I’m hoping the Steelers avoid the mistake they made last year with drafting a Strong Safety in the 1st Round after signing a Strong Safety as their biggest free agent acquisition. In other words, no Inside Linebackers and no Cornerbacks. I wouldn’t mind the Steelers never drafting another CB with their current management and scouting, as their record is pretty damn bad. Also with the addition of Steven Nelson and Mark Barron they’ve filled their two biggest 2018 deficiencies. I’ve also taken the approach that the best defense is a good offense.
I have the post free agency list of needs as follows, 1) Outside Linebacker or Wide Receiver 2) Tight End 3) Running Back and then in no particular order just based on best available athlete is WILL, Free Safety, Defensive Line, Place Kicker and Offensive Line. Since that’s nine (9) picks and the Steelers have ten that leaves one pick open to pick another ‘want’. In my Mock I’ve made that a WR. So, with that said, here’s the Draft!!!
Rd 1 (20)– Edge/OLB – Montez Sweat – Mississippi St. – 6’-6” – 245# – 4.41/40 – The draft range on Sweat is pretty wide, with some having him going in the top ten and others toward the end of the 1st Round. Sweat is DISRUPTIVE. He constantly gives OTs all they can handle. If he’s not getting the sack, he’s getting the pressure. If he’s not making the tackle for a loss, he’s effecting the play and cutting off the runner’s designed path out of the backfield. The tape I watched had at least 3 to 4 QB pressures, per game, on top of his sack totals. Has a great speed game and can beat a number of Tackles with that, alone. Generally has good hand use but can get hung up in hand checking battles when he should be ripping to disengage. Doesn’t get his hands up to deflect the pass when he can’t get to the QB. Needs to develop more rushing moves but has the talent to be a very special player. Played with his hand in the dirt in college but is a natural 3-4 OLB. Will need to show he can drop back in coverage but has plenty of athleticism to handle those duties. Was a converted Tight End coming out of high school.
Bud Dupree really hasn’t developed and Sweat could win the starter job during training camp. It would be good for the Steelers to unload Dupree’s 9 million buck salary to make some of their usual late value free agent signings. A pass rush with T.J. Watt on one side and Sweat on the other should go a long way to bringing the fear factor back to opposing offenses.
A two year starter, Sweat had 48 tackles, 15.5 for a loss, 10.5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery in 2017. As a Senior he had 53 tackles, 14.5 for a loss, 12.0 sacks and 1 forced fumbles.
Rd 2 – (52) WR/KR – Parris Campbell – Ohio State – 6’-0” – 205# – 4.31/40 – Even with his outstanding Combine most Mock Drafts don’t have Campbell going until the 3rd Rd. We can only hope the NFL teams are just as dense. The knocks on Campbell up through his Junior year were his routes and his hands. How did he respond? 200 reps a day on the Jugs machine. His routes at the Combine also looked crisp and detailed. Hasn’t been used much as a deep threat at Ohio State. Due to J.T. Barrett’s very limited passing game he was the underneath, yards after catch, specialist. By the time Dwayne Haskins took over, that role seemed deeply ingrained. All of that should serve Campbell well at the next level, having had to gut it out in the short game and across the middle. With Ben throwing to him and his blazing speed, look for the long balls to fly. Needs very little room to break off a big run after the catch. Can find the soft spot in coverage. Willing blocker who engages his assignment enough to take them out of the play.
Campbell has also been a standout on kick returns, averaging a very impressive 30.4 yards per on his career In his Junior year he had 40 receptions for 584 yards at 14.6 ypr and 3 TDS. Campbell had a break out season his Senior year, posting 90 catches for 1063 yards at a 11.8 Yard Average with 12 TDs. Also used in the running game on end arounds and jet sweeps. He had 23 runs for 210 yards at a 9.1 yard average and 2 TDs for his career.
