My thoughts on how we did in the draft.
Cameron Heyward - DE/Ohio St
Liked the pick and coming into the draft, he was the guy I had really warmed up to the thought of taking if he would have fallen. I'm not a fan of taking defensive ends early but the value was right so I can't complain. Here's my scouting report on Heyward I made prior to the draft so there's no bias involved now that he's our guy.
The Good
- Excellent size
- Fantastic upper body strength
- Stout at the point of attack
- Good bull rush
- Able to shed blocks
- Asset against the run
- Clutch
- Good motor and hustle
- Experience stunting
- Good amount of starting experience
- Solid bloodlines
The Bad
- Not a strong pass rusher
- Doesn't offer much of a repitore
- Position limited
- Injury concerns
Other
- Becaome starter as a true freshmen
- Mainly played at RE, sometimes kicked inside
- Had a sack late against Iowa to seal the win
- Father "Ironhead" was a running back in the NFL
- Recovering from Tommy John surgery
Final Word
A prototypical five technique prospect. Is solid albeit not spectacular.
Games Watched
at Wisconsin, at Iowa
To add onto a few points I made above.
The injury that resulted in the Tommy John happened during the Sugar Bowl. He played through it and played effectively. Completely abused Demarcus Love, who was drafted in the mid-rounds. The kid is tough and obviously, talented.
Thinking back, I think he's a little better of a pass rusher than I came off in the report. I don't want to raise expectations too much but I really see Richard Seymour in the kid. Meaning, he's solid versus the run but will offer more as a pass rusher than your typical five technique.
He seems like a high character person who is truly happy to be playing for us. I'm excited about the pick.
Marcus Gilbert - OT/Florida
Really didn't like this pick. I knew little about Gilbert coming into the draft except for the fact there were some Steelers' draftniks who were high on him. I don't see it.
His body type is the exact opposite of what you'd expect. He's huge, 6'6 330, but plays with good bend and doesn't double over like a lot of tall tackles do when trying to get leverage. He moves decent enough laterally and can push the end upfield. All of that is good to see.
But he looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. He isn't nasty, doesn't finish his blocks, can't stick and drive on contact, is always on the ground, and lunges in the run game. He's passive; maybe that's his personality but hey, Big Daddy Lipscomb would make you apart of the field and then ask if you were ok. I want my trench guys to be nasty; to have that fire that you need when you're going to be facing a player like Haloti Ngata or Rubin in Cleveland.
Not sure where Gilbert will play either. He played everything but center in college so he does have versatility. Right guard is an obvious need but I don't know how thrilled I'd be with that since that is a power position. The suggestion of him possily playing left tackle down the road is interesting because it's an "athletic" spot but I really don't think you can hide a passive offensive lineman who isn't a strong run blocker.
I think Gilbert will be a bust.
Curtis Brown - CB/Texas
Back to the picks I like. Was a fan of Brown coming into the draft based on what I read and had him mocked to us in the second. Obviously fell a round later. And after watching him, the scouting reports were dead on.
He is the prototypical Steelers corner. A quick twitch player with great reaction time. He can transition quickly with his quick feet which is huge for our zone heavy scheme. If you're playing off and see a slant, you have to close on that. If you're in Cover 3 or quarters and they throw the quick screen, the hitch, or the deep comeback, you have to get out of your backpedal, plant with your back foot, and drive to the ball. Can't allow YAC otherwise it's pointless to be playing off. He can do that and has good closing speed.
He's not a big guy but plays big. He'll throw his weight around. Actively plays the run, gets his nose involved whenever he can. A solid tackler in his own right too, another crucial part if you want to play cornerback for us.
Looks pretty good in coverage too. He stays low in his backpedal. Might pop up a little bit when flipping his hips but it's a minor flaw that can be tought by Carnell Lake. In the two games I watched when he went against Jeff Fuller and Justin Blackmon, two of the better WRs he'll see, he allowed just two or three catches. None to Fuller either, all were against Blackmon who lit up other Longhorns like Aaron Williams.
Couple of flaws I saw: Not going to be physical at the line because of on overall lack of bulk, doesn't have elite straight-line speed, and his ballskills aren't great. Just two career interceptions. It's not like we ask our CBs to be ballhawks so I'm not concerned.
