Good Tuesday to you Steelers’ Fans.
There seems to be a lot of complacency among Steelers’ fans when it comes to the position of tight end. “Hey, we’ve got Vance McDonald! We don’t need a tight end in this Draft!” Well, I think we need to look a little deeper here because I don’t agree and I don’t believe the Steelers do either. McDonald has become a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and rightfully so. His stiff-arm in Tampa Bay was legendary enough but he also had many other plays where he was seen ‘trucking’ opponents following a catch. But McDonald has an unfortunate history in terms of his injuries. Can he be expected to play a full season in 2019? If he can’t, that means Xavier Grimble is your starting tight end and last we saw him he was fumbling the ball through the end zone in Denver. Jesse James signed a lucrative deal in Detroit and Jake McGee was not brought back. Sure, the Steelers could sign a couple of free agent tight ends to fill the void but they aren’t going to offer much in terms of versatility. Therefore, I see no way the Steelers come out of this Draft without a tight end. Will it be in the first round? That’s a good question and will depend primarily on who has already been selected. My thinking is that it will come in rounds three, four or five. To deny the Steelers have a demand for a tight end is to admit you haven’t been paying attention.
So…. The NFL has released their 2019 NFL Draft Day hats. $38 for a hat?!?!?
Tweet of the Day… You asked for people’s opinion so what did you expect?
I gotta keep it band bro. This ain’t it. ? https://t.co/59gGirHyMZ
— Keenan Allen (@Keenan13Allen) April 1, 2019
If you haven’t been keeping track, these are the Pro Days attended by Steelers’ General Manager Kevin Colbert… Clemson, Michigan, Alabama, Notre Dame, West Virginia, LSU, Texas and Texas A&M. Those in italics were also attended by Mike Tomlin. What’s my point? This isn’t as many as you’d expect them to attend. They have also only had one reported dinner with a prospect and that was Chase Winovich in Ann Arbor. It’s our understanding there have been others but the Steelers are doing a very good job of keeping things more quiet than usual this Draft season.
One other note on those visits, Ian has done a ton of work on the numbers behind how the Steelers traditionally draft and one particular thing of note is that they not only love guys from Power Five Conference teams but they also like players from teams that finish in the final AP Top 25 Poll.
We’ll be doing a series of ‘mini-podcasts’ prior to the Draft. These will be roughly 15 minutes long and will focus on each position in the Draft and how it shapes up for the Steelers.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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