Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert held their annual pre-draft press conference today. Here's a rundown on the topics they touched on:
* Colbert reiterated that he feels this is the best draft class he's seen in 30 years of evaluating talent.
He said there are 19 players the Steelers would love to draft with the 15th pick and that the quarterbacks will be the lynchpin to this process.
Colbert believes, as I do, that if you polled all 32 teams, you'd get 32 different answers on how they feel this QB class stacks up.
Because of that, and the depth of this draft, he doesn't feel there will be a lot of trades in this draft, though the quarterbacks could certainly affect that.
That said, he feels that if the quarterbacks last though the early portion of the first round, there could be a lot of trade action in the latter portion of the round with teams moving up to get the QB of their liking.
* Colbert said there is zero chance the Steelers move up in this draft, but they would be very open to moving back.
The Steelers won't move up because of the third round pick they traded to Cleveland last year to get Shamarko Thomas. They have a compensatory pick in the third round, but those cannot be dealt.
Because of the depth of this draft, the Steelers wouldn't mind moving back, getting one of the players they like, and acquiring another pick or two. Pittsburgh already has nine choices in this draft.
* Tomlin said given that the Steelers have lost more defensive linemen this offseason than they have signed, you can bet defensive line is on the team's radar.
He wouldn't close the door on signing more free agents - Brett Keisel, perhaps? - but said the team is focused solely on the draft at this point.
Tomlin did say, however, that because of the amount of sub-packages the team uses now, pass rushing ability is a premium for defensive linemen, be they interior or edge players.
* Tomlin also said that linebacker Sean Spence and defensive end Nick Williams are completely healthy and moving forward.
Spence hasn't played in two years after suffering a very serious knee injury in the preseason. If he can get back healthy, that would be a big plus for the team.
Williams missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. But the Steelers like his athleticism.
6 comments:
Dale, I think the Jets at #19 and the Eagles at #22 are possible trade down candidates for the Steelers. I refuse to waiver on my mock and this is DaTruth:
1 – CB K. Fuller, Va. Tech
2 – DT, S. Truitt, Notre Dame
3 – WR D. Moncrief, Mississippi
3 – OLB J. Attaochu, Ga. Tech
4 – OT A. Richardson, Tennessee
5 – ILB, J. Zumalt, UCLA
5 – CB W. Aikens, Liberty
6 – WR J. Brown, Pittsburgh State
6 – OLB L. Webster, Bloomsburg
6 – TE C. Gilmore, Colorado State
7 – NT R. Carrethers, Arkansas State
(Steelers pick up extra 3rd & 6th rd picks for trade down in 1st round)
datruth,
only one defensive lineman?
I agree, I think they will try to move back, unless a great player falls to them for some reason.
are tomlin's comments a nod towards aaron Donald if he is available?
How much are they really expecting from Spence after two years off?
Marc,
I have a DT/DE in the 2nd & a NT in the 7th. They might decide to take 2 DEs this draft. If so, names to keep an eye on are DEs Brent Urban from UVa. in the 4th round and Deandre Coleman from California in the 5th.
So sorry, I missed the NT at the end.
I would be quite happy if they got coleman from cal.
Ill take
1. Dennard/Fuller
2. Robinson- PSU
3. Hart - Oregon
4. Schofield- Mich
5. Zumwalt- UCLA
5. Urban- UVA
6. Cockrell- Duke
6. De Thomas- Oregon
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