Chadman's 2013 Off-Season Analysis Thread...

[Chadman]

DE:
Not the greatest year for 3-4 DE's, but there are a few options. While the idea of another DE might send a few board members into an apoplectic fit, we have to consider that BOTH starting DE's are UFA's next season...

Sheldon Richardson- Missouri- Round 1- a little short as a 3-4 DE in the Steelers system, but he passes on all the Combin drills- 40 yard (5.02), Bench (30 reps), Vertical (32"). Not convinced he's the best fit for the Steelers at #17 however.

Datone Jones- UCLA- Round 1- 6'4" 283lbs, just about the perfect build for a 3-4 DE. Passes all the Steeler criteria -40 yard (4.80), Bench (29 reps), Vertical (31.5"). Hard to really decide where he lands in Round 1, but if he's available at #17, and the Steelers are not sold on Hood, Jones might get some consideration.

Margus Hunt- SMU- Round 2- 6'8" 277lbs, tall and long, he's got a great frame for a DE. To add to that, he was a Combine freak, topping every Steeler criteria at DE- 40 yard (4.60), Bench (38 reps), Vertical (34.5"). If he is on the board when the Steelers second pick comes up, he might get some very serious consideration.

Malliciah Goodman- Clemson- Round 3- 6'4" 276lbs. Similar build to a young Brett Keisel. Had a good Combine, meeting 2 of 3 Steeler criteria, while JUST missing th 3rd- 40 yard (4.87), Bench (26 reps), Vertical (31.5"). He might be able to help in a rotational role in th short term as he adds bulk. While not convinced th Steelers would grab him in the 3rd, if he was to fall into the 4th...

Lavar Edwards- LSU- Round 4-5- 6'4" 277lbs, almost identical build to Goodman. Like Goodman, he passed 2 of 3 Steeler criteria, but his excuse is different- he didn't perform the Bench. 40 yard (4.80), Vertical (33"), both passed very well. Probably a more likely option than Goodman. Might prove very good value in the latter-mid rounds.

Nick Williams- Samford- Round 7- 6'5" 309lbs, one of the bigger 3-4 DE options, he had a great Combine- 40 yard (4.94), Bench (28 reps), Vertical (33"). Fits the role very well, and could be a very good late option for the Steelers.

[Chadman]

Next group up are the LB's.

Because it is such a large group, the review may be slightly different in it's lay-out to the other positions.

ILB:
The players that Chadman will identify as ILB's for the Steelers are Kevin Minter, Manti Te'o, Kiko Alonso, Jon Bostic, Nico Johnson, Kevin Riddick, AJ Klein, Steve Beauharnais, Alec Ogletree, Arthur Brown, Gerald Hodges, Mike Mauti, Brandon Hepburn & John Lotulelei.

Of this group, only Bostic (4.61), Klein (4.66), Hepburn (4.6 & Ogletree (4.70) met the Steelers 40 yard mark (4.70). (Nico Johnson, Arthur Brown, Kiko Alonso & Mike Mauti did not participate in the 40 Yard)

Of this group, only Mauti (28 reps), Lotulelei (25 reps) & Minter (25 reps) met the Steelers Bench Press mark (25 Reps). (Nico Johnson, Manti Te'o, Kiko Alonso & Arthur Brown did not participate)

Of this group, only Lotulelei (35.5") met the Steelers Vertical Jump mark of 34". (Nico Johnson, Kiko Alonso, Arthur Brown, AJ Klein, Mike Mauti, Kevin Riddick did not participate)

Of this group, only Hepburn (10'4"), Ogletree (10'2"), Hodges (9'11"), Minter (9'11"), Beauharnais (9'10"), Bostic (9'10"), Lotulelei (9'9"), Brown (9'8"), Klein (9'5"), Riddick (9'5"), Te'o (9'5") met the Steelers Broad Jump mark (9'5"). (Nico Johnson, Mike Mauti, Kiko Alonso did not participate.)

Of this group, only Beauharnais (4.2), Bostic (4.24), Te'o (4.27), Lotulelei (4.3), Ogletree (4.39) met the Steelers 20 Yard Shuttle mark (4.40). (Nico Johnson, Kiko Alonso, Arthur Brown, Gerald Hodges, AJ Klein, Kevin Minter & Kevin Riddick did not participate).

