Rating the Steelers Off Season Acquisitions

[GBMelBlount]

Between free agency and the draft, how well do you feel the Steelers did to prepare us for a Super Bowl run this next season?

While we won't know for sure until later in the season, I will give them a B so far.

If they find a fix for our ILB woes, it will raise my grade.

[pczach]

Between free agency and the draft, how well do you feel the Steelers did to prepare us for a Super Bowl run this next season?

While we won't know for sure until later in the season, I will give them a B so far.

If they find a fix for our ILB woes, it will raise my grade.


I always struggle with this stuff. I don't give draft grades. I know how I feel about each individual player and the draft in general based on that, but we really know nothing until we see them start to play.

As far as free agents go, I think getting Burnett was a very good move. I think Bostic will be a better player here than in Indy because of who is playing in front of him, so I like the pick as well. It's a different system, so we'll see how he adjusts, but I think he can be a good player here.

The thing that makes it difficult to evaluate is because of the team's statements about the different style of play and the personnel that they may be using. We just don't know enough yet.

I like that there were a few defensive free agent signings that we didn't expect. They made some cap room, and got a little more aggressive than usual. In the end, I like what they've done in that respect. Putting the FA talent together with the new drafted talent, and creating new schemes and personnel groups will be the challenge.

[bayz101]

I'm happy with some of the players we got in the draft but I don't think anyone can really judge for sure how it'll work out until the season is underway for a while. I was high on Jarvis Jones, that didn't work out, and it made itself pretty evident early on, too. If the pieces fit and things work well i'll be happy. It's an improvement.

[Method28]

I was stoked about Burnett. Not too sure about how having Edmunds will impact his opportunities.

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[tom444]

Of course the media is going to pick the Cheaters/Deflater's/Brady'sHomo's as the best.

New England Patriots

Draft picks: Georgia OT Isaiah Wynn (No. 23), Georgia RB Sony Michel (No. 31), Florida CB Duke Dawson (No. 56), Purdue LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (No. 143), Arizona State LB Christian Sam (No. 178), Miami WR Braxton Berrios (No. 210), LSU QB Danny Etling (No. 219), Western Carolina DB Keion Crossen (No. 243), Florida State TE Ryan Izzo (No. 250). ​
Instead of using their considerable early-round draft capital to find the next Tom Brady (which, by the way, may never exist, and couldn’t be found in this imperfect class of rookie QBs), the Patriots decided to replenish the talent around the actual Tom Brady, who is coming off an MVP season, which many seemed to forget this offseason. Brady’s departure—whenever it comes—will force a drastic resetting of this franchise one way or another. Instead of investing valuable draft picks on guesses for how to minimize that discomfort, New England spend those picks on players who can help collect more Super Bowls right now.
With Isaiah Wynn, the situation at offensive tackle becomes less direr. And this selection was amplified by the Day 2 trade for gigantic 49ers right tackle Trent Brown, which could allow Wynn to slide to left guard, where his body type is better suited. That would give the Patriots an alternative to re-upping inconsistent pass protector Joe Thuney in 2020. Sony Michel, Wynn’s teammate at Georgia, offers dimension to the stable ground game that free-agent signee Jeremy Hill couldn’t be trusted to provide.
Cornerback Duke Dawson is a more traditional slot cover guy, ending the experiments of guys like Patrick Chung and Eric Rowe playing slightly out of position inside. Bill Belichick traded away the rest of New England’s second, third-and fourth-round picks—usually he gets overzealously lauded for this, but not here. The grade below has nothing to do with the trades and everything to do with a once-again Super Bowl ready franchise having the wisdom to build around its legendary MVP QB rather than taking guesses at how to one day replace him.
Grade: A+
• ​Drafting an heir for Tom Brady? Looks like the Patriots will wait until next year (https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/28/draft-new-england-patriots-tom-brady-heir-quarterbacks)