Also has special teams value. I saw him as a jammer and I think I heard Lake say he had 57 career tackles on special teams. Big plus and helps you get a helmet that much quicker.
Lake commented that he could be a nickelback which says a lot about how well we think he can handle LeBeau's offense. He has experience playing every corner spot. Played left corner in the two games I watched him.
As an aside, what concerns me were Lake's comments about Ike. He didn't sound very confident that we'll re-sign him. He once said, "If we somehow sign Ike..." Maybe that's a poor choice of words but then again, positional coaches aren't as well-versed in coachspeak as Tomlin.
Cortez Allen - CB/Citadel
Can't say I know a lot about him. Couldn't find any games of him on espn3. I saw him at the Combine. Long-legged guy with a good build. Goes 6'1 197. He sounds like a project but worth taking a flier on. Didn't have as much time to focus on football because of school and military obligations so he's probably lacking in technique and will need quite a bit of coaching.
But according to Lake, he held up well in the East/West Shrine Game practices and I've heard some comparisons to Ike Taylor from fans. I read a stat that said he only allowed one third of passes to be completed last year.
Chris Carter - OLB/Fresno St
Just finished watching him. I can see why he fell to the fifth. There's usually good reason why a player falls and 31 other teams pass on him multiple times. Maybe I'm just not watching the right film, but I didn't see much.
I do know he was very productive. That bodes well for him and you can't overlook a guy who simply put up the numbers. He was the WAC defensive player of the year with 16.5 TFL and 11 sacks. And he did have eye-popping numbers at the Combine. Very strong in the shuttle and an impressive vertical.
In terms of the positives of his game, he does have a good to great first step. Can be explosive off the edge and beat the tackle. He gets his arms extended when rushing. Has a solid bull rush and can drive the tackle into the quarterback. His first step definitely helps his bull rush as he's able to get the OT off balanced and drive him back. Also has experience in stunts. Has looped inside.
And now the bad.
He's undersized at 6'1 250. Not much bulk to him. He's cut but isn't physically imposing by any means.
This guy is terrible against the run. He gets swallowed up, can't shed blocks, washed out of plays, and teams try to run at him. He even got blown up by Ryan Winterswyk, a defensive end playing FB in a power package, in one instance.
He doesn't have much of a repitore in pass rushing. Doesn't use his hands well and I'm really only seeing a speed move. Doesn't really dip his shoulder off the edge. A small target like him should have no problem getting under and around the tackle if he dips. Make yourself as small a target as possible so that left tackle who is as tall as a power forward can't touch you.
Didn't drop into coverage. Didn't play on special teams and looking at his bio, there's no mention of special teams work. Did get time at LB his sophomore year but is likely raw in coverage.
This is the big problem with the lockout. You lose valuable time trying to teach players like Carter. It is very difficult to draft a conversion player. Keith Butler said it takes a few years to really make the transition from DE to OLB and losing this time only lengthens that time span. Especially when the guy hasn't played on special teams. Where's his value if he can't get in enough time to be up to par to play on the teams unit?
I see him ticketed for the practice squad. Or at the very least, basically redshirting this year and sitting out every game.
Keith Williams - OG/Nebraska
Can't say I know much about Williams either. Just don't like the idea of taking a late round OL in general. You're throwing darts at the board and hoping something sticks. He won't solve our woes at right guard.
Apparently is too aggressive in pass protection and needs coaching. Practice squad material. Chances of contributing are really hurt since we only have seven active lineman on gameday.
Baron Batch - RB/Texas Tech
He's got a much better chance to stick than Noah Herron or Cedric Humes. Decent build at 5'9 200. Isn't a stick. Has that third down mold. Lots of experience blocking and catching in Tech's passing offense though they were more balanced this year.
More quick than fast but that's ok.
Perhaps the best quality he has is character. You're not going to find a better guy than him. Very religious and his faith got him through a very rough childhood in which his dad left him and his mom was disease-ridden and couldn't provide for his family. He ended up living with a teammate in high school so he could get to practice and play football. Very sad story.
Tore his Achilles in 2006. Became infected and doctors said he'd never play again. He sat out the 2007 season and came back in '08.
Been through a lot and overcame it. Kid you root for and because of his pass blocking, he'll give Dwyer a run for his money.
--------------
Overall, I like the draft. Aside from Gilbert, I'm happy.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Texasteel
