Steelers Draft Grade

[Litos]

I don’t have any delusions that Moore is supplanted by either. Fautanu might ride the bench listed as the backup LT but in all reality he’d be the swing tackle. My opinion is the only real chance for Fautanu to start is if Jones beats Moore like a redheaded stepchild at LT and Moore refuses to move to RT.

But what makes you think that Moore is going anywhere? I mean last year when Jones took LT snaps he had one of the highest grades at LT that week and Shades immediately put him to RT. So why would Shades all of a sudden start putting the best players on the field? I mean Warren outplayed Harris how many games and never got the majority of snaps.

I’m not going to die on the Moore starts at LT hill because all last season I said Jones should have. But I haven’t seen Tomlin make a smart personnel decision unless injuries or a player speaking out against him forced him to make a smart decision. ie Chuks and Pickett

Arthur Simth might have a saying on who he wants protecting his QB

 

[Litos]

Speaking of DJ in comparison to Wilson their height weight is similar and Wilson is showing to be the more athletic of the two including that short area ability to get open that was talked up when DJ was being drafted. They just might have gotten a similar player without the early drop issues and later malcontent.

I think fans will be pleasantly surprised with Wilson and I definitely wouldn’t pigeon hole him into being just inside.

Wilson's hands are superb, he won't have the dropsies. The quick release is the worrying thing, just put him on Big Snack diet for a while to get a few more pounds and he is a very interesting prospect

 

[FordFairLane]

who's everyone? I just disagreed, politely, on Fautanu grade

That is fine. It is just an opinion. It really does not matter as what does matter is what Fautanu turns into as a player in the next few years.

that just speaks of how mediocre we were drafting in the final colbert years.

It definitely was time for Colbert to go.

drafting any of the available pure RTs there would have been a reach, we could have traded down but it takes two to tango and they had Fautanu rated very high in their board, this fact probably means they checked the injury history and wasn't meaningful and that, as Tomlin said after the pick, they see him as a pure Tackle. That alone elevates the value of the pick as if they saw him as a possible Guard then it would have been a bit of a reach

None of them slipped down the draft like I would have liked. We got lucky 6 QB's went in the top 12 so that helped players slide but tackles were one position that did not slide. CB's, Edge, and DL seemed to slip. That is why in my mock along mock I would have went CB. Just for pure value alone. Lautanu has in my opinion the highest floor in terms of offensive line ability. He can play every position on the line. They can see him as a pure tackle and that is great but that is not the consensus. Now I wouldn't start him at guard and try to kick him outside. I think you have to give him every opportunity to stay outside but in a couple of years if he isn't performing as a tackle they can still kick him inside to guard and salvage the draft pick.
My concern was his knee injury which obviously checked out with the Steelers. I don't get any medical information so I can just question if it will be an issue or not. Hopefully not.

I'm more inclined towards A- as my biggest worry was a trade up, holding on their spot and still getting who they wanted was what elevated my value of the draft

I am glad they didn't trade up. I personally would have tried to trade down to be honest. Lions gave up 29 & 73 to move to 24. Khan mentioned that they had talks about moving back. My guess is they liked Mitchell and Arnold and wanted to get up to grab one and we probably could have squeezed out a few day 3 picks on top of 73.

But I am not upset with Fautanu. I really loved his feet and aggressiveness coming into the draft. He had the highest floor of lineman in the draft imo. Even higher than Alt. Alt is a tackle only and probably only a LT. So if he doesn't work out there he likely is a bust. At least Fautanu could kick inside and have a long career as a guard or center.

agree that right now he isn't, but he can develop in a couple of years, just like DJ was a project late in the 3rd

Roman is growing on me a little. I kind of assumed CA3 would just fill that slot role this year and slot wasn't a need. I looked at the tape and he really doesn't look to have a role in this offense. I was leery about him after we drafted him as his size makes it hard for him to get off the LOS on the outside and he really can't do much in terms off blocking inline so he really needs to be able to take a 3 yard drag route and turn it into some big yac. He really hasn't done much of that. Probably his best attribute is when he gets off the line clean is his vertical speed and running go routes. Well, we can just play him at the Z in situational football then. So if Roman can turn into a solid slot guy and get us those crossing route yac yards and block like he did at Michigan then I am fine with a role football player like that. Need those guys on the team to specialize in what they do well to help the team win football games.