Of this group, only Lotulelei (6.91), Beauharnais (6.99), Bostic (6.99) met the Steelers 3 Cone mark (7.00). (Nico Johnson, Mike Mauti, AJ Klein, Kevin Minter, Kevin Riddick, Kiko Alonso, Arthur Brown, Gerald Hodges did not participate).

Obviously a number of ILB options did not take part in their drills, so Pro Days will determine a lot. What we did see though is that John Lotulelei has put himself into consideration, as did Jon Bostic & Steve Beauharnais.

[Chadman]

OLB:
For Steelers 3-4 OLB purposes, the following players will be considered 3-4 OLB's- Dion Jordan, Ezekiel Ansah, Damontre Moore, Alex Okafor, Sam Montgomery, Cornelius Carradine, John Simon, Corey Lemonier, Cornelius Washington, Stansley Mponga, Jarvis Jones, Barkavious Mingo, Khaseem Green, Sio Moore, Jamie Collins, Trevardo Williams, Sean Porter, Brandon Jenkins, Zavier Gooden, Chase Thomas, Ty Powell & Sam Barrington.

As you can see, there are several OLB options that were present at the Combine...

40 Yard- From this group, the following players pass the Steeler Criteria (4.7)- Zavier Gooden (4.47), Cornelius Washington (4.55), Trevardo Williams (4.57), Barkevious Mingo (4.5, Dion Jordan (4.60), Cory Lemonier (4.60), Ezekiel Ansah (4.63), Jamie Collins (4.64), Ty Powell (4.64), Sio Moore (4.65). (Jarvis Jones, Cornelius Carradine, Stansley Mponga, Alex Okefor & John Simon did not participate)

Bench Press- From this group, the following players pass he Steeler Criteria (25 reps)- Cornelius Washington (36), Stansley Mponga (30), Trevardo Williams (30), Sio Moore (29), Cornelius Carradine (2, Zavier Gooden (27), Corey Lemonier (27). (Barkevious Mingo, Sam Montgomery, John Simon, Jarvis Jones did not participate)

Vertical Jump- From this group, the following players pass the Steeler Criteria (34")- Jamie Collins (41.5"), Cornelius Washington (39"), Sio Moore (38"), Trevardo Williams (38"), Barkevious Mingo (37"), Damontre Moore (35.5"), Sean Porter (35.5"), Ezekiel Ansah (34.5"), Sam Montgomery (34.5"). (Jarvis Jones, Cornelius Carradine, Stansley Mponga, Alex Okafor & John Simon did not participate)

Broad Jump- Nearly every LB that performed this drill passed the criteria. It is possible this criteria is irrelevant, or there are just a lot of available athletes for the Steelers!

20 Yard Shuttle- Zavier Gooden (4.1, Khaseem Green (4.20), Ziggy Ansah (4.26), Sio Moore (4.31), Chase Thomas (4.31), Jamie Collins (4.32), Dion Jordan (4.35), Barkevious Mingo (4.39), Corey Lemoner (4.40) & Ty Powell (4.40) all passed the Steelers Criteria of 4.40

3 Cone Drill- Zavier Gooden (6.71), Barkevious Mingo (6.84), Ty Powell (6.9 were the only OLB's to pass the Steeler Criteria of 7.00.

[Chadman]

FS:

Kenny Vaccaro- Texas- Round 1- 6'0" 214lbs. Passed a few Steeler Criteria- Vertical Jump (38"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.06) & 3 Cone (6.7. Very good player who, if available at #17, might take some serious consideration.

Eric Reid- LSU- Round 1-2- 6'1" 213lbs. Passed 4 of the Steelers Criteria- 40 Yard (4.53), Vertical (40.5"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.22) & 3 Cone (6.99). Excellent College career. If available in Round 2, would not be surprised if we hear his name called for the Steelers at all. Playmaker.

Phillip Thomas- Fresno St- Round 2-3- 6'1" 208lbs. Passed the Vertical Jump criteria for the Steelers (35"). Very productive, but might find there are better overall players available elsewhere.