Pittsburgh Steelers

Draft picks: Virginia Tech S Terrell Edmunds (No. 28), Oklahoma State WR James Washington (No. 60), Oklahoma State QB Mason Rudolph (No. 76), Western Michigan OT Chukwuma Okorafor (No. 92), Penn State S Marcus Allen (No. 148), N.C. State RB Jaylen Samuels (No. 165), Alabama DT Joshua Frazier (No. 246). ​
No team’s top need was more obvious than Pittsburgh’s at inside linebacker. Ryan Shazier, who provided the most goosebump-inducing moment of this draft by walking out on stage to announce the No. 28 pick (https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/27/themmqb-ryan-shazier-walked-nfl-draft-2018-dallas-pittsburgh-steelers-morning-huddle), was their most dynamic defensive player. Plus, this team’s storied 3-4 scheme puts a lot of stress on his position. Teams feasted on Pittsburgh’s backup linebackers down the stretch last year, particularly the Jaguars as they put up 45 points in the divisional round of the playoffs. The problem is, the Steelers don’t believe in trading up (though maybe they should; the last time they did in the first round was for Troy Polamalu). When it was their turn to pick, the top four stack ‘backers were off the board.
So, the Steelers did the next best thing by drafting a hybrid safety. Some teams reportedly had a fifth-round grade on Terrell Edmunds. But “some teams” does not mean ALL teams (the Steelers, for example, obviously had a much higher grade on Edmunds), and saying a team could have drafted a player lower than they did is an assumptive statement based on a butterfly effect. Fruitless.
So let’s examine Edmunds as a concept: he gives you three safeties, which more teams are playing with these days (including the Steelers a few years ago, when they were thin at linebacker). Three safeties gives you coverage flexibility, disguise and more speed. And, in some respects, Shazier, known for being fast, not stout, was like a hybrid box safety anyway.
Pittsburgh’s next few picks aimed at providing offensive depth. James Washington made sense, as this offense has always sought vertical speed from its backup receivers. Chukwuma Okorafor also made sense, as the Steelers over the last two years have learned the value of offensive tackle depth in employing six O-line sets and playing without Marcus Gilbert. Picking Mason Rudolph in between those men was a head-scratcher. Landry Jones was on the roster for one more year, with last year’s fourth-rounder, Josh Dobbs, behind him. If GM Kevin Colbert really thought Rudolph can one day follow Ben Roethlisberger, he would have picked him much earlier.
Grade: B-

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/28/nfl-draft-2018-team-grades-picks-analysis

[hawaiiansteeler]

Some teams reportedly had a fifth-round grade on Terrell Edmunds.

okay, but the Cleveland Browns don't really count :wink02:

[Mojouw]

The chain of logic is just so faulty.

1. It is a bad idea to take a successor/high-level back-up QB with a high draft pick while your current franchise guy is playing well and plans on sticking around. Such a bad idea that doing so early would be a serious misapplication of draft resources.

2. Drafting a a successor/high-level back-up QB with a mid-level pick is a bad idea because if he really could be the successor, you would've drafted him higher.

I think this puts you in a loop - but I'm no logician.

On top of all of it, does drafting a a successor/high-level back-up QB only become a good idea after you trade him for the Garappolo level haul?

I'm all for lauding another team's draft acumen (even the Pats) and for dinging the Steelers, but seriously shifting your basis for evaluation to fit a pre-determined narrative is just sloppy.

Meanwhile, NE just gets a pass for adding another RB to the 5 dozen or so on the roster? Again, logic is good but not when you just apply it willy-nilly.

[teegre]

I usually knock the Taperiots for their drafts. The analysts love to ballwash them for trading back, but the Taperiots rarely use those picks to acquire anyone worthwhile. And, their picks generally are “decent” at best (which is why they have to pick up guys like Dennard off of the scrap heap).

But, I love the Wynn pick. He dominated the D-linemen at the Senior Bowl. Dawson & Sam were players that I liked, too. Barrios is the perfect fit for a Taperiots receiver.

The Sony Michel pick is interesting, because they actually wanted Rashaan Penny... and were thrown for a loop when he got picked by the Seahawks. Then... the Giants trading right up in front of the Taperiots in order to get Lauletta was another “Yes!!!” moment of the draft.