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

[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.