While we can clearly select BPA at # 20 we might be better off picking a better player at # 15 or adding a player / pick and taking the same guy at # 22. There is no need to hit the panic button but we should always be looking for opportunities to do better than to simply accept for whatever will be left for us at # 20.
I have to admit that I was totally wrong about Shazier. I thought he was too light to play LB in a 3-4 D alignment in the NFL, but he is proving me wrong. I also didn't trust OSU players after Gholston. I thought he might have been made to look better by all the talent around him. He has turned out to be a great pick for them.
Whatever will be left? Picking at 20th is not picking from the bottom of the barrel, there will be plenty of good players on the board that can help the jets on both sides of the ball. The Steelers have been picking in the same area for years and look at how they sustain their competitiveness. Decastro, Shazier, Dupree, Laveon, Brown......the steelers did not move around to take any of these players, they simply chose the BPA left on the board. I agree with you that a panic button does not have to be pressed, but I have a very good feeling about this draft and I trust MM. I'm of the opinion that he will stay put and choose BPA, just as he did with Williams.
Williams was arguably the best player in the whole draft. We only got him at #6 because other teams reached. Alot of the Steelers success is due to Big Ben who was taken around #10 or 11.
Let's not talk about the past, the new regime so far, has done well. I'm certain Tanny & Idzik would have past on Williams at #6. The former GMs didn't focus on BPA. Smith in Rd 2 is an incomplete, due to injury and he needs to develop. Mauldin & Petty were solid picks.
No doubt about it JH, a franchise QB is the most important piece, I'm not sure if Pitt moved up to get him, but if they did not, it highlights once again that they took the BPA on the board. I don't know what the circumstances were in that draft, if there were other QBs that were considered superior, I'll do some research for myself.
Steelers didn't move up for Big Ben. Big Ben was drafted just ahead of the Jets, who drafted Jonathan Vilma. Vilma was a great pick for Herm's 4-3 defense. Eric Mangini came in and Vilma was out of place.
Big Ben was not available at pick # 20 where we are picking. My point being that the Steelers did not build a winning team without any high draft picks (the point the other poster was trying to make). We may get a great player at # 20 or even if we trade down but trading up may be the best option depending on who falls lower than they should.
I can't imagine WR being best available at 20 unless our front office is extremely high on Corey Coleman. We need to replace our veteran WRs eventually but it seems like a luxury in this draft
There's decent WR depth this year, like nearly every year. We can get a Higgins, Coley, Robinson in round 3 or later. Personally I like Corey Davis, but I don't think he leaves round 2.
We aren't trading up. What is it with you and trading up? That's nonsense and no way to build a football team. Do some research and look at how many FAs we have, how many are starters and backups, how little cap space we'll have and realize that we only have 6 draft picks. Trading up would be moronic. If you want people to take you seriously, you really need to forget about that trading up nonsense.
There is a long way to go until the draft but right now it seems like there are 12-15 guys who are really good and they could all be gone at # 20. Who knows, maybe I will want to trade down on draft day. I usually do. We haven't had a decent pass rusher since John Abraham. I want one.
You're not alone in that. I've been wanting a stud pass rusher since before Abraham was drafted, played sporadically, then was traded away. It will happen. We just wouldn't gain anything if in order to get that pass rusher we created a hole somewhere else, and we're in the mess we're in now precisely because Tanny traded up so often. None of us are going to like it, but we're going to have to be patient. It's easy to fall in love with players and think one has to trade up to get them, but for the most part, that's not how championship teams are built. Our roster didn't get in crappy shape it's in overnight. It took what, 7-8 years of Tanny's drafting and 2 of Idzik's to create this mess with no franchise QB, little depth, old, slow LBs, mediocre OL (except Mangold and Brick), and players who were high picks but have contributed little or nothing to the team and who have problems staying healthy. I think Mac will do us proud and build the kind of team we all want.