 

[FordFairLane]

Trent Williams - 6-5
Lane Johnson - 6-6
Laremy Tunsil - 6-5
Andrew Thomas - 6-5
Christian Darrisaw - 6-4.75
Jordan Mailata - 6-8
Trisitan Wirfs - 6-5
Kolton Miller - 6-8.625
Rashawn Slater - 6-4.25
Penei Sewell - 6-4.875
Ryan Ramczyk - 6-6
Ronnie Stanley - 6-6
David Bakhtiari - 6-4
Orlando Brown - 6-7.875
Braden Smith - 6-6.25
Brian O'Neil - 6-6.875
Terron Armstead - 6-5
Jake Matthews - 6-5
Taylor Decker - 6-7
Morgan Moses - 6-6
Mike McGlinchey - 6-7.875
Tyron Smith - 6-5
Garett Bowles - 6-5
Jawaan Taylor - 6-5
Kaleb McGary - 6-7.125
Braxton Jones - 6-5.25
Taylor Moton - 6-5
Bernhard Rainmann - 6-6.125
Terence Steele - 6-6
Charles Leno - 6-4
Dion Dawkins - 6-4
Jermaine Eluemunor - 6-4


Troy Fautanu - 6-3.75

Not saying it can't be done. Kelvin Beachum was a decent tackle and is still a backup. He was 6-2.875. That is the exception to the 6-4 or taller rule. And Fautanu only has .25 inches so I definitely give him every opportunity to play outside. But to say it isn't a concern is just ignorant.

 

[ianv2012]

Trent Williams - 6-5
Lane Johnson - 6-6
Laremy Tunsil - 6-5
Andrew Thomas - 6-5
Christian Darrisaw - 6-4.75
Jordan Mailata - 6-8
Trisitan Wirfs - 6-5
Kolton Miller - 6-8.625
Rashawn Slater - 6-4.25
Penei Sewell - 6-4.875
Ryan Ramczyk - 6-6
Ronnie Stanley - 6-6
David Bakhtiari - 6-4
Orlando Brown - 6-7.875
Braden Smith - 6-6.25
Brian O'Neil - 6-6.875
Terron Armstead - 6-5
Jake Matthews - 6-5
Taylor Decker - 6-7
Morgan Moses - 6-6
Mike McGlinchey - 6-7.875
Tyron Smith - 6-5
Garett Bowles - 6-5
Jawaan Taylor - 6-5
Kaleb McGary - 6-7.125
Braxton Jones - 6-5.25
Taylor Moton - 6-5
Bernhard Rainmann - 6-6.125
Terence Steele - 6-6
Charles Leno - 6-4
Dion Dawkins - 6-4
Jermaine Eluemunor - 6-4


Troy Fautanu - 6-3.75

Not saying it can't be done. Kelvin Beachum was a decent tackle and is still a backup. He was 6-2.875. That is the exception to the 6-4 or taller rule. And Fautanu only has .25 inches so I definitely give him every opportunity to play outside. But to say it isn't a concern is just ignorant.

So how many under 6'4 who didn't play T have his length and athleticism? See your still ignoring important aspects to Fautanu that separates him from others at his height, but hey as long as it fits your narrative

 

[topseed]

😂 yep. The majority don’t agree. I bet if I go to the Ravens draft board they don’t feel the same about our draft. But I bet they believe they had the best draft as well.

No shlt. Gee, I wonder if there would be some Ravens fans who would be biased against what the Steelers did in the draft. Quite a revelation there.

