Early Mock

[Texasteel]

Colbert and Tomlin like their first rounders young (weird obsession in another profession...)

so I think that points to JJ Watt or possibly Muhammad Wilkerson (who might climb some boards come April) for you TEX

1. JJ Watt DE
2. Jeremy Beal OLB
3. Marcus Cannon - OG / OT
4. Lee Ziemba OT / OG
5. Jalil Brown CB
6. Cameron Graham TE Louisville
7. Chris Neild DT

Do you like that one a bit better???

Actually, I think I do bud.

[Chidi29]

I like it Chidi. I like Ijalana and his value will soar come post season workouts.He is the next Brandon Albert / Mike Iupati - sleeper pick in January, board climber in April. Even though it is short an OT I think it hits a lot of areas where the players are a real chance of competing for roster spots and sticking. Good mock.


I will throw at you guys a mock much like the 2008 draft where we were all thrown by the picks. Here is my BPA mock. It will never happen - but how much debate would a draft like this create.


1. Kyle Rudolph TE 6'6 265 Notre Dame - Sticking with the draft philosophy of junior, best player at position and area of miminal draft priority by most fans. Arians will be jumping for joy with the thought of a two headed TE monster for Ben. Miller, Rudolph, Wallace, Sanders, Brown and Mendy in the backfield - Try cover that

2. Jeremy Beal OLB 6'3 265 Oklahoma - In all the fighting for 3-4 DE's one of the premium OLB's in the draft falls to the end of the second round. Dick Le Beau likes to collect LB's and he cannot resist another one.

3. Marcus Cannon - OG / OT 6'5 350 TCU The big guy suffers a bit of the Herman Johnson syndrome. A guy that big cannot be agile enough to play OT in the NFL. Some scouts say that he will.

4. Lee Ziemba OT / OG 6'6 320 Auburn- Time to bring in another O lineman that can swing between tackle and guard.

5. Cedric Thornton DE 6'4 295 Sth Arkansas - Big unit from small school. Hey, we are in the 5th and realistically he is fighting for a practice squad spot ( only WR's and LB's make it from here)

6. Jalil Brown CB 6'0 205 Colorado - Whilst scouting Jimmy Smith they noticed that this guy held up pretty well considering every team tried to pick on him to avoid smith.

7. Chris Neild DT 6'2 302 WVU - No reason to stop adding big bodies to this draft class. We have debated this guy here. I am a fan and he fights for a spot on the practice squad as NT. McClendon will work his way into the 53 for next season so a NT is needed.

I resisted the temptation of drafting a soccer player. They can be found as UDFA's


PSSSSS - dont forget that the east west shrine practices have started. Its starting to warm up.

I guess it's tough to evaluate since you said it was BPA, but it would make for some interesting discussion.

Rudolph does seem like a heck of an athlete, but I kinda like having a blocker as my #2 TE since we mostly use that for power sets. I love Heath, but there are times where I wish we had one guy strictly as a recevier and one striclty as a blocking specialist. Like what the Colts have with Clark or Tamme and Eldridge or the Chargers with Gates and Wilson/Brandon M (before he went to the Bears).

If we re-sign Woodley, I can't see us taking Beal even if he is the top player on our board. If Woodley is let go, it's a completely different story.

I actually think Cannon moves pretty well for a guy of his size. Herman was a house. That's his actual nickname. Cannon is more like a Double Wide mobile home. Big but he can move. Carries his weight really well. Hope we could snag him in the 3rd. Would be a great pickup.

Never watched him myself but I've heard good things about Ziemba.

I know Thornton has been pimped pretty big on here. Again though, if Woodley stays and we've already drafted an OLB...I don't want practice squad guys in the 5th round. I want him to have a legit shot to make the team.

I'm glad you brought up Brown. One of my favorite draft guys, Scott Wright, is big on the guy. You know he's had a lot of experience since teams don't throw to Smith, like you said.

