Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

[steelblood]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Wallace is great right now. But, guys whose entire game is dependent on speed usually don't have long careers. Add to that Wallace's long skinny legs and duck foot style which leaves him more prone to injury, I would not mind if the Steelers simply offered him the highest tender and then franchised him next season if he is dominating again. I doubt that someone is going to pay him top money and give up a 1st and 3rd round pick. If they do, at least we got a great return on our investment (for a 3rd round pick we got 3 years of production and a couple of nice picks).

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Wallace is great right now. But, guys whose entire game is dependent on speed usually don't have long careers. Add to that Wallace's long skinny legs and duck foot style which leaves him more prone to injury, I would not mind if the Steelers simply offered him the highest tender and then franchised him next season if he is dominating again. I doubt that someone is going to pay him top money and give up a 1st and 3rd round pick. If they do, at least we got a great return on our investment (for a 3rd round pick we got 3 years of production and a couple of nice picks).

The highest RFA tender that we could give him right now would only result in 1st round compensation (not 1st and 3rd) under this new CBA.

[papillon]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

The interesting positions to look at in regards to "inserting an untested player without Vet competition already in place" appears to be-

LG- With Kemo likely gone, Legursky will be 'slated' as the starting LG if he is signed. It's likely the Steelers will look at an OG or two in the draft, but expect a Vet like Legursky to be brought back to 'hold' the position until it becomes apparent the player behind him is better. The other option is to sign an UFA, but given the cap situation at the moment, it is difficult to find a player that can be guarenteed a starter on Vet minimum money. The likely scenario- Legursky #1 on a cap friendly multi-year contract, and a rookie backing him up.

RG- Ramon Foster is a RFA, and will likely be tendered. Once that is done, he'll likely be named the starter at RG. A rookie or UFA could be brought in to challange this spot however as the FO seem to be constantly trying to replace Foster.

NT- Hoke & Hampton could be gone, and McLendon is an ERFA. McLendon is likely to come back, Hoke is likely to retire. Hampton? Chances are they'll want to restructure his contract. but if Casey is reluctant, or if the cap hit is still too high, the Steelers could just cut him & draft a guy to 'challenge' McLendon. Chadman doubts that the Steelers would feel comfortable going forward with McLendon #1, Rookie #2 at NT though.

ILB- Farrior holds the key to a number of issues- Larry Foote's status, Stevenson Sylvester's playing time, and the draft investment in an ILB. Chadman 'expects' Farrior to take a paycut, then split time with Sylvester. Or retire. But likely a paycut. That would mean the end for Larry Foote, who is quite possibly the better ILB at this point. If the Steelres don't think Sylvester is the future, drafting an ILB on draft day is very likely.

So the key players as far as Chadman sees it here are Legursky, Kemo, Foster, Hampton, McLendon, Farrior & Foote. These guys will be the biggest influences as far as their contract/status will impact the season coming up.

Realistically, what happens with guys like Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, Arnaz Battle, Bryant McFadden, Dennis Dixon, Chris Hoke & Max Starks may have very little impact on the team next season. They are either already replaced, or very replaceable.

The 'variable' impact player may be Willie Gay, who stepped up his game this season. If the rookies/young players are ready to step in to Gay's role, the Steelers are fine at CB. But if they haven't developed as hoped, Gay may become a priority signing.

How about this plan for left guard and it helps the salary cap situation, because we wouldn't be signing Wallace to a contract and we would be getting the best guard in the draft?

The board has been bantering around Mike Wallace and his worth or lack of it for the past few weeks. Prior to the current CBA a top tender for a player that will become an RFA was a 1st and a 3rd round pick. The current CBA limits it to a first round only (I think).

The Patriots need help on the outside (and their draft position is very late) and the Steelers need help at guard. what if the Steelers could get New England's first (1.31) and their third round (3.95) for Wallace? Then the Steelers try to trade into the 12th, 13th or 14th spot by using their 1st and 2nd round picks (and they may have to throw in a late round selection as well) to grab Decastro. This would leave the Steelers with DeCastro, and picks at 1.31, 3.88 and 3.95 in the first three rounds, but they wouldn't have Wallace any longer or their second round pick.

