Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Draft Week Tuesday!
The Kickoff
It is more than fair to assume that the draft strategy of the Pittsburgh Steelers has changed in recent days. It’s also fair to assume that it hasn’t simply because what many of us learned Monday, they already knew. Adam Schefter reported yesterday morning that Broderick Jones has had some setbacks with his neck injury. You’ll recall that he had spinal fusion surgery and while many return to play some do not. Jones was already a bit of a mystery wrapped in a riddle… While he certainly hasn’t lived up to his billing as a first round pick, one could easily have sympathy for him. He’s been moved around from left to right tackle and back again and has seemingly had less than adequate coaching. Throw in the injury and what you have is a situation where the Steelers once again may need to draft a tackle. The Steelers had just three tackles in for personal visits. Utah’s Spencer Fano, Miami’s Markell Bell and Memphis’ Travis Burke all came into the Steel City. My biggest question is… Will the Jones’ situation force them to consider a tackle higher than they may have? We’ll find out in the coming days.
TV Tomlin
Earlier today it was reported that former Steelers’ Head Coach Mike Tomlin will be joining NBC to be an analyst for their NFL coverage. This doesn’t come as a huge surprised as many have believed he would make a solid contributor. I tend to believe the Mike Tomlin we’ve come to know as our head coach will be very different in his television role. I think his personality is going to shine through.
Will He? Won’t He?
There was rampant speculation yesterday that Aaron Rodgers had yet to tell the Steelers about his intentions for the season. There were also rumors that he was in Pittsburgh already and would actually make his return known at the Draft. While I don’t necessarily blame Rodgers for all of this, it’s reaching the point of stupidity. We are awaiting word from a soon to be 43-year old game manager quarterback. What has happened to us??
Pre-Draft Presser
There are few things more useless than pre-draft press conferences. All you get is smoke and half-truths and you leave with almost nothing learned. I appreciate that Mike McCarthy was honest and willing to chat today. I didn’t think he got overly carried away with hyperbole and instead seemed much more practical about what lay in front of his team.
The Top Guys
So Who are the Leading Candidates? Each year, Ian takes a moment to narrow down the field of potential first round selections.
Random Reads
There’s been some chatter about possibly trading Alex Highsmith or Nick Herbig. I had some thoughts yesterday… Apparently Joe Buck is in line to be the new host of another version of ‘Sports Jeopardy’ on ESPN. I guess we needed this… Omar Khan is going to pull off something this week. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know if it will be successful but there is something coming… From everyone I talk to, the overwhelming feeling is that this draft is lacking in talent. Therefore, expect to see a lot of trades for current players and for future picks…
Hot Reads is Presented by Frank Walker Law
