The once-a-year ‘Pajama Olympics’ is officially in the books and the overwhelming question as it is every year is whether or not the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Draft focus has become any more clear? While the Combine itself has become a bit of a carnival or circus for the media and fans, it still serves a massive purpose for the Steelers and their preparation for the NFL Draft.
At one point this past weekend there were over 16,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. They were having all kinds of fun which is something you can have at fun88 รหัสคูปอง should you be looking for something along these lines. For Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan and company the last week was about meeting prospects and watching them in action.
What I Found Surprising
The Steelers always meet with wide receivers and very often they always seem to draft one too. What shocked me a bit was that the team was meeting with guys like Rome Odunze of Washington, Keon Coleman of Florida State, Brian Thomas Jr of LSU and Troy Franklin of Oregon. These are round one or two guys whereas I thought they’d be more focused on third or fourth round receivers.
Does this suggest they could trade Diontae Johnson? Perhaps they are getting ready for his departure as this is his final year on his current deal. Either way it seemed strange to spend so much time on the high level guys.
One other surprising thing was that the Steelers did not meet with either Jackson Powers-Johnson or Zach Frazier. These two guys are typically regarded as the top two or three center prospects in this Draft. This is fairly important due to the fact that the Steelers typically have met with most of the Draft picks at the Combine. Not always, but more often than not.
What Definitely Wasn’t Surprising
14 different offensive linemen had meetings with the Steelers. That was the most of any other position group at the Combine. JC Latham of Alabama and Amarius Mims of Georgia were the highest ranked tackle prospects. They actually interviewed several guys who could go on day 2 or day 3 as well suggesting they may be looking not just starters but also depth.
People think I’m nuts and admittedly I am, but I have a gut feeling they’ll take a tight end or sign several in free agency after the Draft. With Pat Freiermuth entering the final year of his contract and having had some concussion issues, I really think tight end is an option. Darnell Washington proved he was a solid blocker but he wasn’t much of a receiving threat catching just six or seven ball all year. Ben Sinnott of Kansas State had an excellent Combine and might be the best blocker of the draft class. Theo Johnson of Penn State displayed fantastic athleticism for a man of his size and likely moved himself up draft boards.
The Corners
The Steelers weren’t shy about talking to top level cornerbacks. Look at where these guys played… Cooper DeJean of Iowa, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold of Alabama, Kamari Lassiter of Georgia, Mike Sainristil of Michigan and Nate Wiggins of Clemson. It’s very hard to think that CB won’t come off the board in the first or second round.
D-Line
These guys were all over the place in terms of potential draft spots. Byron Murphy of Texas is thought to be a first rounder while many other guys they spoke with could go on days two or three.
I’m of the opinion that the Steelers’ Draft plans aren’t much clearer than they were before the Combine. The reason I say this is simple; we haven’t hit free agency yet. Once they start to fill some spots there, then we’ll have a better idea of what they are targeting in the Draft.
