Lady Steel
04-27-2015, 12:32 PM
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert spoke highly of the cornerback and outside linebacker depth in this year’s draft, which dovetails nicely with the needs head coach Mike Tomlin has to fill on his roster.
Colbert described the cornerback class as “deep” and said it’s the best group of outside linebackers to come along in 10 or 15 years.
“It’s an exceptional group with a lot of impact guys,” Colbert said of the outside linebackers that will be available when the draft begins later this week. “The outside linebackers, it’s an unusual year. Some guys will look at them as 4-3 ends. We’ll look at them as linebackers. There are real impact players.”
Tomlin said some of the depth and quality has to do with college defenses finding players to deal with spread offenses. The Steelers used to have to project how some defensive ends would perform as linebackers, but more teams are playing 3-4 defenses and outside linebackers are coming into the NFL with experience at the position.
“It seems like there are more guys playing outside linebacker, less projections or conversions,” Tomlin said. “We talked about it when we drafted Jarvis Jones. You’re seeing more and more guys playing outside linebackers in college than you did a number of years ago.”
Several players with character concerns or injuries could be available when the Steelers draft Thursday night in the No. 22 overall slot. One is cornerback Marcus Peters, who was dismissed by Washington coach Chris Petersen. Another is former Nebraska outside linebacker Randy Gregory, who tested positive for marijuana at the NFL scouting combine.
“The character always will be important,” Colbert said. “It’s how you manage the public perception of that. What’s real and what’s rumor? With any one situation, you try to find out what the exact circumstances were. Why a guy tested positive or why a guy got thrown off a team. There is a story behind everything that goes on. It’s our job to get to the root of the matter and decide if we want to take a chance or not.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/04/27/GM-Kevin-Colbert-NFL-Draft-could-give-Steelers-and-Tomlin-what-they-need/stories/201504270152
Colbert described the cornerback class as “deep” and said it’s the best group of outside linebackers to come along in 10 or 15 years.
“It’s an exceptional group with a lot of impact guys,” Colbert said of the outside linebackers that will be available when the draft begins later this week. “The outside linebackers, it’s an unusual year. Some guys will look at them as 4-3 ends. We’ll look at them as linebackers. There are real impact players.”
Tomlin said some of the depth and quality has to do with college defenses finding players to deal with spread offenses. The Steelers used to have to project how some defensive ends would perform as linebackers, but more teams are playing 3-4 defenses and outside linebackers are coming into the NFL with experience at the position.
“It seems like there are more guys playing outside linebacker, less projections or conversions,” Tomlin said. “We talked about it when we drafted Jarvis Jones. You’re seeing more and more guys playing outside linebackers in college than you did a number of years ago.”
Several players with character concerns or injuries could be available when the Steelers draft Thursday night in the No. 22 overall slot. One is cornerback Marcus Peters, who was dismissed by Washington coach Chris Petersen. Another is former Nebraska outside linebacker Randy Gregory, who tested positive for marijuana at the NFL scouting combine.
“The character always will be important,” Colbert said. “It’s how you manage the public perception of that. What’s real and what’s rumor? With any one situation, you try to find out what the exact circumstances were. Why a guy tested positive or why a guy got thrown off a team. There is a story behind everything that goes on. It’s our job to get to the root of the matter and decide if we want to take a chance or not.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/04/27/GM-Kevin-Colbert-NFL-Draft-could-give-Steelers-and-Tomlin-what-they-need/stories/201504270152