Draft Grades

[FordFairLane]

#49- Chase Claypool WR ND
Dude has Calvin Johnson like athleticism. Only one year of productivity but watching film the one thing that stuck out was poor QB play. I think playing with Roethlisberger will be great for his development but he likely is 4th on the depth chart this year. I think he’s a boom or bust type prospect. I think the value is there just not the need. I don’t see him beating out Johnson or Washington this year so perhaps this is insurance if we can’t get a deal worked out for JuJu.

Overall I like this pick the most of this years draft because it gives Roethlisberger that big bodied receiver he likes but hasn’t had since Burress.

Grade- B+

#102- Alex Highsmith edge Charlotte
I have a feeling Tanner Muse was our guy here but Raiders snagged him. Steelers get a hard worker who has one of the better first steps in college football. Better than average hand use and goes into each snap with a plan. Watching his Clemson film you could see he was not overmatched and showed he deserved to be on the field with the big boys. Some other film vs Old Dominion was just crazy. They had to way of stopping him. Going back to 2018 I noticed he played 3 technique which hindered his sack production. In 2019 he played a lot at the 5 technique allowing him to standup and showcase that burst off the LOS. Might have been a little early for him but not too bad. Like I said I think they wanted Muse and maybe thought of going Highsmith #124 but Raiders ruined that Colbert and like usual Steelers are rigid and go off their board and their board alone.

Core special teamer, backup OLB, would love to see them try to get him on the field with Watt and Dupree on obvious passing situations.

Grade- B

#124- Anthony McFarland RB Maryland
I think Tombert must have watched too many McFarland vs Ohio State and not enough vs Penn State. IMO Javon Leake has more NFL potential than McFarland. Colbert for some reason is fascinated with these small scat backs and they just don’t work out. Amos Zereoue was probably the most successful and that’s not saying much. Chris Rainey, Dri Archer never did anything. I hope I am wrong and history doesn’t repeat itself.
McFarland was a big play guy in college not a lot of tread on the tires as he split time with Javon Leake. McFarland averaged a whopping 6.7 ypc in college. Averaged 1 td per 21 carries. Those numbers seem great except his teammate Leake averaged 7.9 ypc and a td every 14.5 carries.

I personally think McFarland would have been a priority free agent or 7th round pick.

Grade D

#135- Kevin Dotson OG Louisiana
Dotson just reeked of Colbert. I miss Munchak because I feel he got a lot of say on who we drafted and we seemed to draft athletic knee benders. Colbert loves waist benders with limited mobility but strong and nasty. Kemoeatu, Simmons, Mike Adams etc Dotson falls in those lines of a nasty run blocker but a liability in pass protection. Not something you want in front of your 38 year old QB coming off season ending injury.
Again I feel Dotson was overdrafted but should be depth in the interior and will make the team as a backup.

Grade C-

#198- Antoine Brooks Jr S Maryland
Old school safety who plays rover/LB role. I personally feel that’s a position Edmunds would excel at and was hoping for more of a ballhawk DB to come in on sub packages to move Edmunds next to Bush. But I think Brooks has a good shot being a core special team player and perhaps backup Edmunds at SS. Value is about right here so no gripes about that.

Grade B-

#232- Carlos Davis DT Nebraska
Steelers waiting until round 7 to replace Hargrave is putting lots of faith in Tuitt staying healthy. Davis surprised at the combine running 4.82 40 at 313lbs. Probably a good candidate for practice squad.

Grade- B

All together I give the Steelers a B-. Reached on a few players like usual so not surprised. I feel we could have filled a few more needs down the road but instead emphasized special teams needs.




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[SteelerInLebanon]

#49- Chase Claypool WR ND
Dude has Calvin Johnson like athleticism. Only one year of productivity but watching film the one thing that stuck out was poor QB play. I think playing with Roethlisberger will be great for his development but he likely is 4th on the depth chart this year. I think he’s a boom or bust type prospect. I think the value is there just not the need. I don’t see him beating out Johnson or Washington this year so perhaps this is insurance if we can’t get a deal worked out for JuJu.

Overall I like this pick the most of this years draft because it gives Roethlisberger that big bodied receiver he likes but hasn’t had since Burress.