Weird how no one is arguing saying I gave the Steelers too high of a grade. 🤔

No one here is arguing that a B is too high of a grade, because it just isn't. Here's some national "unbiased" grades for you:

A+ Sporting News (ranked the Steelers as having the best draft of any of the 32 NFL teams)
A NFL.com
A Bleacher Report
A Yahoo Sports
A- ESPN
A- Sports Illustrated
B+ CBS Sports

Weird how most of these draftniks must be Steelers homers, too. Right?

 

[Litos]

That is fine. It is just an opinion. It really does not matter as what does matter is what Fautanu turns into as a player in the next few years.

It definitely was time for Colbert to go.

None of them slipped down the draft like I would have liked. We got lucky 6 QB's went in the top 12 so that helped players slide but tackles were one position that did not slide. CB's, Edge, and DL seemed to slip. That is why in my mock along mock I would have went CB. Just for pure value alone. Lautanu has in my opinion the highest floor in terms of offensive line ability. He can play every position on the line. They can see him as a pure tackle and that is great but that is not the consensus. Now I wouldn't start him at guard and try to kick him outside. I think you have to give him every opportunity to stay outside but in a couple of years if he isn't performing as a tackle they can still kick him inside to guard and salvage the draft pick.
My concern was his knee injury which obviously checked out with the Steelers. I don't get any medical information so I can just question if it will be an issue or not. Hopefully not.

I am glad they didn't trade up. I personally would have tried to trade down to be honest. Lions gave up 29 & 73 to move to 24. Khan mentioned that they had talks about moving back. My guess is they liked Mitchell and Arnold and wanted to get up to grab one and we probably could have squeezed out a few day 3 picks on top of 73.

But I am not upset with Fautanu. I really loved his feet and aggressiveness coming into the draft. He had the highest floor of lineman in the draft imo. Even higher than Alt. Alt is a tackle only and probably only a LT. So if he doesn't work out there he likely is a bust. At least Fautanu could kick inside and have a long career as a guard or center.

Roman is growing on me a little. I kind of assumed CA3 would just fill that slot role this year and slot wasn't a need. I looked at the tape and he really doesn't look to have a role in this offense. I was leery about him after we drafted him as his size makes it hard for him to get off the LOS on the outside and he really can't do much in terms off blocking inline so he really needs to be able to take a 3 yard drag route and turn it into some big yac. He really hasn't done much of that. Probably his best attribute is when he gets off the line clean is his vertical speed and running go routes. Well, we can just play him at the Z in situational football then. So if Roman can turn into a solid slot guy and get us those crossing route yac yards and block like he did at Michigan then I am fine with a role football player like that. Need those guys on the team to specialize in what they do well to help the team win football games.

I would have liked to trade down too, try to get Barton/Mitchel/Guyton later. Then with the extra ammo trade up early in the 3rd for a WR or RT if we got Mitchell in the 1st.

Of course getting Barton changes the whole scenario of drafting Frazier in the 2nd, unless you use him at RT, which could also work though not the same talent as Fautanu outside

 

[Greg Lloyd]

group 3 those that know the Steelers are not infallible, but are not so ego driven that they think they know more that the GM, scouts, head coach and ownership when it comes to evaluating NFL talent

Plenty of us sure did know more than the last GM and collective team knowledge of the last era. That is not even in dispute.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

No shlt. Gee, I wonder if there would be some Ravens fans who would be biased against what the Steelers did in the draft. Quite a revelation there.

No one here is arguing that a B is too high of a grade, because it just isn't. Here's some national "unbiased" grades for you:

A+ Sporting News (ranked the Steelers as having the best draft of any of the 32 NFL teams)
A NFL.com
A Bleacher Report
A Yahoo Sports
A- ESPN
A- Sports Illustrated
B+ CBS Sports

Weird how most of these draftniks must be Steelers homers, too. Right?

