Next Years Draft

[DeathbyStat]

Darnik posted this really good look at next years draft.

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/for...ead.php?t=4776

I was a rabid proponent of grabbing a Jarvis Moss or Anthony Spencer in the first or second round but it appears that next years draft includes alot more guys that seem tailor made for the 3-4. Assuming the 3-4 is successfull this year and we stick to it.

I'm still a big fan of grabbing Tim Shaw

[mikehop05]

Darnik posted this really good look at next years draft.

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/for...ead.php?t=4776

I was a rabid proponent of grabbing a Jarvis Moss or Anthony Spencer in the first or second round but it appears that next years draft includes alot more guys that seem tailor made for the 3-4. Assuming the 3-4 is successfull this year and we stick to it.

I'm still a big fan of grabbing Tim Shaw

yeah i think shaw's versatility and his overall athletiscm will be great for us

[terribletowel39]

yeah i think shaw's versatility and his overall athletiscm will be great for us

and we haven't had a starting white linebacker in a while. so hopefully he will start for us. :D

darnik if you read this, that was a great write up, i know that had to of taken a long time. great job.

[mikehop05]

yeah darnik i agree, helluva job main

[TerribleEd]

This guy's a DE/OLB prospect?

Calais Campbell, DE/OLB, Miami

He's 6'8", 282 lbs. A little too tall to play OLB. Looks like a great prospect as a true DE if Steelers make that jump in a year!

[Man_Of_Steel]

Calais Campbell, DE/OLB, Miami

He's 6'8", 282 lbs. A little too tall to play OLB. Looks like a great prospect as a true DE if Steelers make that jump in a year!

Campbell is one of the best prospects in next years draft and a sure fire top 5 pick. Are you assuming the Steelers are gonna be pretty much the worst team in the league?

[mikehop05]

i think 6'8" is too tall for a olb... maybe even for defense, i cant see him gettin any leverage, i dont know...

no QB would be able to pass over him though, helluva wing span

[TerribleEd]

Campbell

Campbell is one of the best prospects in next years draft and a sure fire top 5 pick. Are you assuming the Steelers are gonna be pretty much the worst team in the league?

Not at all. Did not know he is an early favorite as a top five pick (plus things can change alot between now and then with risers and fallers - i.e. Quentin Moses).

Just commenting that the rankings in the link had him as a DE/OLB, which doesn't seem right based on his height.

Looks like a good prospect as a DE, though. Can't wait to look for him on Saturday's next fall.

[Mr. Stiller]

Depending what Route we go this year... Guys to look at Rd 1 (at current pre-this season rankings)..

Sam Baker/Jared Gaither/Jake Long/Gosder Cherilous/Kirk Barton.

LT, because after next season both Essex and Smith are in their final year of the contract. Essex has shown up overweight to every camp, he's overly slow, and hasn't shown any promise at LT. He was ranked a rd 7-Priority UDFA pre-draft, but we got him in the 3rd. Marvel is going for that big retirement 3rd contract. He was an above average LT, but he was shutdown at RT. I'd love a Guy like Joe Staley/Jason Capizzi to take over for Marvel and push him to RT.

Chris Long, DE, Virginia

34DE, Chris Long, Howie Longs Son, is a 3-4 DE nightmare. He reminds me of Richard Seymour. While some say he is a 34 DE and 4-3 DT, I think at 6'4 288lbs and his speed, he could/would be a nightmare 4-3DE as well. This is if we get a LT in this draft with Potential. As I figure We'll select a later round DE. Long will either knock Kirschke off the roster, or Kirschke will retire. When Aaron Smith slows down, we have a future monster opposite Keisel (If Keisel doesn't move). Long gives us versatility and while he's solid as a pass rusher, he's lock down as a run plugger, and will provide us with little dropoff from Aaron Smiths Play, if not an improvement, as He can get to the QB.


