Results 1 to 23 of 23

Thread: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

  1. #1
    Senior Member Array title="Shoes has a reputation beyond repute"> Shoes's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Gender
    Posts
    11,632

    Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    With the 2017 NFL Draft drawing ever so closer, it’s time to take a look at the 20 players I’ve identified as potentially being the team’s first round selection this year. While there’s a good chance several of the players listed below will be off the board come time for the Steelers 30th overall selection, I’ve included them just the same should they ultimately slide.
    I purposefully left running backs, wide receivers and offensive linemen off of this list because I will be shocked if any of those three positions are addressed with the first round selection. If you want to make a good arguement for one player from any of those three positions, please do so in the comments.
    Also, please don’t get caught up in the order that I have listed these players as that’s the way I pulled them off of Gil Brandt’s latest rankings.

    http://www.steelersdepot.com/2017/04/steelers-2017-first-round-draft-pick-candidates/

  2. #2
    Senior Member Array title="GBMelBlount has a reputation beyond repute"> GBMelBlount's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Pittsburgh
    Gender
    Posts
    8,756

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Great overview!

    While I am ok with defense round 1, here are some reasons I think upgrading TE in the first round may be best for our Superbowl chances:

    1. Likely immediate upgrade on offense / TE position
    2. Score more points (We are only average in the red zone when we arguably the best offense in the NFL on paper?)
    3. Improve 3rd down conversions.
    4. Has to be accounted for if a playmaker which helps free up other receivers.
    5. We are likely picking mostly defense the rest of the draft and it is very deep at our positions of need, so why not?
    6. Another offensive playmaker is critical we lose Brown or Bell.
    7. Keep Ben happy (may play longer - our window closes when when he retires)
    8. Bryant is unreliable.
    9. Our offense is most likely the key to winning the Superbowl.


    TIGHT ENDS

    David Njoku – TE, Miami – Should Njoku wind up falling to the Steelers, he’s a player the team really has to consider taking at 30th overall an especially when you consider what happened last year with tight end Ladarius Green. While he still needs some polishing, Njoku looks like he can be an offensive weapon at the NFL level and be used as an all-around tight end to boot. That 139.3 SPARQ score is very hard to ignore as is the 43 receptions for 698 yards and 8 touchdowns that he had in 2016. The Steelers were at the Miami pro day this year and that included them reportedly dining with Njoku.
    "With love, with patience, and with Faith
    ....She'll make her way" ~ Natalie Merchant

  3. #3
    Senior Member Array title="RunNGun has a reputation beyond repute"> RunNGun's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Gender
    Posts
    2,414

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    My 2 favorite guys in this draft are Peppers and Reddick, but I believe they will both be gone at pick 30. ILB is our biggest weakness on defense and I think we go with Tyus Bowser, LB from Houston. He hasn't visited, but I think a scenario will come about where Peppers and Reddick are off the board and Bowser is the next best LB prospect that they can't pass up. Has a lot of similarities to Lawrence Timmons and should transition to ILB smoothly. He may not have visited, but I can guarantee you the scouts have seen his film and done their research on this guy.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Array title="Shoes has a reputation beyond repute"> Shoes's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Gender
    Posts
    11,632

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    As much as I wanted a TE over the years, I don't think we should touch one until R3 or R4 and the pick is Kittle. I think he is going to pan out to be best complete TE in the class.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Array title="Dwinsgames has a reputation beyond repute"> Dwinsgames's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    South Western Pa
    Gender
    Posts
    7,722

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Shoes View Post
    As much as I wanted a TE over the years, I don't think we should touch one until R3 or R4 and the pick is Kittle. I think he is going to pan out to be best complete TE in the class.