It's odd when sources give us an "A" they must know what they are talking about, but in other grades "They can't possibly give us a grade until 3 years pass." Weird how that is.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Speaking of DJ in comparison to Wilson their height weight is similar and Wilson is showing to be the more athletic of the two including that short area ability to get open that was talked up when DJ was being drafted. They just might have gotten a similar player without the early drop issues and later malcontent.

I think fans will be pleasantly surprised with Wilson and I definitely wouldn’t pigeon hole him into being just inside.

DJ's malcontent attitude was a s--t pile for team unity. Screw him, and I do mean it.

 

[topseed]

It's odd when sources give us an "A" they must know what they are talking about, but in other grades "They can't possibly give us a grade until 3 years pass." Weird how that is.

When did I ever say anything like that? Obviously anyone's grade at this point is speculative. I'm simply pointing out that most national publications have graded the Steelers 2024 draft as an A- or higher, not lower than a B.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

When did I ever say anything like that? Obviously anyone's grade at this point is speculative. I'm simply pointing out that most national publications have graded the Steelers 2024 draft as an A- or higher, not lower than a B.

But we know, from others on here, that grades are totally meaningless until 3 years have passed is all.

 

[Ike Kelly]

From a pure ability/skill standpoint, one can argue that Fautanu was the best of a very strong OT class.

Teams with a need at the position did seem to hold the height and knee against him compared to the other prospects, in addition to him being a bit older than teams prefer their 1st round picks nowadays.

However, knowing what we know at this point, unless one is deathly concerned about the height and knee, I'm not sure how anyone can give the Steelers anything but an A for getting a talent like him at #20.

Fautanu was PIT’s number 7 player on their entire board. If you listen to Tomlin’s call to him, you can hear one of the head scouts (Kelvin Fisher) speak to someone off camera saying “7th on the list!“. I’d say, Omar, Tomlin and Andy were giddy like school girls after LAR made their pick.

 

[CoolieMan]

Plenty of us sure did know more than the last GM and collective team knowledge of the last era. That is not even in dispute.

bullshit

just pure unadulterated bullshit

 

[Steelmann]

No shlt. Gee, I wonder if there would be some Ravens fans who would be biased against what the Steelers did in the draft. Quite a revelation there.

No one here is arguing that a B is too high of a grade, because it just isn't. Here's some national "unbiased" grades for you:

A+ Sporting News (ranked the Steelers as having the best draft of any of the 32 NFL teams)
A NFL.com
A Bleacher Report
A Yahoo Sports
A- ESPN
A- Sports Illustrated
B+ CBS Sports

Weird how most of these draftniks must be Steelers homers, too. Right?

It really is mind boggling. Me thinks edibles are a big factor.

 

[Steelmann]

Fautanu was PIT’s number 7 player on their entire board. If you listen to Tomlin’s call to him, you can hear one of the head scouts (Kelvin Fisher) speak to someone off camera saying “7th on the list!“. I’d say, Omar, Tomlin and Andy were giddy like school girls after LAR made their pick.

And of course,if he was 7th on their list/board you sure as heck wouldn’t want to trade down. That would be like Christmas!
Out of curiosity,Do you think 7th on their list included QB’s?

 

[FordFairLane]

So how many under 6'4 who didn't play T have his length and athleticism? See your still ignoring important aspects to Fautanu that separates him from others at his height, but hey as long as it fits your narrative

I just did all that research and you bring 0 facts and say I have a narrative. You don’t understand what the word narrative means.

 

[FordFairLane]

No shlt. Gee, I wonder if there would be some Ravens fans who would be biased against what the Steelers did in the draft. Quite a revelation there.

But there’s definitely no bias for the Steelers draft by this board…

No one here is arguing that a B is too high of a grade, because it just isn't. Here's some national "unbiased" grades for you:

A+ Sporting News (ranked the Steelers as having the best draft of any of the 32 NFL teams)
A NFL.com
A Bleacher Report
A Yahoo Sports
A- ESPN
A- Sports Illustrated
B+ CBS Sports

Weird how most of these draftniks must be Steelers homers, too. Right?

