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[Psycho Ward 86]

I'm kinda starting to think that we have all made up a player in our minds that simply does not exist. Let me see if I got this right. The next Steelers TE will have Jesse James' size and a bit better receiving ability. Miller's run after the catch, but not necessary to have Green's raw athleticism. And he will be able to block. Sound about right?

Said player will not be required to be a regular defense stretcher down the seams, as the Steelers have other weapons for that. He must be able to be a reliable target on 3rd downs and in the red zone. So far so good -- EXCEPT that red zone thing.

Where are all these 10+ TD producing TEs that are also NOT amazing at catching passes in other situations? In 2016 no TE scored double digit TDs. Several had a half dozen or so (http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorysta...ualified=false). But not a ton of plodding red zone monsters on that list.

2015 was a double digit TD year for a few TEs (http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorysta...ualified=false) and again I don't see a ton of red zone specialists.

I guess you could make an argument that Richard Rodgers and Kyle Rudolph are "red zone specialists" but not really in my mind. I feel like we are all envisioning some kind of Frank Wycheck type TE and those days are gone. Defenses realize they have to cover the TE now If you want a TE that can gobble up TD passes, you better go get yourself one of these early round monsters like Gronk or Eifert.

id like to emphasize the word "capable." Again, i dont really care all that much to have a tight end with blistering speed. If we grab one i just want to know that having a killer instinct inside the 20 is a strength for them. Howard and Njoku can definitely be that guy. Shaheen is a maybe

[Craic]

When it comes to TEs, at this point I'm more concerned about their blocking ability. Let me lay out why I think blocking is more important than pass-catching in our new TE.

1. Our most consistently dangerous offense weapon right now is Bell. A good blocking TE gives Bell more space to run.

2. Pass weapons. We have pass-catching TEs, we have perhaps the best WR in the league, we have possession WRs, and we have a guy coming back that can stretch the field and give Ben a massive target. We don't really need another WR.

3. Future. Let us say Ben retires within the next year or two. What is the most important thing to give a QB coming into the league? It is not more weapons than what we have. It is the time to throw the ball.* A blocking TE that can block, block, release is a much better option for a rookie QB than a TE that taps and releases because he can't block, and lets our QB get drilled.

4. Future Offense. When Ben retires, this offense will revert to form—run, run, pass. Or, Run, run, run. Why? Because we have perhaps the best RB in the NFL who can make people miss, even in the backfield.** On top of that, the run first, run always protects the QB, setting up play-action pass (which I think we will see a return to as well).

*Why is this so important? I submit to you, Rick Mirer, Second pick of the first round for the Seattle Seahawks in the '93 draft. Mirer had an unparalleled football IQ. His problem, however, was the front line of the Seattle Seahawks. In two of his first three years, he was sacked over 40 times. His first year, he was sacked once every 10 dropbacks, and that doesn't include pressures and hits. Mirer's internal clock went haywire and he quickly lost his mechanics. He may never have been a HoF or even a probowl QB, but had New England drafted him instead of Drew Bledsoe at number 1, I think Mirer would have had a Bledsoe type career, and Bledsoe, a Mirer career when Seattle drafted him at two. (Because that year, those two QBs were going 1, 2 to those two teams, regardless.

**While Antonio Brown is also one of the best in the NFL at his position, he can only show it when a QB gets the ball to him, which is a much lower percentage play than handed the ball off to Bell.
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For those reasons, getting a TE that can block first, and catch secondly is much more important than we're currently thinking. With that said, it seems both Kittle and Sprinkle fall into that category. As soon as the first one goes off the boards, I'd start making phone calls to move up to take the other. And, with two third round picks, I'd take either one of them with the second.

Mojow - I believe the comparisons are not about ceiling of a player, but the way in which they play the game, including strengths and weaknesses.

[Mojouw]

Looking at this roster, I just can't get on board with drafting a TE in the first 3 rounds. Unless that TE is a "transformational" TE - meaning a guy you build your offense around. I don't see a guy in this class. Especially if you factor in the ability to block in the run game.

Put it this way, if you put Gronk on the field, you have to still respect the fact that he may just run block. From what I have read, all the TE's in this class that we know can run routes and have an impact catching the ball at the NFL level can't block for crap. All they guys that can block might be able to impact at the NFL level catching the ball. So the Steelers can burn one of their top 4 picks drafting either Jimmy Graham (a glorified WR) or some mash-up of Matt Spaeth and Jesse James? All so there is a "red zone weapon" that based on the last 3 years in the league means 6-8 TDs per year?

Yeah. I can't get on board with that at all.

[Dwinsgames]

Njoku drops a shit ton of balls 11% drop rate , he is getting so much publicity because he is a gym rat an athletic specimen but he is not a great football player , not yet anyways , I prefer solid tape over everything else ...this kid is a classic boom or bust athlete

[86WARD]

Heath was a really underutilized red zone weapon for us. But he wasnt a great red zone weapon either. Theres a reason why his highest season TD totals throughout his career were 8, 7, and 6 respectively. We have to get better there. Having a field stretching tight end is nice, but id prefer a plodder who is capable of being a double digit TD machine. If that can be the same player? Well hot damn, Ben's throwing for 40 and ill put money on it

No one had a problem with Heath being the TE that he was. He clearly was a very, very good TE but he wasn't a redzone threat. So why do the Steelers have to get a TE that is a red zone threat? They've gone years without one. Brown, Bryant, Bell, Rogers, Ben, James...they are all threats. What more do you need? Lol. As long as Green is healthy, the TE position is more than fine. Without Green, the position is fine. It's not a top priority...not even close to a top priority for this team.