I'm pretty meh on Neild but I can live with it.

Good stuff Aussie.

Late EDIT: I meant to say Scott Wright of draftcountdown.com. Not Scott Brown.

[Chidi29]

One thing I thought about when looking at some of the mocks was the team and small school prospects. I don't think we draft too many of them.

The only ones I can think of that are even on the 53 are Redman, Colon, and David Johnson, and maybe Ike Taylor (Is UL-Lafayette below D1?) And only the latter two were drafted. Only Colon was taken before the 7th.

How many have we drafted in the past five years? Can't be many. That'd take away a good chunk of my mock.

[Texasteel]

That's the great thing about early mocks. We're just kicking around names. Some will survive the conversation, some will not. We don't have to get serious for another couple of months. Some people think early mocks are a waste of time, I don't. I often see names that I haven't even thought of before. By the way, I did like yours very much, even if we don't agree on an OT.

[Chidi29]

That's the great thing about early mocks. We're just kicking around names. Some will survive the conversation, some will not. We don't have to get serious for another couple of months. Some people think early mocks are a waste of time, I don't. I often see names that I haven't even thought of before. By the way, I did like yours very much, even if we don't agree on an OT.

I forgot to respond to that. I expect Colon to be back. We can probably get him on the cheap after him missing a year. And while Starks is only average, he's improved at LT the past two years and he's still the starter. If I'm drafting a OT highly, they should start/have a good chance to start right away.

[Aussie_steeler]

One thing I thought about when looking at some of the mocks was the team and small school prospects. I don't think we draft too many of them.

The only ones I can think of that are even on the 53 are Redman, Colon, and David Johnson, and maybe Ike Taylor (Is UL-Lafayette below D1?) And only the latter two were drafted. Only Colon was taken before the 7th.

How many have we drafted in the past five years? Can't be many. That'd take away a good chunk of my mock.

I think the Ricardo Colclough debacle put an end to the small school experiment by the steeler war room. Now I think you watch them fall and eventually grab them as a UDFA.

[LLT]

One thing I thought about when looking at some of the mocks was the team and small school prospects. I don't think we draft too many of them.

The only ones I can think of that are even on the 53 are Redman, Colon, and David Johnson, and maybe Ike Taylor (Is UL-Lafayette below D1?) And only the latter two were drafted. Only Colon was taken before the 7th.

How many have we drafted in the past five years? Can't be many. That'd take away a good chunk of my mock.

Chidi..my brother...i cant believe you forgot about Aaron Smith from Northern Colorado!!!

[LLT]

I think the Ricardo Colclough debacle put an end to the small school experiment by the steeler war room. Now I think you watch them fall and eventually grab them as a UDFA.

I dont know....logic says that we could have passed on Worilds last year and picked up Division II All-American LT Jared Veldheer in the second round...then we could have retained Thadeus Gibson at OLB.

I think that Worilds is a pretty good prospect...but I saw little that would make me believe that he was significantly better than Gibson.

[LLT]

1) DeMarcus Love OT, Arkansas
6'5 315 lb LT with 36 starts under his belt. Has played Tackle and guard for the Razorbacks. Would provide solid depth at LT and RT for a year or two before becoming a starter. His skill set reminds me a lot of Marvel Smith.

2) Muhammad Wilkerson DE, Temple
Played DT at Temple where he was relentless...over the past two years he racked up 131 tackles...23.5 TFL...and 16.5 sacks. If Smith retires he will be a vcaluable backup, if not, look for him to take the place of an aging Eason.

3) Chimdi Chekwa, CB, Ohio St
Might have been a first round pick except for injuring his right wrist at the end of the season. Good size at 5'11 190 and runs in the 4.4 range. had 145 career tackles 1 forced fumble 6 interceptions and 25 pass breakups.

4) John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin
6'4 323 lb All-American guard who has played all three interior positions. Might be better suited for the right side but played LG for the Badgers last year.