    I would love to have Evan Engram , but can not justify the cost

  6. #6
    BurghBoy412
    Guest

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    1st pick again this year DB!
    The secondary remains relatively mediocre. The edge rusher is definitely a need but the team faired well sacking the QB last season (minus Heyward) . The problem is and continues to be a lack of speed and athleticism in the secondary. IMO this need superseeds all other needs on this team. They added some really good pieces last year and I expect they will do the same in the 1st rd this year.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Array title="BlackAndGold has a reputation beyond repute"> BlackAndGold's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Gender
    Posts
    5,076

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Besides the most obvious players that are talked about, and potential prospects that could fall. I believe Jarrad Davis, and Adoree Jackson are legit sleepers to be the pick at #30.
    1. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia 2. Zach Frazier, C, West Virginia 3. Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan 3. ​Renardo Green, CB, FSU 4. Mo Kamara, OLB, Colorado State 6. Logan Lee, DT, Iowa 6.Khristian Boyd, NT, Northern Iowa

  8. #8
    Senior Member Array title="polamalubeast has a reputation beyond repute">

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    28,369

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    I think the first round pick is going to be a CB if the steelers think they need to play more often man to man.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Array title="DesertSteel has a reputation beyond repute"> DesertSteel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Arizona
    Gender
    Posts
    10,493

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    The top pick will be the highest rated player from their CB/OLB/S board. The wildcard is if a WR/TE/QB drops to them that they had ranked in the top 15.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Array title="Six Rings is a splendid one to behold">

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    1,124

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by DesertSteel View Post
    The top pick will be the highest rated player from their CB/OLB/S board. The wildcard is if a WR/TE/QB drops to them that they had ranked in the top 15.
    That would be OJ Howard or John Ross. I'd love either, but suspect both will be long gone by pick #25....5 spots from where we select.

    As for the QB's, none of them are worth out first round pick, but if say Davis Webb is there in round three, pull the trigger.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Array title="Steelheart is a jewel in the rough"> Steelheart's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    123

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Definitely have to go defense.

    Green is a really good starting TE (assuming health) and Jones is a solid starting TE as well. I just don't see how you can draft at a position where you already have 2 reliable to great starting guys when there are very obvious holes with no assumptions needed on the defensive side. You could say almost the same about WR.

  12. #12
    Senior Member Array title="pczach has a reputation beyond repute"> pczach's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Gender
    Posts
    8,849

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Steelheart View Post
    Definitely have to go defense.

    Green is a really good starting TE (assuming health) and Jones is a solid starting TE as well. I just don't see how you can draft at a position where you already have 2 reliable to great starting guys when there are very obvious holes with no assumptions needed on the defensive side. You could say almost the same about WR.

    That's likely what will happen, but that you never know who may still be available when they pick. That's the beauty of the draft. We can all speculate who's taking what player and the needs of every team in the league, but when the clock starts on draft day anything can happen.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Array title="Steelheart is a jewel in the rough"> Steelheart's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    123

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by pczach View Post
    That's likely what will happen, but that you never know who may still be available when they pick. That's the beauty of the draft. We can all speculate who's taking what player and the needs of every team in the league, but when the clock starts on draft day anything can happen.
    As far as offense goes I don't really care who is availble. My thoughts on need vs BPA are roughly:

    If player A is BPA but not a need and you have an A grade on him, player B who is a need has no be lower than about a B- before you consider taking player A. In other words, there has to be a significant talent gap before I take a luxury pick.

  14. #14
    Senior Member Array title="pczach has a reputation beyond repute"> pczach's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Gender
    Posts
    8,849

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Steelheart View Post
    As far as offense goes I don't really care who is availble. My thoughts on need vs BPA are roughly:

    If player A is BPA but not a need and you have an A grade on him, player B who is a need has no be lower than about a B- before you consider taking player A. In other words, there has to be a significant talent gap before I take a luxury pick.

    I'm just stating that anything is possible. We all have our opinions of what we would do if we were making the pick, but we really don't know what the team will do because we don't know how the have the players rated and what they believe their team needs are.

  15. #15
    Senior Member Array title="Steelheart is a jewel in the rough"> Steelheart's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    123

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by pczach View Post
    I'm just stating that anything is possible. We all have our opinions of what we would do if we were making the pick, but we really don't know what the team will do because we don't know how the have the players rated and what they believe their team needs are.
    Oh yeah, no doubt anything is possible. I would just be very upset if they wasted a first round pick on a TE. Not only because it would be a luxury pick but also because there are good options later in the draft.

  16. #16
    Senior Member Array title="Psycho Ward 86 has a reputation beyond repute"> Psycho Ward 86's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Gender
    Posts
    9,646

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Steelheart View Post
    Definitely have to go defense.

