I am going to start a series of articles on players the Pittsburgh Steelers might be interested in in each round of the NFL Draft. I know it is hard to keep up on the hundreds of draft eligible players, so below are some names that you should keep your ears open for when you are listening to draft coverage.
To start things off, with the most glaring need for the first time in 18 years, we will look at the quarterback position:
Round One
This is probably the worst draft in recent memory to go in needing a QB. There isn’t a consensus "best" as each and everyone has at least one red flag or unknown factor. But if I were to take a first round QB at pick 20, I would have to choose Kenny Pickett.
Pickett is a cerebral quarterback who understands the nuances of the game. He diagnoses and reads defenses as good as anyone in the draft. He has enough arm to throw a 10-yard out route. He is above average in the accuracy department. His size and speed is good enough to avoid pressure or move the chains if need be.
But here’s the bad. One year wonder and the questions are why did it click this year or was it a product of an easy schedule and a veteran supporting cast. Hand size is a physical question he will have to answer. Maybe not the most important thing in the world but when Myles Garrett comes around the corner for a strip sack, can he hang onto the football? Also, at age 24 he is one of the older prospects in the draft.
I would feel more comfortable drafting a safer and higher need position or trading back and seeing if we can get a quarterback later, because there’s no guarantee a quarterback picked at 20 is going to beat out a veteran free agent or Mason Rudolph who has experience in this offense.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Poor man's Joe Burrow
LOW END - Colt McCoy
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Round Two
Round two is where I personally start getting more interested in quarterbacks. Sam Howell from North Carolina really impressed at the Senior Bowl, and watching his tape, he has a good arm, above average accuracy, a real impressive deep ball, and is athletic enough to run some RPO’s if needed.
His career at North Carolina is extremely impressive, but did regress a little every year which could be a red flag or perhaps his surrounding cast departing for the NFL. At age 21 , he's already graduated as a true junior. This is a positive to me.
The negatives will be his height and his footwork. When he sets his feet and steps into his throws, he is definitely accurate, but he has a tendency to open his hips or not set his feet when he throws. This causes his passes to sail a bit on him.
I would definitely start feeling more comfortable with a quarterback after maybe solidifying the LT, DT or CB position in round one. Filling a big hole like that would help the team in general more, and allow the Steelers to possibly stick with Rudolph for a season.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Poor man's Drew Brees
LOW END - Mitchell Trubisky
Round Three
Carson Strong was at the top of my board early on. Watching his tape, he shows great accuracy and an NFL-caliber arm. Even with his knee injury, he seems to move well enough to extend some plays down the field. He also played against decent passing defenses and had good numbers. Cal ranked 38th - Strong 312 2/1, Fresno 54th - Strong - 476 4/1, UNLV ranked 63 - Strong 417 4/1, Air Force ranked 13th - Strong 351 4/1, Colorado St ranked 33rd - Strong 288 4/0. Watching the tape, Strong regularly throws with velocity and accurately to spots where he anticipated where his receiver would be and regularly diagnosed single coverage and/or manipulated safeties to create space for his receivers.
During the Senior Bowl, I saw late passes, high looping passes, and little anticipation. My concern is his stats were largely in part to his in depth understanding of the offense he was involved with for four seasons, and the supporting cast of future NFL talents. I feel he would not come in and be able to challenge year one for the starting spot. His Wonderlic score would definitely be something I am interested in when that information comes out.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Matthew Stafford
LOW END - Chad Henne
Round Four
Malik Willis might have improved his draft stock at the Senior Bowl practices, but he showed me the same old during the game. So that is why I have him ranked a 4th round prospect.
Talent wise, he has all the athleticism and arm strength one could imagine. But he isn’t as tall as one would prefer and definitely not a Cam Newton physically or a Lamar Jackson with his legs. Some film looks good and you can see the talent with his arm and legs and that is why he’s an NFL talent.
The negative side is there’s just as much film of his underachieving, and even struggling with reading defenses and running his own offense. He needs to see it to throw it and that works against some college teams but no NFL team lets you consistently throw when the receiver is open. He’s a guy that you sit on the bench for two years before you evaluate what you have.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Steve McNair
LOW END - Kordell Stewart
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Round Five
Bailey Zappe is an intriguing prospect as in the fact he has moved up the college rankings, and transferred to Division I, Western Kentucky, where he put up Madden like numbers. 5,967 yards at 69.3% completion percentage with 62 TDs to 11 INTs. You might think it’s the system or schedule, but considering Zappe’s numbers are triple last years combined quarterbacks and over double the year before, I would not be so sure about system. And against Indiana and Michigan St., Zappe had 853 yards and 6 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. He has the accuracy and he sees things open early, knows how to read a defense and has command of an offense.
His size and arm strength is always going to be his major drawback. Just over 6’ and a way below average arm, he has to live on slants and seam routes. He can throw a comeback or back shoulder, but I would not trust him to throw a 10-yard out unless you want to risk a pick-six.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Chad Pennington
LOW END - Ty Detmer
Round Six
Cole Kelley is more of your traditional drop back and chuck it QB, but is more nimble for his size than one would believe. When I say size, I mean SIZE. Dude is listed at 6-7 260lbs and I don’t doubt any of that. He has a strong arm, good accuracy, and his mechanics look to have improved every year. Hard to bring down and is Superman strong.
His level of competition is a major factor. He hasn't played against teams that have much NFL talent. He threw a lot of ill advised passes and seems to trust his arm a little too much. Doesn’t seem to read defenses as well as he should considering level of competition. Definitely a project with at least two years needed under his belt before throwing him into an NFL game. Might be best to stash him on a practice squad for a year before moving him up to the 53-man roster.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Ben Roethlisberger
LOW END - JaMarcus Russell
Round 7
Dustin Crum to me is a safe backup at the very least. He would fit nicely in a RPO offense and he is just a gamer. He is decently accurate and at least an average NFL arm. But he is very smart with the football rarely throwing into coverage, moves the chains with his feet if need be, but does a good job of looking downfield to spot a bigger play until he crosses the LOS.
His throwing motion is not good, and his mechanics are poor to say the least. Not an A+ athlete by any means.
COMPARISON:
HIGH END - Taylor Heinicke
LOW END - Trace McSorley
Who are yinz hoping the Steelers pick up in this year's NFL Draft come April? Click to comment below!
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