Steelers post draft offseason grade.

[zulater]

http://www.steelersuniverse.com/forums/showthread.php/17100-Steelers-pre-draft-offseason-grade-and-best-move-and-worst-move

Prior to the draft most of us had the Steelers offseason rated as a C or D based on free agency gains, retentions and losses.

Now we have a more complete picture with what most believe to be a strong Steeler draft.

So where do you think this puts us going into our early OTA's? Is this team better than it was a year ago today, worse, relatively the same?

And if you had to grade the offseason as a whole to date, what would your grade be?

My post draft grade for the Steelers offseason to date would be a strong B.

[Psycho Ward 86]

ill give it a B. I think Jones, Wheaton, and Thomas will pan out. I think Landry Jones will become a good journeyman quarterback. Our drafts usually accumulate at 2-4 players that we can use so i think that sounds about right. I know im in the minority when i say it but i think leveon bell has the highest bust value in our draft class this year. calm your tits folks, this is only based on his college career, plenty of time to change my mind

[GBMelBlount]

I will go with B to B+.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I'll give it a C. I like some of the draft picks, like Jones, but I'm not ecstatic about most of them. It seems to me like we're drafting for the NFL of 10 years ago, not today's NFL. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong.

[Psycho Ward 86]

It seems to me like we're drafting for the NFL of 10 years ago, not today's NFL. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong.

what do you mean

[Moose]

I went with a C+. Some picks seem to have a good future, some will have to be a wait and see. But I'm going with the 'words' in the poll question up to date so barring injuries during camp, it's going to have to be a 'wait and see'. Too many rookie season is ended with some sort of injury during camp and then end up not playing a single snap.

[steelreserve]

Before the draft, I had them at a D, now I have them at a C. Would've been a C- if that was an option.

Yeah, I'm hopeful some of the guys we got in the draft will contribute, but we're all hopeful about that every year. There are bound to be some disappointments, just like always. We filled some needs, but on the other hand we were SO need-based in the draft that it worries me a little. Our first 4, maybe 5 picks were straight-up replacements for players we just lost this offseason - seemed like we were gasping to keep our heads above water, not confidently reinforcing ourselves. We're counting heavily on these guys to produce, and unless we're shockingly lucky, only half of them ever will.

Also, as far as I'm concerned, the future of the S, CB and ILB positions were up in the air before the draft and still are now. We're hoping that a fourth-round safety, a fifth-round CB and a sixth-round ILB will do something for us. Yes, you can't use a high pick on everything, but I wish we would've been able to get a top prospect for at least one of those roles.

It should be noted all this was a domino effect from our cap problems - not enough money to spend; FAs leave; draft becomes very reaction-based. But I'm not cutting us any slack over that; we put ourselves in that position, after all.

[SteelerFanInStl]

what do you mean

Big RB, small WR, hard-hitting safety. These don't exactly fit today's NFL.

[Seven]

Filled needs with players who have upside and most were good values. Don't see what's not to like.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Big RB, small WR, hard-hitting safety. These don't exactly fit today's NFL.

i dont know about that last one. The best safety tandem in the league is part of a 2ndary unit called the "Legion of Boom" for a reason.

Whitner and Goldson are a bludgeoning safety tandem and one of the best as well.

Same with ryan clark and troy.

[zulater]

Personally I like the look of the team the Steelers will take to camp this summer. Outside of the questions concerning Heath Miller I really see no area the Steelers are substantically weaker now than they were a year ago, and I see quite a few areas where they almost certainly are stronger.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I see quite a few areas where they almost certainly are stronger.

huh

[Pristas]

This is a tough one... What has happened that makes them any better today than the D we gave them a month ago?

We took arguably the best SEC end/LB in the draft, but he was that good in college. How will he stack up against the NFL tackles? So far everyone says he looks puny out there. There were some holes filled, but until any of those guys do anything at the NFL level, they haven't upgraded in my opinion. And I'm still befuddled over the Landry Jones pick... This article sums up my opinion of that, including who we may have taken, Simon... who could punish us for the next ten years from Baltimore.


What was so nightmarish for me about this pick came to a head during a draft interview with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on the NFL Network. When asked about the Jones pick the quote machine answered: “He is a sharp guy to put it the room”. Just as that quote was leaving Tomlin’s mouth the ticker on the bottom of the television read: “Ravens Selection #129 John Simon Ohio State University.” As always no coach in the NFL delivers a quote better than Tomlin but did anyone realize the context of that quote? Tomlin actually said they drafted Landry Jones to add to the (quarterback) room.
After the Ravens selected Simon Mayock said: “My favorite player in the draft.” Mayock called Simon a “thug” but said it was a “good term” which means he is a player you need to find a place for on your football team.http://nicepickcowher.com/2013/05/04/mike-tomlin-on-steelers-qb-landry-jones-he-is-a-sharp-guy-to-put-in-the-room-what/2/

And until Cortez Allen proves his worth, losing Lewis to FA may have been the one thing that keeps us an 8-8 team.

Guys like Miller and Spence may not come back anytime soon. Think about it, we won maybe 5 games this past year because of Heath Miller. What are we going to do when he doesn't play for the first 5 games? Throw to Spaeth or Paulson? We could have had Eifert in Rd 1.

Then we get a great Safety in round 4... to ride the pine for a year playing behind Troy and Ryan. Oh and how about that Le'Veon Bell pick? Passed right over Lacy for that. That could become one of the biggest mistakes ever. Lacy runs like Trent Richardson.

If anything, Vince Williams, Terry Hawthorne and Shamarko Thomas could be our best picks in this draft, but we wont know for another two years.

With Whaeton we got ourselves another Sanders/Brown/Wallace type... small guy who can run a great route fast. Hopefully he has better hands than Wallace. Boy is Miami going to be pissed when they realize that he can't catch that well. Sorry, but if the man has a bad season with Big Ben, imagine how bad it could be with Tannehill.

They were a Solid D going into the draft. I'll grade the draft as a C at this point. I'll go from a D to a D+ for a cumulative offseason grade.

[Shoes]

I went with B+ right after the draft and still feel the same. I'm pleased.

[Seven]

Personally I like the look of the team the Steelers will take to camp this summer. Outside of the questions concerning Heath Miller I really see no area the Steelers are substantically weaker now than they were a year ago, and I see quite a few areas where they almost certainly are stronger.

Definitely. Really excited for some of these units to get on the field. There are a few areas I think we could really see increased production from by season's end.

[GBMelBlount]

Filled needs with players who have upside and most were good values. Don't see what's not to like.

Bingo.

They drafted smart imo.

We simply had a few more losses / needs than usual which is likely the reason for the lower overall grades.