Would it be worth it?

Pappy

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

As we draw near the start of FA, the Steelers have done either a remarkable job of getting their contracts in-line with the Salary Cap, or they've doomed the franchise to cap Hell in the near future, depending on your point of view.

Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Ike Taylor, Ben Roethlisberger & Willie Colon have all restructured to free up millions, coupled with the release of Bryany McFadden & Arnaz Battle- somewhere around the $29 million mark has now been shaved off the Salary Cap- that's some handy maths right there.

Of course, the Steelers still have FA's to sign, so the cuts/ re-structures may not have ended yet.

Still in 'the firing line' would seem to be James Farrior, Larry Foote, Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, James Harrison, Jonathon Scott, Chris Kemoeatu, Aaron Smith & Will Allen.

Colbert has already stated he wants Casey back- so a re-structure seems likely there.

It seems most likely that 1 of either Farrior or Foote will return- most likely Farrior, but you never know. It's most likely the other LB will be released.

Polamalu & Harrison might still be asked to restructure their deals if things get tight.

Jonathon Scott & Will Allen seem to be dead men walking & are just waiting for their marching orders. That said- wouldn't be surprised to either or even both brought back post-draft if depth is required.

Kemo is interesting. Logic would suggest he should already be cut- but the Steelers are nothing if not 'safe'. Outside of Kemo they have no OG's with starting experience on the roster. If/when Legursky & Foster reach agreements with the Steelers, Kemo might be sent packing at that point.

Ward & Smith will be the 2 heart breakers for many, if cut. The longer it goes on, the more Chadman just starts to wonder though- if Casey doesn't restructure, and if Ziggy goes to NT...could Smith stay on? Chances are- no...but he has given no indication he's retiring at this point. Ward...here's betting he'll get cut. That said- if Wallace flies the coup, and Cotchery asks for too much...maybe there is a spot for Hines afterall...

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

So we turn our heads for now to the Combine & the 2012 NFL Draft.

Chadman will try to update the reported visits/conversations/scouts in attendance/ love notes slipped inside the school books for Steelers targets as they become apparent on THIS post.

So far:
Steelers are scheduled to talk to Alabama ILB Dant'a Hightower
Steelers have spoken to Pitt OG Lucas Nix
Steelers have spoken to Cincinnatti RB Isiah Pead
Steelers have interviewed WVU OLB Bruce Irvin

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Not sure if any of you remember an interview Kevin Colbert did a few years back on how they ensure they don't reach for picks in each round by grouping the prospects in "Draft Bubbles"- essentially, groups of ten players that the Steelers feel will be available at or around their pick in each respective round, then ranked 1-10. As they come off the board, they mark the name off & then when their pick arrives- they take their selection from the remaining names in that 'bubble'.

As Chadman is not an actual scout, and doesn't have access to any inside information, Chadman will attempt to create "Draft Bubbles" for each round using several mock draft/ draft information sites as the guide. Chadman will list the 7 players either side of the projected Steeler pick, along with the projected Steeler pick- to give 15 potential names from each mock draft site. Then we'll sift through the names, find the 10 that figure most closely to the projected Steeler pick, and put those names in 'the bubble'.

As in previous years, Chadman will stick with the Big School/ Big Production theory for the first 2 rounds, as the Steelers certainly seem to stick with that plan with ever increasing success. So players that fall with 7 picks of the projected Steeler pick that don't pass big school/ big production- will be removed.

Also, players with questionable character will be removed as we all know the Steelers don't take risks early in the draft.

To give the mock draft sites selections value (in order to take away too much personal preference in the 'system'), Chadman will give players 7 picks from the Steelers a 1 point value, 6 picks from the Steelers a 2 point value, and so on...so that we'll have the 10 players that score the highest as our selections.