    Green is a really good starting TE (assuming health) and Jones is a solid starting TE as well. I just don't see how you can draft at a position where you already have 2 reliable to great starting guys when there are very obvious holes with no assumptions needed on the defensive side. You could say almost the same about WR.
    i like my solid starting tight ends to break double digits in yards per catch but maybe thats just me
    Quote Originally Posted by XxKnightxX View Post
    We are not Buffalo, We are not Miami. We are the Steelers, we dont blow out teams, we cock tease for ratings and keep games close.

  17. #17
    Senior Member Array title="Rotorhead has a reputation beyond repute">

    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Denver
    Gender
    Posts
    4,319

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    It has to be OLB, we need JH's replacement this year, not next. Also, the drop off for edge rushers is larger than it is for CB's from the first to the second. I think it will be OLB then CB. After that I don't even care. Those are the biggest needs/upgrades for us. But for now I think it will be S/ILB/TE for the 2 3rd rounders, whoever is rated highest of the 2 when we pick.

  18. #18
    Senior Member Array title="Steelheart is a jewel in the rough"> Steelheart's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    123

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Ward 86 View Post
    i like my solid starting tight ends to break double digits in yards per catch but maybe thats just me
    Sure it would be a nice luxury but also unnecessary to a successful offense. Especially ours when you have AB, Bell, and Bryant. Hard to find enough balls to go around even between those 3.

    For me it seems people are slowly trending towards thinking every offense needs a Tony Gonzalez or Rob Gronkowski but Heath Miller was never close to that and we had a great offense with him at TE. He was a great possession receiver who could find the soft spots in defenses and get a first down when you needed it. I think James can be that.

    If you want a prime example just go look at the Falcons. They have a similar setup to us and there offense was killer. Good QB, one of the best receivers in the game and good at the RB position. Just okay at TE and they put up big numbers. Our offense underperforms based on the talent we have, particularly on the road.

  19. #19
    Senior Member Array title="Born2Steel has a reputation beyond repute"> Born2Steel's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Gender
    Posts
    11,822

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Steelheart View Post
    Sure it would be a nice luxury but also unnecessary to a successful offense. Especially ours when you have AB, Bell, and Bryant. Hard to find enough balls to go around even between those 3.

    For me it seems people are slowly trending towards thinking every offense needs a Tony Gonzalez or Rob Gronkowski but Heath Miller was never close to that and we had a great offense with him at TE. He was a great possession receiver who could find the soft spots in defenses and get a first down when you needed it. I think James can be that.

    If you want a prime example just go look at the Falcons. They have a similar setup to us and there offense was killer. Good QB, one of the best receivers in the game and good at the RB position. Just okay at TE and they put up big numbers. Our offense underperforms based on the talent we have, particularly on the road.

    Not disagreeing here, just to point out 1 flaw though. The Falcons had more than Julio catching clutch balls for Ryan. We had AB last season and a parade of drops. We didn't under perform so much as the WR corps is not that good.

  20. #20

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Shoes View Post
    As much as I wanted a TE over the years, I don't think we should touch one until R3 or R4 and the pick is Kittle. I think he is going to pan out to be best complete TE in the class.
    Kittle and Sprinkle are both all around TE's...it would be nice to have a TE who could block AND catch.
    "I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play"

    -- Jack Lambert --

  21. #21
    Attitude is everything Array title="SteelerFanInStl has a reputation beyond repute"> SteelerFanInStl's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Gender
    Posts
    14,364

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    This is the first year in a while where I'm not sold on a specific player in the first round. I'd love to have Reddick but he's not going to be there at 30. I want a LB or CB but all of them that are projected around #30 seem to have a lot of question marks. At least I won't be disappointed because my favorite player wasn't taken.
    I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play!- Jack Lambert

  22. #22
    Senior Member Array title="Psycho Ward 86 has a reputation beyond repute"> Psycho Ward 86's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Gender
    Posts
    9,646

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Steelheart View Post
    Sure it would be a nice luxury but also unnecessary to a successful offense. Especially ours when you have AB, Bell, and Bryant. Hard to find enough balls to go around even between those 3.

    For me it seems people are slowly trending towards thinking every offense needs a Tony Gonzalez or Rob Gronkowski but Heath Miller was never close to that and we had a great offense with him at TE. He was a great possession receiver who could find the soft spots in defenses and get a first down when you needed it. I think James can be that.

