Here's a list of 21 players who have visited the Steelers thus far or who will visit them in the next week or so.
NFL teams are permitted to bring in 30 prospects - not counting regional guys – so I'm not counting the guys from local colleges.
I'll rank them in order of what round it appears the player will be selected in.
Remember as well that Mike Tomlin has had more free time on his hands with the lockout and has personally attended a number of pro days - more than usual. For example, Tomlin has been at Wisconsin, Texas and North Carolina, to name a few, getting meetings with a number of their prospects without them being counted against the 30.
Cameron Jordan, DL, California, 1st round
Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor, 1-2
Rodney Hudson, C-G, Florida State, 1-2
Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia, 1-2
Curtis Brown, CB, Texas, 2
Kendrick Ellis, DT, Hampton, 2-3
James Carpenter, OT, Alabama, 2-3
Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville, 2-3
Curtis Marsh, CB, Utah State, 3
Jarriel King, OT, South Carolina, 4
Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State, 4-5
Buster Skrine, CB, Tennessee-Chatanooga, 4-5
Da'rel Scott, RB, Maryland, 5-6
Denarius Moore, WR, Tennessee, 5-6
Taiwan Jones, RB, Eastern Washington, 5-6
Cortez Allen, CB, Citadel, 6
Zach Clayton, DT, Auburn, 6
Mario Harvey, ILB, Marshall, 6-7
Anthony Gray, NT, Mississippi State, 7
Frank Kearse, DT, Alabama A&M 7
Tyler Beiler, WR, Bridgewater, 7
22 comments:
Looking at the end of the list I love Kearse and Cortez Allen as late round prospects
Scott Paxson's gone so Kearse could replace him in the PS as a developmental project
My initial hope was for the Steelers to pick an OL or DL but the upper tier in that category will be singifcantly diminished by the time the Steelers get their pick. So with that in mind I hope they drop back a few slots, pick up another 2nd rounder and take Ras-I Dowling out of Virginia.
The kid has talent, comes from a good family, and stayed for his senior season to complete his degree, which means he's smart. I saw a YouTube Video of an interview of the kid and I really like his character. He'd be an outstanding Steeler. Here's a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTjPU5YxvTA
Dale, you said that local colleges' prospects do not count against the 30 in the interview process. Does WVU qualify in that group, or don't they since it's an out-of-state college?
Thanks for the list Dale!
Only 1 LB prospect on the list. Thought they might be looking a little harder to fill that 4th OLB spot.
Yes, WVU does count as local. They determine "local" by a certain mile radius, don't remember which, but wvu fits it
Yeah, WVU counts, as a previous poster said.
They've tried to be clever with their visits and where Tomlin has shown up. Tomlin's first year, he went to Florida State for one of his only visits and they picked Timmons. They also drafted almost exclusively off of their visit list.
The year they took Ziggy, I don't believe they brought him in and Mike didn't go to Missouri.
Mendenhall was completely off the board. They didn't expect him to be there but they liked him.
With Pouncey, we all know now about the famous combine meeting with the coaching staff.
Wow. Thanks for posting that including the projected rounds.
With trade down:
2. CB Ras-I Dowling, UVa
2. LT/RT/G - James Carpenter, Ala
3. NT Kenrick Ellis, Hampton
4. CB Curtis Marsh, Utah State
4. RT Marcus Gilbert, Fla.
5. ILB Ross Homan, OSU
6. DT/DE Zach Clayton, Auburn
7. S/CB Byron Maxwell, Clemson
I think a lot of people would be pretty happy with that Datruth.
Ellis does have some issues - which may have been why they brought him in to check him out.
I also think you can mix in a RB and or WR at some point. Don't know that you need three DBs.
Dale,
I would like for the Steelers to select WR Greg Little from UNC to replace Ward, but I would want to keep my first 3 draft picks and maybe try to get him in the 4th. I guess I am also still holding out that WR Limas Sweed might actually show up this year.
