode well for the Steelers.
There is no question they need at least one wide receiver, and likely two, from the draft to give Ben Roethlisberger additional weapons. And there will be a need for that receiver to play immediately with the expected departure of Mike Wallace.
But, with postseason declarations from Colbert and Rooney about the lack of pressure, the need for a pass-rushing outside linebacker would appear to be tantamount. And that need is heightened because of the situation surrounding James Harrison, who will be 35 and is scheduled to make $6.57 million this season. Harrison is coming off a season in which he had six sacks in 13 games.
Some mock drafts have the Steelers selecting Georgia's Jarvis Jones (6-2, 242), a defensive end who is projected as an outside linebacker, in the first round. That would make sense to Mayock.
Other potential edge rushers who could be converted from defensive end are Ezekial Ansah of Brigham Young, Barkevious Mingo of LSU, Alex Okafor of Texas and Dion Jordan of Oregon.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/hunt-for-three-key-draftees-heats-up-for-steelers-676086/#ixzz2LQpIEhCM