Rd 3 (66 from Raiders) – Tight End – Josh Oliver – San Jose St. – 6’-5” – 249# – 4.63/40 – Oliver is a 3 level target who can work both in-line and in the slot. He runs good routes and shows superior body control when going up the for a pass or tightroping the sideline. Very sure handed and excels at combat catches. Displays speed to rip it up the seam and shows a good burst to make it to the ten yard marker. Has surprising build up speed on long routes. Even athletic WILLs should have a hard time covering him. Ben will love him. Has all the physical gifts to be a dominating blocker but will need some work understanding assignments when he has to run block in space. Does well once he zeros in on his target. Solid in pass blocking showing a good base, hand use, waist bend and kick slide. Should begin as TE2 in his first year with strong starter potential into his second year and beyond.
Oliver had 35 catches for 296 yards at an 8.5 yard average with 1 in 10 games in 2017. In 2018 he became a much bigger part of the offense with 56 catches for 709 yards at a 12.7 yard average and 4 touchdowns.
Rd 3 – (83) – Running Back/Offensive Weapon – Darrell Henderson – Memphis – 5’-9” – 200# – 4.49/40 – The Steelers have said they wanted to add some speed, Henderson will bring just that. Change of pace back and offensive weapon. Henderson is undersized which will make him drop in the Draft. For his size, though, he is very stout. A blazing fast runner who needs very little daylight to make something happen. He’s patient and allows plays to develop. Good contact balance and not taken down easily with arm tackles. There’s not much film on him blocking but when called upon his build and low center of gravity gave him decent pop. A good receiver who lined up sometimes in the slot. Catches the ball well on the run. Also caught passes out of the backfield where he made things happen on swings and outlets.
Deceptively shifty. Seems to know just how much of a feint he needs to get some space and when he gets it, he’s gone. There’s lots of plays showing Henderson running for great stretches and very few of them showing him getting chased down from behind. Could be the perfect foil to the hard running James Conner and the Christian McCaffrey-like (we hope) Jaylen Samuels. Henderson ran 130 times for 1154 yards at a 8.9 yard per carry average and 9 touchdowns in 2017. He added 24 catches for 226 yards at 9.4 ypc and 2 TDs. In 2018 he had 214 carries for 1909 yards at 8.9 yard average and 22 TDs. With all the running he was doing there was a dip in his receiving with 19 receptions for 295 at a very good 15.5 yard average and 3 TDs.
Rd 4 (122) – WILL – David Long – West Virginia – 5’-11” – 225# – 4.50/40 (projected) –The free agency signing of Mark Barron eliminated the need for Weakside Inside Linebacker (WILL) in the first round. Long may be small but he plays big. He seems to always be heading downhill and spends a good amount of time in the offense’s backfield. Uses his lack of size to an advantage to duck and squeeze under big Offensive Tackles. Good timing for shooting the gap on inside blitzes. Very disruptive force at the line of scrimmage and can change the course of plays even is he doesn’t get the tackle or sack. Sideline to sideline game is solid. Can get swallowed up by big blockers and needs to develop more technique and moves to disengage. Looks comfortable in pass coverage. Can drop back, find his assignment and read the QBs eyes well. Long should see time early as a sub and special teams missile and he has the potential to be an eventual starter.
In 2017 Long had 75 tackles with 15.5 for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 6 pass deflections and 1 fumble recovery in 9 games. He had a full season in 2018 and his numbers went up to 108 tackles, an eye-popping 19.5, for loss, 7.0 sacks, 4 pass deflection, 1 fumble recovery and 2 forced fumbles.
Rd 5 (141 from Raiders) – Wide Receiver – Gary Jennings – West Virginia – 6’-1” – 213# – 4.42/40 – The Steelers would’ve needed to add another WR even if Brown hadn’t left. Jennings has some perceived short comings but may be a diamond in the rough. The knocks are he rounded off his routes and didn’t always play to speed. However, he also had a knack for getting open, was tough in combat catches, ran tough after the catch and could blow by coverage when he opened it up. Jennings needs some work but he should be able beat out Heyward-Bey or Justin Hunter for a roster spot and move into the backup slot receiver position.