As for the secondary, I definitely think we need 2 CBs and the last pick, Maxwell, is a CB in college who will be a safety in the pros. He is a great special teams player and could take a roster spot away from Anthony Madison or Keenan Lewis. As for James Carpenter, I really liked him in the Senior Bowl and thought he outplayed Castonzo and the Colorado tackle. And Mike Lombardi said this past week that he thinks Carpenter is the second best LT in the draft, period. He'd be a heck of a pickup for the Steelers in the 2nd round. He or Marcus Cannon could compete to start at RG this year.
dale,
any thoughts on one guy who might slip down the draft into the steeler's lap?
marc, I thought about that earlier too. But my thinking is that with all the QB's gaining late 1st round or early 2nd rd attention (its starting to seem like Kaepernick and Dalton are bordering on being in the 1st - but fyi I think Ryan Mallett is going to be a better pro), a trade is a great possibility as discussed, but also with everyone trying to leap frog each other, if 4 or 5 QB's are taken in the first round, other positions start to slide.
I doubt someone like Carimini falls, but Sherrod or Solder might (people don't seem to like those two though) or maybe a quality D-lineman?
datruth,
I should like Dowling. I live in Virginia, actually right next the city he's from. I have several friends who went to UVA. He seems like a smart, high character kid. He's big, strong, pretty fast, and has good ball skills. Also, I pay so little attention to college ball that I shouldn't know enough to dismiss him.
BUT, he's coming off a season where he started 2 games because of hamstring, knee, and ankle injuries. He even pulled up lame running the 40 at the combine. The Steelers have shown a willingness to draft injured prospects but a 2nd round pick is pretty high for a kid who really only had one full season in college.
"but fyi I think Ryan Mallett is going to be a better pro"
It's not secret Mallet is one of the most, if not the most, talented qbs in this draft, other than his statue mobility of course. His character concerns are the big issue here
I do hope on the teams looking for him, or any other QB for that matter, trades with us. We could do a lot with the 2nd and round round prospects this year
I've hated Mallett since seeing him in the bowl game against East Carolina when it was 25 degrees and he was dressed like he was in the arctic. Had a pretty bad game, too. There are a lot of character issues with him as well.
how about holmes' recent verbal diahrrea? refusing to acknowledge he was traded and saying he was released. along with demanding a multi-year contract and saying he will go to wherever he gets the best deal.
no question he wasn't going to be signing with the steelers this offseason. i was glad they made the move then and this just makes it look even better.
hey everybody, the steelers really really like austin pettis the wide out from boise. he would be an awesome player for ward to groom into his spot. also i like the idea of a trade with possibly the bills or redskins who both an early 2nd round selection and would like to move up to get a qb if they dont get one early in the darft wich they most likely will not. heres how it might look- Bills get:1st round 31st overall pick. Steelers get: 2nd round 34th overall pick and 5th round 133rd overall pick and possibly a late 7th rounder. but unlikely they would get 3 for 1 in this draft and how backwards the bills are.anyways id like to see the steelers select with thier 2nd rounders ras I dowling with the 34th pick who is the definition of steeler football, and with the 63rd pick in the 2nd a marcus cannon,danny watkins,or james carpenter type player. and finally with that early 5th rounder Austin pettis out of boise who I believe is gonna be one of the biggest all time late round recievers. This is just my two cents as a life long steeler fan. Opinions are very much welcomed.
it seems the general consensus is the steelers trading down and grabbing "value" players in the second and third rounds. however, this has not been their mode of operation in the past when holding a later round slot.
considering the draft is considered light on first round talent, i believe the steelers may actually trade up to grab a guy they really want. colbert has clearly done it before and imo the chances are better of them trading up than trading down.
I agree with Marc. The goal for this draft should be to obtain quality over quantity, IMO. So either stay pat with our 31st pick, or trade up for a guy we covet somewhere in the 20's.
Really, though, what quality are you getting that late. The last time they picked 31st, they selected Jamain Stephens, an all-time Steelers bust.
Dale,
That's why I think taking Dowling at no. 31 isn't that great of a risk. The only concern you have with him is that he missed much of his senior year because of injuries. There aren't any questions about his ability, his size, his speed, his hands, or his playmaking ability. We're not talking about a situation with the DE out of Clemson who may need microfracture surgery on his knee in the long-term. I believe the Steelers are very interested in LT James Carpenter out of Alabama. If Mike Lombardi believes he's the 2nd best LT in this draft, then that is enough for me to look at this kid twice.
The injuries are a big, big concern for me. When a player that young has had those nagging type of injuries, it doesn't usually get better as they age.
Now, some of his injuries weren't the nagging type, but some guys are just injury-prone.
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