Grade- B+

#102- Alex Highsmith edge Charlotte
I have a feeling Tanner Muse was our guy here but Raiders snagged him. Steelers get a hard worker who has one of the better first steps in college football. Better than average hand use and goes into each snap with a plan. Watching his Clemson film you could see he was not overmatched and showed he deserved to be on the field with the big boys. Some other film vs Old Dominion was just crazy. They had to way of stopping him. Going back to 2018 I noticed he played 3 technique which hindered his sack production. In 2019 he played a lot at the 5 technique allowing him to standup and showcase that burst off the LOS. Might have been a little early for him but not too bad. Like I said I think they wanted Muse and maybe thought of going Highsmith #124 but Raiders ruined that Colbert and like usual Steelers are rigid and go off their board and their board alone.

Core special teamer, backup OLB, would love to see them try to get him on the field with Watt and Dupree on obvious passing situations.

Grade- B

#124- Anthony McFarland RB Maryland
I think Tombert must have watched too many McFarland vs Ohio State and not enough vs Penn State. IMO Javon Leake has more NFL potential than McFarland. Colbert for some reason is fascinated with these small scat backs and they just don’t work out. Amos Zereoue was probably the most successful and that’s not saying much. Chris Rainey, Dri Archer never did anything. I hope I am wrong and history doesn’t repeat itself.
McFarland was a big play guy in college not a lot of tread on the tires as he split time with Javon Leake. McFarland averaged a whopping 6.7 ypc in college. Averaged 1 td per 21 carries. Those numbers seem great except his teammate Leake averaged 7.9 ypc and a td every 14.5 carries.

I personally think McFarland would have been a priority free agent or 7th round pick.

Grade D

#135- Kevin Dotson OG Louisiana
Dotson just reeked of Colbert. I miss Munchak because I feel he got a lot of say on who we drafted and we seemed to draft athletic knee benders. Colbert loves waist benders with limited mobility but strong and nasty. Kemoeatu, Simmons, Mike Adams etc Dotson falls in those lines of a nasty run blocker but a liability in pass protection. Not something you want in front of your 38 year old QB coming off season ending injury.
Again I feel Dotson was overdrafted but should be depth in the interior and will make the team as a backup.

Grade C-

#198- Antoine Brooks Jr S Maryland
Old school safety who plays rover/LB role. I personally feel that’s a position Edmunds would excel at and was hoping for more of a ballhawk DB to come in on sub packages to move Edmunds next to Bush. But I think Brooks has a good shot being a core special team player and perhaps backup Edmunds at SS. Value is about right here so no gripes about that.

Grade B-

#232- Carlos Davis DT Nebraska
Steelers waiting until round 7 to replace Hargrave is putting lots of faith in Tuitt staying healthy. Davis surprised at the combine running 4.82 40 at 313lbs. Probably a good candidate for practice squad.

All together I give the Steelers a B-. Reached on a few players like usual so not surprised. I feel we could have filled a few more needs down the road but instead emphasized special teams needs.




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I am going to agree or not nitpick most of your grades. I will disagree on two, McFarland and Dotson. McFarland I would give a slightly higher grade based on him bringing something different to the table than either Connor or Snell. I like what I see from his tape for what I expect him to be used for. I give a B- or C+.

Dotson I give a much higher grade. I think he will play sooner rather than later and be a difference maker in run blocking. He will do what needs done in pass blocking and not be a detriment as he learns. In my opinion he closer to game ready than many of the options were. He will never be a Decastro but I think he will be a serviceable player and for his pick that is all you can ask. He is a Steeler in his heart already and that will make a difference. I give him a B+.

Davis is my biggest question mark but he is also a 7th rounder.

 

[Steelers1356]

"Dotson falls in those lines of a nasty run blocker but a liability in pass protection. Not something you want in front of your 38 year old QB coming off season ending injury."

He's a developmental player who's not going to start this year.

 

[SteelerFan448]

#135- Kevin Dotson OG Louisiana
Dotson just reeked of Colbert. I miss Munchak because I feel he got a lot of say on who we drafted and we seemed to draft athletic knee benders. Colbert loves waist benders with limited mobility but strong and nasty. Kemoeatu, Simmons, Mike Adams etc Dotson falls in those lines of a nasty run blocker but a liability in pass protection. Not something you want in front of your 38 year old QB coming off season ending injury.
Again I feel Dotson was overdrafted but should be depth in the interior and will make the team as a backup.