Jasper Brinkley, MLB, South Carolina

God I wish this kid came out this year. He would have been a steal in round 2-3. Jasper, only playing in the SEC for 1 season, was a monster for South Carolina. He is a sideline to sideline. Run plugger and he can defend the pass, very well. He's Farrior, with More upside IMO. I'm talking about Pro-bowl's. 6'2 258lbs, If you want prospect comparisons to this year, he's basically a mix of David Harris as a run plugger and I don't think any LB does coverage as well as he does, but i'd have to say Jon Beason. He'll be a staple at MLB for us for a decade.


Outside of Round 1:

RB: If no one suitable is around, I'd love Brandon Ore. He's explosive and has the frame to add about 10-15 lbs. 5'11 and then 230lbs, he's a mack truck before, he'd be a tank after.

FB: I want Gijon Robinson this year, because he's a tri-threat FB. But if we skip on FB.. then Peyton Hills/ Owen Schmidtt are other tri-threat FB's.

WR: Depending on where we take one this season.. I'd be all for Marcus Monk/Todd Blythe if we take a day 2 WR This year, or Derek Kinder if we grab a round 1.

TE: We still need a guy to take Tumans spot. I would love Anthony Pudewell this year as his forte is blocking but still provides a mid to short range pass receiver and has an explosion that he can get open quick or use it to block and decleat lineman. However if we fail to grab him...Another Virginia TE product is my target, Tom Santi. He's 6'5 250-260, ranked 4th in the ACC for receiving yards last year, and has played FB/HBack. He's versatile, but playing Fullback shows they trust your blocking as well.

OT: I explained LT. RT, we have to see who we draft this year, if Starks shows up and gets extended, or Colon has to play RT. If it's Colon, (Or Capizzi) I would look into drafting an RT instead of LT. If Capizzi/Staley are there, you don't need LT, but when they move odds are Marvel will either leave or take a paycut and play backup, as he's not going to be the same RT he was before he moved to LT. Again Capizzi has upside to LT, but if not.. he's a 6'9 326 lb tackle that runs close to 5 second 40' and has great footwork. I see Him in the McNeil mold. As for RT? John Shaw. The PSU Product who played at RT and opened holes for Tony Hunt? Who better, Morelli gave them no passing attack so they relied on the run game. What else could you ask for at RT.

OG: I'm Hoping if we don't go LT rd 1 (Staley) that we go LG. Faneca, Simmons and Kemo are all set up for Contract years. Faneca is supposedly not happy and ready to leave next year. He's upset he's not with the highest paid... I don't know if he noticed, but the 2 contracts he got, had him near highest paid, both times. so with Grubbs I don't think we need a G, as we have Colon, Kemo (Resigned Cheap), Grubbs, Essex, and Simmons/Mahan. We have then 6 guys that can play G. I'm content as long as we add someone in 2007.

OC: This is totally depending on the play of Simmons/Mahan. If they both stink up the joint, I'd rather see us use Marvin Phillip than draft... but if we do decide to draft, my pick would be Kory Lichensteiger. He's squat at 6'3, but 312 lbs, very athletic, very intelligent, and has amazing upside.


DE: I Stated earlier about Chris Long. This draft will tell us atleast 1 thing. Our future on defense. We take a bunch of undersized guys, we're looking future Tampa 2. We take a mix of guys, we're possibly looking at a Hybrid 3-4/4-3. We take a bunch of 3-4 only personel, we're sticking 3-4.

If we only add one 3-4 DE in 07, My first priority (If we add Capizzi or Staley) is DE, if not it's LT. But Chris Long fills in the future void behind Smith. If we get Alford he'll be behind Smith this year and then Keisel Next.

If we need an LT, DeMario Pressley, DeMonte Bolden, and Andre Fluellen present some interesting round 2 options.

NT: Hoke and Hampton are the same age, and they'll likely start faltering near the same time. However, they still have some years left. But a late round NT in 08 could be interesting. I like Keith Jackson as a late day 2 flier type on 07... but 08 Keilen Dykes and Dre Moore are 2 guys that could do a NT/DE swingman.

