RB in the second round will probably be the best player available at a position of need. The RB class is pretty deep with Swift, Taylor, Dobbins and Etienne and hopefully one falls to the Steeler’s pick.
Ok so what/who do we draft?
- Thread starter ChampYINZ
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In order of priority:
1. RB
2. TE
3. OL
4. OLB
5. WR
1. RB
2. TE
3. OL
4. OLB
5. WR
I could argue that OL is the biggest priority.
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You're reading my mind...
It's also why I would be taking a very hard look at Jalen Hurt with the 2nd round pick.
There are some very good RB's coming out (still need more time to study game film on them), but we need a fulltime RB... perhaps we find one in free agency but we desperately need one.
I love Juju the player. I do not love him in the #1 WR position. That's a need IMO.
LT and LG are also high on my radar...
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I agree. A dominant offensive line will make some of these no name running backs look good. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t pass in a top RB or WR if they fell, but I’m strongly leaning offensive line.
Tight end is a waste for this team. If Ben plays, they’ll be fine. He made Jesse James look like a decent receiving threat. If he doesn’t, they won’t use the tight end.
We should probably draft a skill position or OLB if we lose Bud but it won't matter. How often does our 2nd round pick actually play, let alone make an impact their first year? We are drafting for future potential in this draft. Any immediate holes will need to be addressed in free agency.
So many things to address.
1. Have to FT Bud somehow.
2. Hargraves is gone. Tuitt will be back and a NT will be drafted in rd 4 or after.
3. Ben will be back and make the OL look a lot better. Key is getting a good RB.
4. TE? Why bother...apparently Randy Fichtner doesn't need one to be employed in his "offense".
5. Speaking of Randy, I would say goodbye. I realize be won't be canned b/c Ben is still here. But it needs to be done.
I don't blame him entirely on the offense this year. Injuries killed them. But his lack of ingenuity and feel for calling plays are really bad IMO.
6. Extend Cam.
7. Extend JuJu while his price is a little lower.
8. Cut McDonald and take a guy in the 3rd. Vannett will have to step up.
9. Barron, Foster, Berry, Chickillo, Matakevich are all let go.
10. Can't afford to resign Hilton for what he will be worth. Try locking up Cam Sutton if possible.
11. Restructure any contract you can to make room. With Ben leaving after 2021, money will open up down the road.
12. Draft the following:
2nd: RB
3rd: TE
4th: NT
6th: G/C
7th: Punter
The team will be dramatically better with a healthy Ben. He will fix a lot of the OL calls that make this team look terrible on offense.
A stud RB like Dobbins or Etienne would make this offense much more formidable.
What is really gonna happen here is they are going to duct tape this roster back together and it will look pretty much the same as it did at the beginning of the season plus Fitzpatrick. The receivers grew up some, so there is hope there. If Ben can regain health and form, they could possibly contend. They badly need a top OLINE coach. As much as I think that Danny Smith should be cleaning out his stuff as we speak, oline is a bigger priority. I think you could dump the big Ragu sauce and get a proper coach and fix that unit. I tend to agree, if it goes this route, you add a veteran backup QB and draft a running back at 2.18. That would give you the most opportunity. After next year it is probably a full rebuild anyhow.
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O-Line is ABSOLUTELY our number one off-season priority. Be it free agency or the draft. Whether Ben comes back, or we have to get a new QB as a starter, our current O-Line has shown it is unable to protect the QB properly. So whether it’s 38 year old war-torn on his last leg Ben, or some Free Agent pick up, we’ll need a very protected QB. Furthermore, a better offensive line that can run block and pass protect can make mediocre QBs and RBs look like STUDS. Remember our most of our 90s teams.
We don’t need to focus on WR at all this off-season other than depth. JuJu, DJohnson, and Washington are a great base to start with and work with. We do need to address RB, TE, and QB also, but O-Line should be first and foremost, early and often.
I’m curious to see what they do with the D. I personally would do EVERYTHING to keep Hargrave and let Dupree walk. Dupree benefits from playing opposite TJ, and only decided to make a real effort in his contract year. Trust him to keep performing after a big payday as much as I do farts after eating Taco Bell. Hargrave will be WAY harder to replace than Dupree. But currently, our D is in WAY better shape than our O. Minkah as our first rounder this year is draft capital well spent.
But our BIGGEST need this off-season is a completely new coaching staff head to toe. They ALL need to go. Sadly, they won’t, but a guy can dream.
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We don’t need to focus on WR at all this off-season other than depth. JuJu, DJohnson, and Washington are a great base to start with and work with. We do need to address RB, TE, and QB also, but O-Line should be first and foremost, early and often.
I’m curious to see what they do with the D. I personally would do EVERYTHING to keep Hargrave and let Dupree walk. Dupree benefits from playing opposite TJ, and only decided to make a real effort in his contract year. Trust him to keep performing after a big payday as much as I do farts after eating Taco Bell. Hargrave will be WAY harder to replace than Dupree. But currently, our D is in WAY better shape than our O. Minkah as our first rounder this year is draft capital well spent.
But our BIGGEST need this off-season is a completely new coaching staff head to toe. They ALL need to go. Sadly, they won’t, but a guy can dream.
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I don't think OL is as much of a need as a competent OL coach is. I find it hard to believe that this OL regressed this much in one year and say it is all age/player related. I think Munchak had a lot to do with the performance of that line in his time here and it is more apparent than ever the value he brought to that group. In addition we had no QB that could stretch a defense, make protection calls, or help to open up a running game and the results are self evident.