    If you want a prime example just go look at the Falcons. They have a similar setup to us and there offense was killer. Good QB, one of the best receivers in the game and good at the RB position. Just okay at TE and they put up big numbers. Our offense underperforms based on the talent we have, particularly on the road.
    the falcons arent a good debate point for this. Their top tight ends averaged 20.3, 14.3, and 14 yards per catch apiece. 2 of those guys were rookies. Jesse James has accrued 2 seasons, the latter of which he had a significant enough number of catches to get a decent gauge of his yards after catch ability. Averaging 8.4 yards per catch on 47 receptions is disconcerting for someone you feel could be a good starter. no memorably good tight end had that low of a YPC. Name one notable tight end that had a career YPC in the single digits. Ill wait.

    Not sure what Gronk and Gonzo have to do with this but if this has anything to do with blocking, Gronk is a straight up homewrecker as a blocker. Gonzo was actually a pretty good pass blocker as well. No one's asking for a tight end comparable to arguably the best 2 to ever play the position. Heck, im not even looking for a Heath Miller level player necessarily. So im not sure where those 3 come into this conversation when theyre all light years better than James in every aspect.

    The falcons also had one of the best offensive coordinators in the league (sans a terrible terrible 2nd half superbowl), a regular season MVP, and a pretty unprecedented receiving RB performance to make up for the lack of dependency on the tight ends.

    No one will be complaining about our offense if its overarmed to the teeth.



    ^That being said, i still feel decent about the arrow pointing up on Jesse James. He mostly needs to learn to secure the ball more quickly after catching it and takeoff from that point on faster. Although im not sure why this board seems to have such a gigantic disparity in confidence between Jesse James compared to Sammie Coates/Eli Rogers
    Quote Originally Posted by XxKnightxX View Post
    We are not Buffalo, We are not Miami. We are the Steelers, we dont blow out teams, we cock tease for ratings and keep games close.

  23. #23
    Senior Member Array title="Steelheart is a jewel in the rough"> Steelheart's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Gender
    Posts
    123

    Re: Steelers 2017 First Round Draft Pick Candidates

    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Ward 86 View Post
    the falcons arent a good debate point for this. Their top tight ends averaged 20.3, 14.3, and 14 yards per catch apiece. 2 of those guys were rookies. Jesse James has accrued 2 seasons, the latter of which he had a significant enough number of catches to get a decent gauge of his yards after catch ability. Averaging 8.4 yards per catch on 47 receptions is disconcerting for someone you feel could be a good starter. no memorably good tight end had that low of a YPC. Name one notable tight end that had a career YPC in the single digits. Ill wait.
    It is like I said though, he doesn't have to be notable. When you have the best RB in the league, the best WR, a top 5 QB, a top 5 offensive line, and a 2nd WR who can be a top 5 guy when he decides to stop smoking, you don't need a big time TE. Or a better point, a TE isn't more important than improving a mediocre defense when you have guys for days on the offensive side.

    And of course, this isn't even accounting for a potentially healthy Green.

    Not sure what Gronk and Gonzo have to do with this
    For whatever reason our fans have gotten this idea in there head that you need a really good pass catching TE as opposed to just a solid all-around guy like a Heath Miller. Jesse James is that guy. He is no Heath Miller right now, but he is a similar type and on an upward trend. I mention Gronk because he is that ideal of the super athlete at TE. Like people can't just be satisfied with best RB, best WR etc....They also need the best TE as well.

    I think he could also be a good redzone target if given some more chances. His hands are solid and he is a big target as well.

    The falcons also had one of the best offensive coordinators in the league (sans a terrible terrible 2nd half superbowl), a regular season MVP, and a pretty unprecedented receiving RB performance to make up for the lack of dependency on the tight ends.
    And we had all of the tools to do that as well, we just underperformed. Particularly on the road.

    No one will be complaining about our offense if its overarmed to the teeth.
    Sure, but then we will just be talking about how our defense needs more guys.


    Of course in saying all of this, I mocked them a TE. I just think it would be a terrible idea to take one high with so many other needs. You can live and live well with Jesse James if he has to be the guy. Especially with Bryant back.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •