Steelers starting to sign their rookie draft picks

[RuthlessBurgher]

One down, seven more to go...


Steelers Sign Sixth-Round Pick L.T. Walton

Posted 1 hour ago

Walton is the first of the Steelers' 2015 draft selections to sign with the team.

The Steelers have signed their first of two sixth-round selections, defensive end L.T. Walton, from the 2015 NFL Draft. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.

Walton (6-5, 319), who was the 199th overall pick, played collegiately at Central Michigan. In 39 games, Walton totaled 106 tackles to go along with six sacks, 18.5 TFLs, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He started all 12 games in 2014 and earned first-team All-MAC accolades.

Walton is the first of the Steelers’ eight draft selections from the 2015 NFL Draft to sign with the team.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Steelers-Sign-Sixth-Round-Pick-LT-Walton/5dd63e4c-7940-4dcd-8bb3-13e029a7c153

[RuthlessBurgher]

By Mike Wilkening
May 11, 2015, 9:36 AM EDT
Steelers sign Doran Grant, Anthony Chickillo

The Steelers have reached deals with two more draft picks, signing Ohio State cornerback Doran Grant (Round Four) and Miami (Fla.) outside linebacker/defensive end Anthony Chickillo (Round Six), the club said Monday.

A two-season starter for the Buckeyes, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Grant notched 121 tackles, defended 22 passes and hauled in eight interceptions from 2013 through 2014. He could vie for playing time in a Pittsburgh secondary that is in transition.

The 6-foot-3, 267-pound Chickillo started all four seasons for the Hurricanes, recording 170 tackles and 15.5 sacks. He will get a look at outside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme.

Grant and Chickillo are the second and third draft selections to sign with Pittsburgh. The Steelers signed Central Michigan defensive tackle Leterrius Walton (Round Six) on Friday. Pittsburgh has five unsigned draft picks.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Halfway there now...

By Josh Alper
May 12, 2015, 5:02 PM EDT
Steelers sign Senquez Golson

After the Ravens traded up to take tight end Maxx Williams one pick before the Steelers were set to select in the second round of the draft, there were reports that the Steelers’ plans to draft Williams were dashed by their divisional rivals.

General Manager Kevin Colbert denied that was the case and said that cornerback Senquez Golson was the team’s man all along. Golson became the 56th pick of the draft and the Steelers announced Tuesday that he’s agreed to a four-year deal with the team.

Golson picked off 16 passes while starting 33 games at Ole Miss, with 10 of them coming in an All-America campaign during the 2014 season. He showed well at the combine and probably would have gone higher if he could reach a little higher without standing on tiptoes. At 5-9, Golson is shorter than the prototypical outside corner that many teams are looking for these days. That could leave him to play in the slot, but that’s hardly an insignificant addition to a Steelers team that’s short (no pun intended) on corners.

The Steelers have four picks left to sign, including first-round linebacker Bud Dupree.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Steelers sign No. 5 pick Jesse James

Posted 4 hours ago

James becomes the fifth draft pick from 2015 to sign with the team.

The Steelers have signed their fifth-round selection, tight end Jesse James, from the 2015 NFL Draft. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.

James (6-7, 261), who was the 160th overall pick, played collegiately at Penn State. He hauled in 78 receptions for 1,005 yards with 11 touchdowns in his Nittany Lion career. James’ 11 scoring grabs set a Penn State record among tight ends.

James is the fifth of the Steelers’ eight draft selections from the 2015 NFL Draft to sign with the team.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Steelers-sign-No-5-pick-Jesse-James/43e9a99f-da92-491a-96e9-21fe3cc31946

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers sign first-round pick Bud Dupree to four-year, $9.2 M contact, $5 M signing bonus, plus 5th option year

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) May 14, 2015

[Rara]

Boom! Glad to see that Dupree is officially signed and a Steeler! All that's left is Coates, right?

[hawaiiansteel]

Boom! Glad to see that Dupree is officially signed and a Steeler! All that's left is Coates, right?

and Holliman...

[Rara]

Ahh yes, wondering what's taking the last pick for the Steelers so long to sign?

[hawaiiansteel]

Ahh yes, wondering what's taking the last pick for the Steelers so long to sign?

he obviously has a bad attitude and needs to be made an example of...

cut Holliman now! ;)

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Ahh yes, wondering what's taking the last pick for the Steelers so long to sign?

He is holding out for a first round contract because a mock draft in February showed him going in the first. :D

He will not accept one dollar less than what Dupree got.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers sign third-round pick Sammie Coates

http://www.steelers.com/assets/images/imported/PIT/photos/2015-Photos/2015_Centerpiece_Misc/05_May/Coates_05082015_CP_1.jpg

Coates is the seventh of the team's eight draft 2015 NFL Draft selections to sign with the team.

The Steelers have signed their third-round selection, wide receiver Sammie Coates, from the 2015 NFL Draft. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.

Coates (6-1, 212), who was the 87th overall pick, played collegiately at Auburn. A three-year starter, Coates finished his Tiger career ranked 10th in school history with 1,757 receiving yards to go along with seven career 100-yard games and 13 touchdown catches.

Coates is the seventh of the Steelers’ eight draft selections from the 2015 NFL Draft to sign with the team.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Steelers-sign-third-round-pick-Sammie-Coates/0d77180b-8f6b-4dc3-acc0-eb1381334aed

[Slapstick]

I think that nearly all of the draft picks, with the exception of Anthony Chickillo, can make the team...if only because roster spots have opened up:

Bud Dupree - takes Jason Worilds' spot
Senquez Golson - takes Ike Taylor's
Sammie Coates - takes Lance Moore's
Doran Grant - takes Brice McCain's
Jesse James - no spot "open"; competing with Michael Palmer and Rob Branchflower for #3 TE spot
Laterrious Walton - takes Brett Keisel's spot; competing with various DL
Anthony Chickillo - no spot "open"; LOTS of competition for 5th (perhaps 6th?) OLB spot
Gerod Holliman - takes Troy Polamalu's spot

Now, I'm not saying these guys are a lock...maybe picks 1-4...but opportunities are there...and that's not usual for a team that won their division.

[Oviedo]

I think that nearly all of the draft picks, with the exception of Anthony Chickillo, can make the team...if only because roster spots have opened up:

Bud Dupree - takes Jason Worilds' spot
Senquez Golson - takes Ike Taylor's
Sammie Coates - takes Lance Moore's
Doran Grant - takes Brice McCain's
Jesse James - no spot "open"; competing with Michael Palmer and Rob Branchflower for #3 TE spot
Laterrious Walton - takes Brett Keisel's spot; competing with various DL
Anthony Chickillo - no spot "open"; LOTS of competition for 5th (perhaps 6th?) OLB spot
Gerod Holliman - takes Troy Polamalu's spot

Now, I'm not saying these guys are a lock...maybe picks 1-4...but opportunities are there...and that's not usual for a team that won their division.

I agree with you. I think Chickillo will have the hardest time simply because of numbers at LB. IMO he is most likely to be sent to the practice squad. I think the most interesting training camp battle will between J James and R Branchflower for the #3 TE spot. Classic competition between potential with James and with Branchflower's experience being in the system for a year. I really doubt they ever get James to clear waivers and make it to the PS whereas Branchflower likely could for one more year.

[K Train]

I wouldnt be surprised if Chickillo made it, he is a candidate to beast through camp

Keisel was only about 10 pounds heavier than Chickillo, i could see them keeping him on in that capacity....a guy that can play DE or OLB in a pinch. Obviously Keisel was a devastating special teamer so Chickillo would have to show up big time there.

Keisel was a wedge buster that grew into a 5 tech DE when kimo left

[Iron City Inc.]

I don't know what Blanchflower is. James however can block and that battle at Latrobe should be a good one. My money would be on James who had he stayed in school would likely have been a day 2 pick in 16. That said perhaps both will push for a spot and Spaeth who is 31 now may have to fight to stick around. I'll be watching this one closely at camp and let you know what I see.

[RuthlessBurgher]

In my first attempt at predicting the 53 man roster and 10 man practice squad (http://www.planetsteelers.com/forums/showthread.php/44437-A-WAY-TOO-EARLY-post-draft-attempt-to-predict-a-53-man-roster-amp-10-man-practice-squad), I had our first 6 draft picks making the team as rookies, and our last 2 picks going onto the practice squad to start the season (Howard Jones over Chickillo and Ross Ventrone over Holliman based off experience and perceived special teams capabilities for players on the bubble).

[Oviedo]

In my first attempt at predicting the 53 man roster and 10 man practice squad (http://www.planetsteelers.com/forums/showthread.php/44437-A-WAY-TOO-EARLY-post-draft-attempt-to-predict-a-53-man-roster-amp-10-man-practice-squad), I had our first 6 draft picks making the team as rookies, and our last 2 picks going onto the practice squad to start the season (Howard Jones over Chickillo and Ross Ventrone over Holliman based off experience and perceived special teams capabilities for players on the bubble).

I could see it going that way if Holliman's tackling woes manifest themselves in camp. In an earlier thread I suggested that if part of the problem is truly a shoulder issue then the team may stash Holliman on the IR to get his shoulder fixed. However, it would be nice to see him make the Final 53 and put some of that playmaking ability on the field. The ball just seems to find him.

[RuthlessBurgher]

On No. 1s signing, a radical idea for PATs

Posted 7 hours ago

Bob Labriola Steelers.com

Bud Dupree is the first Steelers No. 1 pick to sign his rookie deal before the start of OTAs.

Ready or not, here it comes:

* So, the Steelers got their first-round draft pick signed last week. Bud Dupree signed the standard rookie contract – four years with a team option for a fifth – and his deal was reported to contain a $5 million signing bonus for the player who was the 22nd overall selection of the draft.

* So, the Steelers got their first-round draft pick signed last week – and the date was May 14. When Dupree signed his rookie contract, the start of OTAs was still 12 days away. The start of OTAs is almost a month before minicamp, which is more than a month before the start of training camp.

* And the Steelers are not alone in this trend. By May 17, more than 70 percent of the entire 2015 draft class had signed rookie contracts with their respective teams.

* To put the Steelers’ signing of Dupree on May 14 in a little perspective, Rod Woodson didn’t sign his rookie contract as the Steelers’ No. 1 draft pick in 1987 until Oct. 28, just about three full months AFTER training camp opened that year. Tim Worley missed a month of training camp in 1989 before signing his rookie contract; Eric Green missed about seven weeks, which took him into the regular season before he signed in 1990. Mark Bruener missed a week in 1995; Alan Faneca missed nine days in 1998.

* The last Steelers first-round pick to sign after training camp opened was Ben Roethlisberger, who missed four days before signing his rookie contract in 2004. Since then, every Steelers No. 1 pick has been under contract in time for the start of training camp.

* Dupree is the first Steelers No. 1 pick to sign before the start of OTAs.

* There are many things the NFL gets wrong, but in the latest CBA the provisions put in place that streamlined the signing process for rookie draft picks in a way that has eliminated training camp holdouts represented real progress.

* Speaking of things the NFL got wrong, this “revision” to the extra point, to me at least, doesn’t seem to meet the standard of making it more of a football play and therefore increasing the fans’ interest in it. After fooling around with various ideas for months, what the NFL decided upon – at least for the 2015 season – is that the one-point PAT now will have the ball snapped from the 15-yard line, while teams electing to try a two-point conversion still will snap the ball from the 2-yard line.

* So instead of a 20-yard kick, which NFL specialists were converting at 99 percent, it becomes about a 33-yard kick, which NFL specialists convert at 94 percent.

* Why even bother with such a minor tweak? If injecting excitement into the extra point was the goal, how about this: The 11 players on the field when a team scores a touchdown are the same 11 who must be on the field for the conversion attempt, whether it be a placement kick or an attempt for two points, with either try coming from the 2-yard line.

* If a team thinks somebody on its offense can kick it between the uprights, have at it. If not, go for two.

* It would be especially interesting if a team returns a kick for a touchdown, because again, those are the same 11 who would be required to be on the field for the conversion.

* Imagine a pick-six. Same 11 on the field for the conversion attempt.

* This also could require some strategic planning. Such as this situation: Your team is trailing, 28-21, late in the fourth quarter when the opponent attempts a pass that is intercepted by your defense. As the defensive player is racing toward the goal line, does he step out of bounds at the 1-yard line to get the offense on the field so that after the touchdown the team would have a representative 11 for the conversion attempt?

* Or does he complete the play by scoring the touchdown and then hope there are three guys on that defense who can snap, hold, and kick the extra point?

* Betcha fewer people would head for the refrigerator if what they would miss would be a defensive unit lining up for a conversion, down 28-27, late in the fourth quarter. Certainly fewer than the number of people who would risk that trip if an NFL placekicker was eyeing the goalposts from the 23-yard line.

* The Steelers were awarded Devin Gardner off waivers last week, and the immediate reaction by many in the blogosphere was that the team was interested in recreating the ‘slash’ role made famous in 1995 by Kordell Stewart.

* Actually, this is more similar to the team drafting Antwaan Randle El in 2002.

* Stewart was drafted by the Steelers to play quarterback, and he ended up as a wide receiver as a rookie when injuries left the team thin at the position and he volunteered to help out there during practice since he was doing nothing as the fourth quarterback on the roster. When Bill Cowher saw how much trouble his defensive backs were having trying to cover Stewart during practice, ‘slash’ was created.

* Gardner is not seen as a quarterback prospect at the NFL level, much in the same way Randle El was not when he was coming out of Indiana. Gardner is no Randle El, however, either as a receiver or a kick returner. He is nothing more a project right now who intrigued the Steelers with his size (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) and will be tried at receiver.

* “Tried at receiver” is the key phrase, because Gardner is guaranteed nothing.

* Not even an invitation to Saint Vincent College.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/On-No-1s-signing-a-radical-idea-for-PATs/1e1445a1-5cba-4625-9256-58395a2faefa