Tony Jefferson- Oklahoma- Round 3- 5'11" 213lbs- Only took part in the 40 Yard & Bench drills & missed the Steeler Criteria in both.

Baccari Rambo- Georgia- Round 3- 6'1" 211lbs- Only took part in the Bench drill & missed the Steeler Criteria.

DJ Swearinger- South Carolina- Round 3-4- 5'11" 208lbs- Passed 3 Steeler Criteria- Vertical Jump (37"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.11) & 3 Cone (6.70). Far from the worst option. Aggresive player that might be great value in the late 3rd/ early 4th range.

TJ McDonald- USC- Round 4- 6'3" 219lbs- Tall & rangy, son of former 49er. Passed 3 Steeler Criteria- Vertical Jump (40"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.20) & 3 Cone (6.89). Big program, good playmaker. Funny build though- all legs.

Josh Evans- Florida- Round 5- 6'1" 207lbs- Passed 2 Steeler Criteria- 20 Yard Shuttle (4.10) & 3 Cone (6.64) displaying excellent agility skills.

Zeke Motta- Notre Dame- Round 5-6- 6'2" 213lbs- Passed 3 Steeler Criteria- Vertical (35.5"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.16) & 3 Cone (6.75) but displayed OLineman speed with a 4.83 40 Yard & only produced 11 reps on the Bench.

Rontez Miles- California (PA)- Round 7- 6'0" 203lbs- Passed 3 Steeler Criteria- Vertical (36.5"), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.27) & 3 Cone (6.97). Plays nasty. Not bad value late in the draft.

Damoin Stafford- Nebraska- Round 7- 6'0" 221lbs- Only passed 1 Steeler Criteria- Bench (21 reps). Might be too big to be a FS, not fast or agile enough.

[Chadman]

SS:

Matt Elam- Florida- Round 1-2- 5'10" 208lbs. Passed 2 Steeler Criteria (did not perform 20 Yard or 3 Cone)- 40 Yard (4.54) & Vertical Jump (35.5"). Smart, playmaker. Comes up big in big games. Team leader. not the worst Round 2 choice.

Jonathan Cyprien- Florida Int- Round 2- 6'0" 217lbs. Only participated in the Vertical Jump drill & passed (38.5"). Sharply rising stock, had good Senior Bowl week. Not sure how his level of competition will effect his draft grade.

Shamarko Thomas- Syracuse- Round 2-3- 5'09" 213lbs. Short, athletic player. Sharly rising stock. Passed 4 of 5 Steeler Criteria (Did not participate in 3 Cone)- 40 Yard (4.42), Vertical (40.5"), Bench (28 Reps) & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.26). Might be a 'downhill' type player more than an agile one, despite his obvious speed. How will his height effect his draft grade?

Shawn Williams- Georgia- Round 3- 6'0" 213lbs- Passed 4 of 5 Steeler Criteria- 40 Yard (4.46), Bench (25 reps), Vertical (36") & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.25). Doesn't seem to have his stock going up or down, despite good Combine. Compares favourably to Shamarko Thomas on nearly every athletic grade.

JJ Wilcox- Georgia Southern- Round 3-4- 6'0" 213lbs- Passed 2 Steeler Criteria- Vertical Jump (35") & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.09). Stock rising since Senior Bowl.

Robert Lester- Alabama- Round 4-5- 6'1" 220lbs- Did not pass 1 Steeler criteria. Stock falling.

Earl Wolffe- North Carolina- Round 6- 5'11" 209lbs- Passed 3 of 3 Steeler Criteria (did not participate in Bench or 3 Cone)- 40 Yard (4.44), Vertical (39") & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.07). Will be interesting to see how he grades at his Pro Day, and if the Steelers are in attendance.

Keelan Johnson - Arizona St- Round 7- 6'0" 209lbs- Passed 3 Steeler Criteria- 40 Yard (4.54), Vertical (36.5") & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.07). Displays good running speed & agility. Might be worth a look in the 7th.

[Chadman]

Moving on to the last group..

CB:

Dee Milliner- Alabama- Round 1- He'll be gone by the Steelers pick.