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I wish you were correct, but if you have talent and/or are capable, that overcomes coaching. Example one is Ben under current regime. Example two is our defense under this current regime. Basically, any player with a spec of talent under this regime. Munchak, because he is amazing, was able to get A LOT out of this mediocre group. Now that he’s gone, and they’re all older with more wear and tear, we see what we really have.....which is nothing. DeCastro can still go and will be a staple for years to come. The other four spots need IMMEDIATE upgrades.
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I disagree with this 110% They had a special on a few weeks ago sitting down with Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and them talking about coaching in general. They both talked about their mistakes as coaches, and also about how they both firmly believe that great players cannot make up for bad coaching. If Ben could overcome bad coaching, we would have one maybe 2 more rings over the last decade. The Steelers had all the talent in the world on offense and still could not capitalize because of the coaching staff that we had in place.
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Ben needs weapons, skill players, **** that building for the future ****, the talent cupboard is subpar, enough with the 2nd and 3rd stringers
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I don’t care who we draft, nothing changes until Tomlin is gone.
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Bring in a RT and then you can shift the line around now. Not talking about the future. But the immediate need to tweak the Oline now. Bring back Finney and Bud.. And a vet QB to back up Ben. That is 4 moves. Skill positions can be drafted. Bring in a Oline coach and that will give us the best chance without doing what most of us really want.
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Then u be waiting for decades, if ever
Coaching changes are a pipe dream
We just need a healthy Ben back with #1 WR and RB and our defense to get back in the game
I believe Watt is coming up on his final year of his rookie contract unless they (and they would) take the 5th year option. They could look to sign Watt and Dupree at the same time and use their sales skills to hopefully bring both down a little so they can afford both. Who knows, though. If Bud wants close to or over $15 million, then he is gone unless they tag him. Even then, as I said before, I don't exclusive him. I keep the right to match any offers but get a 1st rounder if we let him go. You have to do it that way.
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Let's see WRs:
- DJ has a heigh ceiling, he has a lot of talent, he can play the AB spot next season
- Juju is best out of the slot so you play
him there, don't doubt his talent
- Washington is the long pass threat, he is very good fighting the catch and can block like the best.
So we don't need no WR this draft, rather get a vet to give some exp to the young group.
Now to RB:
- Conner can't be trusted, he still has a rookie contract so no need to lose him, he can be your #1 as long as he is healthy ( half the season probably)
- Snell: showed something against the rats, if he can do the physical jump/ transformation that both bell and Conner did from rookie to 2nd year he could become a trustable #2, he better work on his pass blocking skills.
- Samuels is decent depth for the passing game, him and another RB in a pony backfield could do some damage, he still is under a rookie contract so no need to cut him.
- ?. This is the question mark, given that our #1 can't stay healthy and there's no heir apparent in the roster what do you do? Go with a proven vet that will probably be cheap? Or spend one of the few draft picks available too bring talent for the long run? I doubt Etienne or Dobbins will be there in the 2nd round , so who is this all around RB that deserves our only premium pick this draft? I doubt there is one that's worth it when you can find a BPA in another position.
That leads us to TE
- Vance is never featured though he is talented, next season he will cost 4M to keep, that's a good deal and we keep him even though he tends to miss time due to injuries
- Vannett is a free agent and unless he is available for near to vet minimum I don't know if he is worth keeping as his blocking is suspect and he is no receiving threat either.
A top TE can be found almost every draft in the 2nd round so this is a place where I would look forward to invest. That would add a huge weapon for Ben in the middle of the field and in the red zone.
Other places to look for? Oline, the heir to Pouncey isn't in the roster and father time is knocking on the door, the took could play guard to start his career and then be moved.
Investing in a RB seems like a dangerous game unless the right one is there available
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I agree. But dang, we don't even throw to them this year. At least it didn't seem that way. Before the season started everyone thought vance would be a big time target for ben.
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A TE that can be a play maker, TE'S that block sure have not helped this offense
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IMO, Samuels is a waste of a roster space. He's not a good runner out of the backfield. He's not great in pass pro, and for all the hype about him being a receiving threat I've not seen anything special from him...or at least nothing better than any other random RB out of the backfield. His hands are average at best and he gets no YAC. Maybe he's a good route runner but I haven't really noticed him being noticeably better than others.
Conner, Snell, and Samuels are too similar. All are around the same size and all lack the burst or pop to be a HR hitter. Whyte showed flashes but didn't get many touches.
A best case scenario for me would be that they move on from Samuels. Snell loses a few lbs and works on his quickness ala LeVeon and Conner after their rookie years, and then he & Conner split the bulk of the carries. And they either use Whyte or acquire a scat back type to be the change of pace guy.
I hate to say it but Conner probably needs to be replaced. And I love what the man represents.You just can't help the team from the hot tub.
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totally disagree
JuJu is no #1, him being our best doesn't mean squat, he had the chance to shine but can't get open, can't beat double coverage, gets smothered, over rated, a #2 at best
We still need a #1
RB - a whole bunch of scrubs with a china doll to look up to
complete failure by management by not bringing in a trusted vet
**** we could have brought in Marshawn Lynch early in the year, he would have been something, they never even tried to improve
we do need a TE but the Steelers have no clue these days how to use one, one or two throws a game is all they do
I am not certain how you can even begin to evaluate any offensive players performance this year with the 2 QB's we had in the back field and the dumb *** we had calling the plays. I doubt Jerry Rice and TO on the field together would have made a difference this year. There is no way that I buy that Paxton Lynch would not have been a better alternative the last 2 weeks to what we had in Rudolph and Duck. I don't care how bad he was in Denver, there is no way that he could be any worse than Rudolph and Duck.