Had 97 catches for 1096 yards at an 11.3 average and 1 touchdown in 2017. In 2018 QB Will Grier spread the ball around more so Jennings’ reception numbers went down but his averages and touchdowns went way up with 54 passes hauled in for 917 yards at a 17.0 yard average. He was a big red zone target with 13 touchdowns.
Rd 6 (175 from Raiders) – DT/DE/NT – Kingsley Keke – Texas A&M – 6′-4″ – 305# – 4.95/40 – Used at both DT and DE and shows the grit to be NT. Has the skill set to sub across the D-Line Good at creating a pile up at the line of scrimmage. Can stack and shed blockers. Shows some ability to get to the passer and generate interior pass rush. Flashes good use of hands and shows some drive but needs to develop consistency. Showed good Big Man speed and above average agility and explosiveness at the Combine.
In his Junior year he had 54 tackles, 2.5 for a loss 1 sack, 2 pass deflections and 2 fumble recoveries. Had another strong year as a Senior with 51 tackles, 11.0 for a loss, 7.5 sacks, 1 pass deflections, 1 fumble recovery and 1 forced fumble.
Rd 6 (192) – Place Kicker – Matt Gay – Utah – 6’-1” – 220# – OR – Cole Tracy – LSU – 5-11” – 188# – Whichever is available. Chris Boswell has gone south. You never know why this happens to kickers but once it does they rarely can get it back. The Steelers can’t have a kicker who not only struggles to make extra points but will also choke any time he’s called on to make a game winning kick.
Matt Gay, a former soccer playing walk-on, has been perfect on 83 extra points in his career. He’s 54 for 63 on field goals for 85.7% with 7 field goals over 50 yards. 2017 Lou Groza award winner.
Cole Tracy was perfect on 38 extra points and was 25 on 29 attempts for an 86.2% average in 2018 for LSU. His longest kick was 54 yards. In 2017, in Division II, at Assumption college, Tracy connected on 27-of-29 field goals and made all 67 of his extra-points.
Rd 6 – (207 from Cardinals) – Free Safety/PR – Ugo Amadi – Oregon – 5’-9” – 199# – 4.51/40 – Amadi is a versatile player who is a good high Safety with coverage skills if called upon as a Nickel. Voted permanent Team Captain he was the undisputed leader of the defensive backfield. Called all the plays for the Secondary. Understands his ‘robber’ duties and can bring it on outside blitzes. Has added value as a Punt Returner. The Steelers have a glut of Strong Safety types. Free Safety is a totally different position that calls for a totally different skill set. Amadi would give the Steelers at least one player who is a natural for the position.
43 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 8 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 forced fumbles in 2017. In 2018 Amadi posted 55 tackles, 4.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 8 pass deflections. Had 2 pick sixes and a fumble recovery returned for a TD as well as 14 punt returns for 223 yards at an eye-popping 15.9 yard average with 1 TD for his career.
Rd 7 (219 from Buccaneers) – OG/OT/C – Zack Bailey – N. Carolina – 6′-6″ – 310# – Matt Feiler’s promotion and the trade of Marcus Gilbert created a need for O-Line depth. In 2017 Bailey was starting Right Tackle. He started at Left Guard in 2016 and back to that position in 2018. He has also played Center. Good pass blocker. Uses wing span and wide stance to make himself a big obstacle. Good kick slide. Knows how much hand checking you can get away with. Shows good movement and good drive in run blocking. Used quite a bit in pulling and surprisingly fleet of foot, considering his size. Does have a habit of over extending to initiate contact in both run and pass blocking instead of waiting for the block to come to him. He will need to work on that at the next level and add some play strength. Suffered a broken fibula in 2018 but should be good to go by the beginning of the 2019 training camp.
Well, the 2019 Draft is fast approaching April 25th, 9:00 eastern on the NFL Network. We will have real time Draft grades on the Pittsburgh-Blitz Facebook page and will grade the entire draft once the final pick is in. 10 picks lots of new potential Steelers!!! What do you think? What players at what rounds should the Steelers concentrate on?
Go Steelers!!!
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