Xavier Rhodes- Florida St- Round 1- 6'2" 210lbs- Passed 3 of 4 Criteria the Steelers favour (missing the Bench mark by 1 Rep)- 40 Yard (4.43), Vertical (40.5"), Broad Jump (11'00"). Big time player in a big time program that produced another Steeler 1st round pick in Timmons. Physical. Reports suggest he's not a good Zone defender, however. Big possibility at #17 if Lewis signs elsewhere.

Desmond Trufant- Washington- Round 1- 6'0" 190lbs- No player has helped themself as much as Trufant has through the Senior Bowl & now the Combine. Passed every Steeler Criteria (except 3 Cone- did not participate)- 40 Yard (4.3, Bench (16 Reps), Vertical (37.5"), Broad Jump (10'5") & 20 Yard Shuttle (3.85). Extremely competitive. Aggressive. Good ball player. Willing tackler, but technique needs work. Very confident. Excellent Senior Bowl week. Love it- strong chance at #17.

Johnthan Banks- Mississippi St- Round 1-2- 6'2" 185lbs- Bad Combine. Competed in every drill but only passed 1 Steeler Criteria- Broad Jump (10'5"). Ran a slow 40 at 4.61. Might be a Safety at NFL level with those numbers. The opposite of Trufant- no player hurt themselves more than Banks at the Combine. Could drop lower than expected.

Jamar Taylor- Boise St- Round 2- 5'11" 192lbs- Completed in every drill & passed every Steeler selection criteria- 40 Yard (4.39), Bench (22 reps), Vertical (35"), Broad (10'7"), 20 Yard (4.06), 3 Cone (6.82). Had a great Senior Bowl, like Trufant. Competitive player. Not a bad 2nd prize if you miss on the top 3.

David Amerson- North Carolina St- Round 2- 6'1" 205lbs- Good build for a Steelers CB. Passed 4 Steeler Criteria (did not perform the 20 yard or 3 cone)- 40 yard (4.44), bench (15 reps), vertical (35.5") & broad jump (10'7"). If the Steelers want a CB, this guy fits the bill easily.

Jordan Poyer- Oregon St- Round 2- 6'0" 201lbs- Yet another quality player. However....only passed 2 of the Steeler criteria- 20 yard (4.1 and 3 cone (6.87). His other drills fell significantly short in some cases. Willing to suggest he might be on the bottom of the selection pile.


Darius Slay- Mississippi St- Round 2- 6'0" 192lbs- and another quality CB. But again, like Poyer, misses on a few criteria. Only passed 3 drills- 40 yard (4.34), broad jump (10'4") and vertical (35.5"). Not sure...

Robert Alford- Southeastern Louisiana- Round 2-3- 5'10" 188lbs. Smaller CB than most of those before him, and from a smaller program. Took part in all drills & passed 5 of the 6 the Steelers tend to favour- 40 Yard (4.39), Bench (17 reps), Vertical Jump (40"), Broad Jump (11'00") & 3 Cone (6.89). Tested very well. Is he projected too high? Perhaps. If he falls beyond the 3rd, would be a very good option.

Tyrann Mathieu- LSU- Round 2-3- 5'9" 186lbs. Plenty of character concerns here. Smaller style CB. Attempted all drills, passing 3 Steeler criteria- 40 Yard (4.50), 3 Cone (6.87) & 20 Yard Shuttle (4.14). Doubt he's the guy for the Steelers.

Dwayne Gratz- Connecticut- Round 2-3- 5'11" 201lbs. Looked very good in drills at the Senior Bowl. Then proceeded to have a good Combine, passing all Steeler criteria- 40 Yard (4.47), Bench (22 reps), Vertical (38"), Broad (10'5"), 3 Cone (6.70), 20 Yard Shuttle (4.15). Stock is rising. Can look a little slow to react at times, but not terribly. Would be a nice pick.

BW Webb- William & Mary- Round 3- 5'10" 184lbs. Tomlin's old college. Will that help Webb? Played well all Senior Bowl week. Had a decent Combine. Competed in all drills, missing only 2 Steeler criteria, both by hardly anything. He did pass Vertical (40.5"), Broad (11'00"), 3 Cone (6.82) & 20 Yard Shuttle (3.84). Obviously very athletic. Might not be a bad "Cortez Allen" style project.