OLB: 08 is the motherload...of the preaseason top 10 rankings, only 3 are considered "Strictly" DE. Now this is with their Junior #'s.

Lawrence Jackson, Bruce Davis, Tommy Blake, Kenny Iwebema, Chris Ellis, Quentin Groves, Louis Holmes... Thats without 2008 Jrs. as well. Although If at all possible I hope Philip Merling/Vernon Gholston come out, Because they could seriously be better than Shawne Merriman.

ILB: Obviously I think Jasper Brinkley is going to be a monster, however I don't know if there's anyone else i like preseason, if they're not too small they're too slow... Brinkley is a nice blend of size/speed/power.

CB: We'll have to gauge the 07 season, if the pass rush picks up but the db's still play bad, we could be looking for one. A guy I like is Paul Oliver, but he could be top 10. My next favorite is Dwight Lowery. Who plays a style of CB that fits perfectly with LeBeaus Zone Blitz scheme. He usually plays 5-10 yards off, but knows when to break on the ball, but knows when he's better off just tackling. Lower level of competition, but he also had an INT in almost every game. Not to mention... Reshaun Mathis was a d2 FS, and went rd 1.. Lowery seems to be a better prospect IMO. Another guy I like for a later guy, is Kennard Cox, Size/Speed/talent are there... He won't be a Darrelle Revis, but thats why he was picked on so much.


S: I think we should add a late round SS as Carters not getting younger. However next year is a horrible year for SS's and the best one is ranked a 3rd rounder preseason. Could add Zibikowski in rd 4.

[Mr. Stiller]

Not at all. Did not know he is an early favorite as a top five pick (plus things can change alot between now and then with risers and fallers - i.e. Quentin Moses).

Just commenting that the rankings in the link had him as a DE/OLB, which doesn't seem right based on his height.

Looks like a good prospect as a DE, though. Can't wait to look for him on Saturday's next fall.

Campbell is a Jr. next year and there's no gaurentee he will come out.. But I think he could make the transition to OLB. He's fast enough, he just needs to be able to get under OT's blocks if he wants to rush the passer, where as a smaller guy is low enough already. But I don't think he'd be a good 3-4 DE as he's more of a dominant DE that has rare size/speed/power, but he's not exactly a super run stopper.

If you're looking for an 2009 3-4 DE, look at Tyson Jackson of LSU... 6'5 292 lbs runs a sub 4.9 and is dominant in both aspects.

My favorite 09 guys are Gholston/Merling. Both could outdo Merriman, or atleast have the ability to. Gholston has speed for his size, but rare power. He benches 455 lbs. If he gets his pass rushing to where it should be, and he has experience dropping into coverage, he could be a top 3-4 OLB Prospect. Merling reminds me of Merriman.. he's 6'5 270, probably a 4.69-4.72 guy, doesn't have the experience in dropping though, but he gets to the QB. Although we have to see how well he does without a Gaines Adams across from him.

[PittPete]

My two favorite players for 08 are Jake Long and Dan Connor, both of whom will be long gone when the Steelers pick at 32.

[terribletowel39]

My two favorite players for 08 are Jake Long and Dan Connor, both of whom will be long gone when the Steelers pick at 32.

+rep for the positive comment.

[richdg]

While I love the thought of drafting 32 next year, I think we will be picking higher next year, than we are this year.

[terribletowel39]

While I love the thought of drafting 32 next year, I think we will be picking higher next year, than we are this year.

i 100% completely disagree with that. i think there is no way in hell, we win less than 10 games. have you seen our schedule?? its full of wannabe good teams. aside from the fact that we have an easy schedule, the league was full of 8-8 teams this past yr and we had the one of the harder schedules i guess so is why we are picking at the bottom of 8-8's. i have no problems saying that we will be picking 32 next yr. i know we have the talent and the experience now. and i believe that Coach Tomlin will be a helluva coach and he will be able to do some great things.

[mikehop05]

i think we go between 8 - 8 again and 10 - 6