5) Chris Conte , FS, California
6'3 212 lb safety who played CB for three years. Good hands and good hustle..plays until the whistle blows. Very good on ST's.

5) Lee Smith TE, Marshall
Well rounded TE who is an above average blocker and reciever. Not used a lot in Marshalls sytem until the loss of TE Cody Slate. Underrated prospect that would fit the Steelers system very well.

6) Anthony Gray, NT
6'0 317 lb NT prospect. Has 76 career tackles 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one pass broken up.

7) Rob McGill, OT, Louisiana Tech
6'6 308 lb Tackle would be a project for us…spending some time on the PS to sharpen his skills

[Texasteel]

Good job buddy. Every player is right were they should be taken, and make sence for us. This would fill a few holes, but more importantly with very good players.

1,2,3,and 4 are very good picks, IMO. You've got Smith, which is a must, and may have found a very good FS.

Do we have 2 5th round picks?

All the mocks so far have been pretty good. We're rolling now.

[Chidi29]

Chidi..my brother...i cant believe you forgot about Aaron Smith from Northern Colorado!!!

Ahh!

He needs to come back right now.

[Texasteel]

I watched Rogers this morning after my comments in the only Richmond game I can find. I'm sure he's a ballhawk based off of INT numbers, but I don't think he offers enough against the run to be a viable fit for us. You have to be physical, willing to play the run, and a sound tackler to play CB for us. Here's my notes on him against Virginia in the first game of the year.

- Doesn't play the run well, struggling to get off of WRs blocks. Isn't always willing to stick his neck into the pile.
- Not a solid tackler, had a couple misses and has a tendency to go high.
- Looks to have fluid hips, can turn and run without a hitch.
- Good job of locating passes though couldn't always make a play on them. WR won a jump ball.
- Played in a variety of different assignments - man coverage, zone, passive, press coverage. More quick twitch than elite straight line speed.
- Good acceleration and change of direction ability.
- Mental blunder, attempted to run with a punt after calling a fair catch.
- Multi-dimensional athlete. Took the team's first offensive snap at WR. Got behind the coverage once on a deep ball but the pass was slightly overthrown. 38 yard punt return. Had an eight yard rush. Three receptions, five rushes, two passes on the season. Kickoff return man for four years, picked up punt return duties this season with 15.

Finally got to watch the link you left me, and I see what you are saying. Does look much more like cover guy, and had poor tackling technique . I am wondering if he was having a poor game. I think that he did have 48 tackles this year, and two forced fumbles. If there is a real problem, I'm sure the teams will find it before draft day. We will get a chance to see him again, I just found out that he is playing in the East West Shrine game, and has been invited to the combines. To tell you the truth I still like Carmichael better. They are about the same size, but Carmichael seems to play bigger, if that makes sense to you. Thanks again Chidi.

[Chidi29]

You're right Tex that it's tough to read too much into one game. Unfortunately, it was the only Richmond game I could find. He could have success as a ballhawk in a zone scheme where corners are asked to be aggressive, but I don't think he's a good fit for us.

Wes Bunting of NFP has been singing his praises for his practices during Shrine Week.

[Texasteel]

Could be right bud. Our CBs and Safeties have to be able to blitz, and support the run, and if you can bring down a QB that is bigger than you. You going to have problems.

[LLT]

Good job buddy. Every player is right were they should be taken, and make sence for us. This would fill a few holes, but more importantly with very good players.

1,2,3,and 4 are very good picks, IMO. You've got Smith, which is a must, and may have found a very good FS.

Do we have 2 5th round picks?

I hate to verbalize this....but I think there is a possiblity that we could lose a Vet... or two....or three.

IF we win it all this year...I think there is a chance that we lose Ward...Smith...and maybe Farrior. Soooo I think we might be looking at several compendatory picks.

I am just being conservative with us gettting at least the one 5th rounder until the fluidity of the draft becomes more focused