Look at there grades. NFL.com gave out TWO C+ grades and that was their lowest grade. A C+. A C should be an average grade not your basement.

Arizona- A
Atlanta- D
Baltimore- A
Buffalo- B-
Carolina- B-
Chicago- B
Cincinnati- D+
Cleveland- F
Dallas- C+
Denver- D+
Detroit- C
Green Bay- D
Houston- B
Indianapolis- A+
Jacksonville- A-
KC- A-
Las Vegas- C+
LA Chargers- B+
LA Rams- A-
Miami- A-
Minnesota- B-
New England- B
New Orleans- B+
NY Giants- B+
NY Jets- B
Philly- A
Pitt- B
San Fran-B
Seattle- B-
Tampa- C+
Tennessee- C
Washington- C+

Notice how 94% didn’t get a B- or better.

 

[ianv2012]

I just did all that research and you bring 0 facts and say I have a narrative. You don’t understand what the word narrative means.

So what you're saying is you wasted your time looking up every starting tackle, proud of you

 

[FordFairLane]

So what you're saying is you wasted your time looking up every starting tackle, proud of you

Did you notice the height of every starting NFL tackle? See a pattern. Maybe see why someone might have a little concern on Fautanu staying at tackle in the NFL? Not even boldly saying he won’t just stating that it’s a concern.

 

[ianv2012]

Did you notice the height of every starting NFL tackle? See a pattern. Maybe see why someone might have a little concern on Fautanu staying at tackle in the NFL? Not even boldly saying he won’t just stating that it’s a concern.

And again, how many of those starting tackles over the "preferred height" have his length? How many of them are teams already seeking to replace? His height is irrelevant when you take his length and athleticism into account, I'll bet many of those tackles would be quickly replaced by Fautanu. Lol 7 of them are like 1/2 to a 1/4 in taller, and yet the only person making a big deal about it is you. You're alone and stunned no one has followed you on your quest to prove he's a guard. You can huff and puff all you want that isn't what you're saying, when everything you've been saying since night 1 ended is "I'm not saying he's a guard, but he's a guard". Whatever other bullshit magic fairy dust words you sprinkle in there, everyone knows what you're getting at, and they simply ain't buying. Then, you have the nerve to create "groups of posters" so you can then dock yourself nestled into self delusions that you are somehow better than everyone else here. I've already told you, if you want affirmation, consult a mirror to find someone who will blow smoke up your ***.

 

[slashsteel]

Fautanu was PIT’s number 7 player on their entire board. If you listen to Tomlin’s call to him, you can hear one of the head scouts (Kelvin Fisher) speak to someone off camera saying “7th on the list!“. I’d say, Omar, Tomlin and Andy were giddy like school girls after LAR made their pick.

Omar said to today he thought that 7 was a reference to how many PAC players had been selected. If I heard him right.

 

[ianv2012]

Omar said to today he thought that 7 was a reference to how many PAC players had been selected. If I heard him right.

In the video Kelvin Fisher says "7 out of 20" idk how that would be PAC players, and then Dan Colbert does a fist pump right after Fisher says that, idk why he'd be excited if it didn't mean he was the 7th player on the board out of their top 20, but I could be wrong, who knows

 

[slashsteel]

In the video Kelvin Fisher says "7 out of 20" idk how that would be PAC players, and then Dan Colbert does a fist pump right after Fisher says that, idk why he'd be excited if it didn't mean he was the 7th player on the board out of their top 20, but I could be wrong, who knows

He seemed like he was speculating trying to recall. But he definitely wasn’t referencing the Steelers board from what he was saying. I obviously don’t know for sure .

 

[SteelerFan448]

So how many under 6'4 who didn't play T have his length and athleticism? See your still ignoring important aspects to Fautanu that separates him from others at his height, but hey as long as it fits your narrative

“What are we talking about if he is a quarter of an inch taller? He’s got great arm length, and the tape is great.” - Mike Tomlin on Troy Fautanu​