His pass protection will need some work as he makes the leap from Louisiana to the NFL, but it's hard to call him a liability in pass protection. PFF said he hasn't ranked lower than 12th in pass-blocking grade in the past three years. He was also their top-rated guard in the country by a significant margin and allowed two pressures on 339 pass-blocking snaps

 

[Paul G]

Guys I get that we all have opinions that may differ from player to player and there is really nothing else to do sports wise.
One thing that I think should be considered when talking about draft grades is that we already landed a probowl talent S in the 1st round of the draft and have already received 3/4 of a season of play from him
We are already ahead of the game....... as far as opinions on Colbert ..... I am glad he came back.. does he always pick a winner and knock it out of the park .. no one does.... does he consistently source guys with the potential to help us remain a contender .......hell yeah.... we make our picks all willy nilly without knowing anywhere near as much information as Colbert. He has to deal with so much information, personalities and the reality of running an entire organization .....so no matter how big a fan we are , I think this dude has a little more invested in the decision process.
Ask a Detroit fan about the Matt Millen era......... you might get a better appreciation for the decisions our FO comes up with. Matt Millen has had a change of heart and was a solid football player but it doesn't mean it qualifies him to run an organization. We are a team steeped in HOF players, probowlers and are tied for 6 Superbowls...without cheating ....... somebody in that FO is working hard. While it is fine to discuss grades and opinions I think it is more practical to give grades next year after we see what these newbies can do. The only draft prospect I am willing to grade right now is Minkah..... A

 

[slashsteel]

Higher on Dotson and the rest I think it would be apple and oranging it as I think the Maryland RB has just as many question marks as positives. I will say you can't teach speed so that burst plus vision is nice, but if I was throwing out a grade on him it would be C- at best. I have to see him develop as a blocker and in the process not get our QB killed. Dotson to me was excellent value. Not going to differ on Claypool just because I thought he was a third rounder. But he does have some 1st round attributes so I will play the wait and see approach and hope for the best. Brooks for me is excellent value. Highsmith looks like he will be a solid pass rusher but still need to see his other parts of his game develop. I give him a B off of pass rushing capabilities alone. You can sub him in in pass rush situations now IMO. Overall I will say B, you add a certain FS in and it is an A.

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[Drink IRON City]

AFC North

Baltiwhore................A

Bungles....................B

Clowns.....................B

STEELERS..............B-


That's what the talking heads are saying


I want Dotson to excell but I think he won't be a day one starter but maybe mid season.




Salute the nation

 

[FordFairLane]

His pass protection will need some work as he makes the leap from Louisiana to the NFL, but it's hard to call him a liability in pass protection. PFF said he hasn't ranked lower than 12th in pass-blocking grade in the past three years. He was also their top-rated guard in the country by a significant margin and allowed two pressures on 339 pass-blocking snaps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nud8TEzHn7U
Watch Dotson here vs Appalacian State. 1:35 shows him bend at the waist and puts his head down ad whiffs as Akeem Davis-Gaither runs right past him.In a nutshell that is what you get when you put him in space.

Now this is what I like from him, fast forward to 2:02. This is what I like about him. He locks on and bull rushes his guy 5 yards off the LOS.

7:20 he leaves his center high and dry instead of doubling the DT and ends up not blocking anyone and getting the QB sacked.

7:48 he gets beat and blown past and gives up a sack.

8:01 he again puts his head down and whiffs on his man.

What I see is a grade A mauler who will create lanes for our running backs. But he is a liability in pass protection. I mean looking at that film I really did enjoy his run blocking more than I remember. I mean he literally drives his guys out of the play almost everytime. I see why the Steelers coveted him as they want to improve the run game and I do hope they can get his to refine his technique. I personally feel he was going to be around later as in this pass happy NFL you need your line to pass protect first and run bloc second. If he was our 6th or 7th round pick I would have felt better about it.

 

[FordFairLane]

I am going to agree or not nitpick most of your grades. I will disagree on two, McFarland and Dotson. McFarland I would give a slightly higher grade based on him bringing something different to the table than either Connor or Snell. I like what I see from his tape for what I expect him to be used for. I give a B- or C+.

