Unless you are fortunate enough to draft a rookie like Pouncey and the alternative is someone like Hartwig the Human Speed Bump...The position is too important to just throw a rookie onto the field.
https://www.pff.com/news/rookie-impact-centers
Older article but basically either your rookie center can start and be okay. Or they're not ready and it doesn't happen.
So how high did you pick them and how good is your scouting?
The following 5 prospects fall to pick 24 overall. With the roster sitting as it is currently, list your order of draft value.
1. Christian Barmore DL Bama
2. Trey Lance QB North Dakota State
3. Kyle Pitts TE Florida
4. Christian Darrisaw LT VaTech
5. Justin Fields QB OSU
These are 5 names that I have seen ranked by most scout sites as top 5-20 prospects in this draft. Yet I have seen them mocked to fall as far as 24 in several mock draft sites as well. Just curious what the slant of the forum is on these 5 prospects.
Interesting. Not as easy as it first seems. Let’s work backwards.
Darrisaw has flaws, and more importantly, there are a handful of OTs ranked about the same. Since I can get an OT “about” as good as him in R2, I wait.
Barmore is great, but if I have the other three available, then a NT can wait.
Fields’s tape during the Northwestern game scares me. He looked rattled. That said, at 24, it might be worth the gamble.
Pitts is the best non-quarterback in this draft. Is he truly a TE? I do not care!!! He catches EVERYTHING (despite double and triple coverage).
That said, Lance is the pick... because QB is bar-none the most important position on your team.
SUMMATION:
Pitts is the better player, but getting a franchise QB trumps that.
This is a hard one
1. Trey Lance: You need to start looking for the new franchise QB. I like Lance. A little raw but with a good OC (which hopefully Canada is) could really do well
2. Justin Fields: Some flaws and concerns but then again pair him with a good OC and maximize his talent
3. Kyle Pitts: Their TE room consists of Ebron and guys whose names I don't even know. Match need and extreme talent (btw he's not going out of the top 10)
4. Darrisaw: Obviously you need to address OL but getting the franchise QB and a talent like Pitts at a big position of need trump that
5. Barrimore: Because the players above address bigger needs.
Trey Lance and then Fields.
After that, the others just aren't all that interesting. Here is the thing about Pitts...everyone talks about how awesome he his and what a match-up nightmare, all that. Sure...but he is simply a jumbo WR. He doesn't nor does he seem interested in blocking. He is Ebron with more consistent hands. Evan Engram with a bit more size. Or David Njoku with actual talent. Bottom line, we saw with Claypool last season, you can created the same mismatches that Pitts gives you with a large WR that doesn't need to cost a first round pick.
Take a falling QB or a high end OL to build your team at 24. Then if you want a big bodied receiver that can put nickel corners and safeties in a bind, just draft one much later in the draft. Nico Collins from Michigan would be great at bullying small CBs for the ball running by larger safeties. So would the dude from Illinois with the long last name with too many vowels in it. That is just two guys from the Big10.
Pitts is the next "fools gold" at TE. He is huge. He is athletic as all get out. He is a WR. He does not block well enough to be a traditional NFL TE. He's gonna play all over the formation but as a massive WR. In fact, when I look into him the more and more I think he is an improved version of Eric Ebron. Like I would be all over that in not the first round of the draft. But for a high first round pick....not my cup of tea.
To follow up on my last. Just retain Ebron to do some of what a guy like Pitts could do. Then draft someone like Farrell out of OSU at next to nothing in terms of draft cost and he will actually block people.
https://steelersdepot.com/2021/02/20...-luke-farrell/
Then if you want to get size mismatches in the passing game go get one of the half dozen massive WRs that are projected as 3-5 round guys.
Because of the 5th yr option I would have to value both QBs first. Either one over the field.
Then probably Darrisaw at OT because he was good enough to stymie Chase Young for an entire game. That's an upgrade.
Barmore falls to 4 because Heyward is signed thru 2024 and Tuitt is signed thru 2022. The player value is higher but the need value drops him.
Last for me is a TE that is a big WR only. I have nothing against his game, I put a lesser value on Pitts compared to the others on the list.
Pitts is a very willing blocker... he’s just not good at it. I’m not sure if that’s worse, but at least he puts forth full effort (which tells he that he can be coached to block better).
As far as size goes, Miles Boykin is the same size as Randy Moss. My point is that guys like Pitts and Moss are freaks for a multitude of reasons: hands, catch radius, ability to separate, ability to “Moss” an opponent, and yes, their height & weight.
Ray Fittipaldo's second seven-round Steelers mock draft
2. TE Pat Freiermuth, Penn State (6-5, 260) — The Steelers have been trying to replace Heath Miller for the past five years without much success. Finally, they might have an answer if they can grab Freiermuth in this spot. Freiermuth is considered the No. 2 tight end in this class behind Florida’s Kyle Pitts, who is expected to be a top-10 pick. This pick would solve a couple of problems the Steelers are facing. For one, Eric Ebron is entering the final year of his contract. Freiermuth would immediately become the No. 2 tight end and then become the starter in 2021. Another reason this makes sense is the Steelers need a solid blocking tight end to help the run game. Freiermuth can do that as a rookie. This pick also gives the Steelers some flexibility in replacing slot receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is expected to leave as a free agent. Freiermuth isn’t overly fast, but he is athletic and showed a knack for making big plays for the Nittany Lions.
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...s/202102240134
2021 NFL Draft Steelers’ Big Board – Top 50 Players
By Scott Pavelle
Posted on March 2, 2021
https://steelersdepot.com/2021/03/20...op-50-players/