Other CB's that met a few Steeler Criteria include Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Brandon McGee, Nickell Robey, Steve Williams & Marc Anthony.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

RB:
Knile Davis- Arkansas- Round 5-7- 5'11" 227lbs. WOW, what a Combine! He went from a nowhere type pick to potentially much higher than he really should be picked. Passed 2 Steeler criteria very well- 40 Yard (4.37) & Bench Press (31 Reps). If his Pro Day goes anything like the Combine, he could move into the middle rounds. Not convinced his a mid-round RB, however.

Don't be surprised if he's picked in the mid-rounds, even by the Steelers. He was only forgotten in 2012 because Bobby Petrino hosed him by getting fired. Petrino had a reputation for picking dang good backs that were forgetten because his offense passes a lot. 3 backs where drafted from Louisville during his tenure (M.Bush, Kolby Smith and Eric Shelton) in addition to Anthony Allen who transferred from Louisville to Ga Tech and is now with the Ravens.

From what I've seen of the kid, he uses his speed, runs reasonably hard, but, doesn't have a lot of "wiggle"... he "weaves", more than he "cuts" - rather than side to side, he goes forward. If he needs to dance, he takes indecisive baby steps... all in all, he'd be great for a zone-blocking, one-cut, run downhill system.

[Chadman]

Don't be surprised if he's picked in the mid-rounds, even by the Steelers. He was only forgotten in 2012 because Bobby Petrino hosed him by getting fired. Petrino had a reputation for picking dang good backs that were forgetten because his offense passes a lot. 3 backs where drafted from Louisville during his tenure (M.Bush, Kolby Smith and Eric Shelton) in addition to Anthony Allen who transferred from Louisville to Ga Tech and is now with the Ravens.

From what I've seen of the kid, he uses his speed, runs reasonably hard, but, doesn't have a lot of "wiggle"... he "weaves", more than he "cuts" - rather than side to side, he goes forward. If he needs to dance, he takes indecisive baby steps... all in all, he'd be great for a zone-blocking, one-cut, run downhill system.

You might be very, very right...

[Chadman]

Let's see if we can track some Steelers attendances at Pro Days..

OHIO STATE:
Both Kevin Colbert & Dick LeBeau have been mentioned as having been in attendance.

AUBURN:
Keith Butler put Corey Lemonier through LB drills.

MIAMI:
Steelers scout Dave Petett was seen at Miami Pro Day.

UAB:
Steelers were paying attention to ILB Marvin Boudette.

UMASS:
Steelers scouts were in attendance.

KENT STATE:
Steelers OL Coaches were in attendance.

PITTSBURGH:
No surprise, Steelers were in attendance.

TEXAS A&M:
Steelers Kirby Wilson interviewed RB Christine Michael.

NEBRASKA:
Carnell Lake was in attendance, checking on SS Damion Stafford.

TCU:
Steelers were in attendance to watch Stansley Maponga.

MISSOURI SOUTHERN:
Steelers were in attendance to see NT Brandon Williams.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

Let's see if we can track some Steelers attendances at Pro Days..

OHIO STATE:
Both Kevin Colbert & Dick LeBeau have been mentioned as having been in attendance.

AUBURN:
Keith Butler put Corey Lemonier through LB drills.

MIAMI:
Steelers scout Dave Petett was seen at Miami Pro Day.

UAB:
Steelers were paying attention to ILB Marvin Boudette.

UMASS:
Steelers scouts were in attendance.

KENT STATE:
Steelers OL Coaches were in attendance.

PITTSBURGH:
No surprise, Steelers were in attendance.

TEXAS A&M:
Steelers Kirby Wilson interviewed RB Christine Michael.

NEBRASKA:
Carnell Lake was in attendance, checking on SS Damion Stafford.

TCU:
Steelers were in attendance to watch Stansley Maponga.

MISSOURI SOUTHERN:
Steelers were in attendance to see NT Brandon Williams.

Very nice info, Chadman. They sound pretty focused on defense - that makes me happy. FWIW, I REALLY hope Sean Spence can play - I was the "remember Dat Nguyen?" guy last year....