Dotson I give a much higher grade. I think he will play sooner rather than later and be a difference maker in run blocking. He will do what needs done in pass blocking and not be a detriment as he learns. In my opinion he closer to game ready than many of the options were. He will never be a Decastro but I think he will be a serviceable player and for his pick that is all you can ask. He is a Steeler in his heart already and that will make a difference. I give him a B+.

Davis is my biggest question mark but he is also a 7th rounder.

I hope so as well but the problem I have is we have gone down that road a few times before with literally no success. I watched 5 Terpes games this year and Javon Leake is the guy that jumped out at me. Ohio State this year he had 7 yards and 6 carries, Leake had 55 yards on 9 carries. Against Minnesota McFarland had 38 yards on 10 carries, Leake had 44 on 7. So I guess at the end of the day if Leake goes undrafted if we don't take McFarland where does he end up falling?

I hope the kid proves me wrong and ends up being the next Barry Sanders.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nud8TEzHn7U
Watch Dotson here vs Appalacian State. 1:35 shows him bend at the waist and puts his head down ad whiffs as Akeem Davis-Gaither runs right past him.In a nutshell that is what you get when you put him in space.

Now this is what I like from him, fast forward to 2:02. This is what I like about him. He locks on and bull rushes his guy 5 yards off the LOS.

7:20 he leaves his center high and dry instead of doubling the DT and ends up not blocking anyone and getting the QB sacked.

7:48 he gets beat and blown past and gives up a sack.

8:01 he again puts his head down and whiffs on his man.

What I see is a grade A mauler who will create lanes for our running backs. But he is a liability in pass protection. I mean looking at that film I really did enjoy his run blocking more than I remember. I mean he literally drives his guys out of the play almost everytime. I see why the Steelers coveted him as they want to improve the run game and I do hope they can get his to refine his technique. I personally feel he was going to be around later as in this pass happy NFL you need your line to pass protect first and run bloc second. If he was our 6th or 7th round pick I would have felt better about it.

I think the ravens would have taken him over Bredeson

 

[BLITZ]

AFC North

Baltiwhore................A

Bungles....................B

Clowns.....................B

STEELERS..............B-


That's what the talking heads are saying


I want Dotson to excell but I think he won't be a day one starter but maybe mid season.




Salute the nation

you are a true fan my friend. love your positivity

 

[SteelBuckeye]

Every damn year I see folks saying that "so and so would have been available later".... and I wonder to myself, "How does this person, who has no links to the NFL whatsoever, KNOW for certain that so and so would have been available later?". Can anyone tell me that? because if there's something out there that accurately predicts how the draft is going to go before it happens and the Steelers are continuously bucking the trend, I want that information. Otherwise, I've got to assume that the "so and so would have been available later" statements are derived from reading draft profiles, etc. compiled by guys who are not working in the NFL.

 

[Steelers1356]

AFC North

Baltiwhore................A

Bungles....................B

Clowns.....................B

STEELERS..............B-


That's what the talking heads are saying


I want Dotson to excell but I think he won't be a day one starter but maybe mid season.




Salute the nation

The football analysts are Harbaugh nutsuckers. If the Rats had drafted the waterboy with their LB pick they would consider him the second coming of Dick Butkis. Every one of their picks is considered an all pro before even playing a down.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Steve Smith on NFL Net said he thinks Claypool will be a TE. Said he has great ball skills but isn't quick or agile enough to be other than a deep threat WR. If he packs on a few pounds, he can be a receiving TE like Ebron or Darren Waller.

This draft was horrible at TE. Almost none of them can block. Claypool is a far better receiver and threat than any of the TEs in the class, so it's possible that is the plan as Ebron could just be a short term rental.

If Claypool does stay at WR then he can still be very effective. The steelers have had success with limited deep threat WRs like Plax, Wallace, and Martavis. If nothing else, Claypool should be able to be a good deep threat in that mold. How many deep ball shots were wasted on Johnny Holton? I mean shots where he was wide open and couldn't get it. Holton is fast but can't track a ball. Those deep shots will be big plays with Claypool


I love the McFarland pick. If you look at it as drafting a #1 RB then it's a bad pick, but they have Conner and Snell. What they needed was a RB with speed. You'd love to have a real 3 down back but if you can't have that then you better have a committee with varied skills.

I like the Dotson pick as well. They have Wisniewski as a technician. I'm glad they brought a mauler into the mix.