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

WALTER FOOTBALL
1 Point- CB Dre Kirkpatrick, OLB Vinny Curry
2 Points- TE Coby Fleener, SS Mark Barron
3 Points- WR Micheal Floyd, ILB Donta Hightower
4 Points- OC Peter Konz, DE Whitney Marcilus
5 Points- RB Lamar Miller, DT/DE Fletcher Cox
6 Points- WR Alshon Jeffery, OT Mike Adams
7 Points- DE/OLB Nick Perry, DT/DE Devon Still
16 Points- (Double points for being the exact pick)- OG Cordy Glenn

CBS- Rob Rang
1 Point- OG David DeCastro, DE Nick Perry
2 Points- CB Alfonzo Dennard, OLB Melvin Ingram
3 Points- WR Micheal Floyd, OC Peter Konz
4 Points- DE Whitney Marcilus, DT/DE Kendall Reyes
5 Points- DT/DE Fletcher Cox, DT Dontari Poe
6 Points- QB Ryan Tannehill, WR Ruben Randle
7 Points- DT/DE Jerel Worthy, CB Janoris Jenkins
16 Points- OG Cordy Glenn

CBS- Dane Brugler
1 Point- CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Brandon Boykin
2 Points- DE Nick Perry, CB Alfonzo Dennard
3 Points- OC Peter Konz, WR Kendall wright
4 Points- DT/DE Devon Still, DT/DE Fletcher Cox
5 Points- DE Whitney Marcilus, SS Mark Barron
6 Points- WR Micheal Floyd, WR Rueben Randle
7 Points- TE Dwayne Allen, OT Mike Adams
16 Points- DT Dontari Poe

DRAFT TEK-
1 Point- CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Stephon Gilmore
2 Points- WR Mohamed Sanu, OG David DeCastro
3 Points- WR Micheal Floyd, ILB Vontaze Burfect
4 Points- DE/OLB Nick Perry, OC Peter Konz
5 Points- SS Mark Barron, DE Michael Brockers
6 Points- DT Dontari Poe, WR Kendall Wright
7 Points- OG Brandon Washington, DT/DE Fletcher Cox
16 Points- Dont'a Hightower

SIDELINE SCOUTING-
1 Point- CB Alfonzo Dennard, CB Janoris Jenkins
2 Points- WR Kendall Wright, WR Mohamed Sanu
3 Points- ILB Dont'a Hightower, OC Peter Konz
4 Points- OLB/DE Nick Perry, OLB Courtney Upshaw
5 Points- Luke Kuechly, SS Mark Barron
6 Points- DT Dontari Poe, OG Cordy Glenn
7 Points- DT/DE Jerel Worthy, OLB/DE Whitney Marcilus
16 Points- DT Brandon Thompson

DRAFT COUNTDOWN-
1 Point- OG David DeCastro, CB Janoris Jenkins
2 Points- OG Cordy Glenn, OLB Melvin Ingram
3 Points- WR Alshon Jeffery, ILB Vontaze Burfect
4 Points- OC Peter Konz, DE/OLB Whitney Marcilus
5 Points- RB David Wilson, OLB Nick Perry
6 Points- DT/DE Fletcher Cox, WR Kendall Wright
7 Points- OT Mike Adams, CB Alfonzo Dennard
16 Points- OG Kevin Zeitler

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Our "Mock Bubble" point results are-

CB's- Dre Kirkpatrick 1 Point, Alfonzo Dennard 12 Points, Janoris Jenkins 11 Points, Stephon Gilmore 1 Point, Brandon Boykin 1 Point

SS- Mark Barron 17 Points

OLB- Nick Perry 21 Points, Vinny Curry 1 Point, Whitney Marcilus 24 Points, Melvin Ingram 4 Points, Courtney Upshaw 4 Points

ILB- Vontaze Burfect 6 Points, Dont'a Hightower 22 Points, Luke Keuchly 5 Points

NT/DE- Fletcher Cox 27 Points, Brandon Thompson 16 Points, Devon Still 11 Points, Dontari Poe 33 Points, Jerel Worthy 14 Points, Kendell Reyes 4 Points, Micheal Brockers 5 Points

OG/OC- Peter Konz 21 Points, Kevin Zeitler 16 Points, Cordy Glenn 40 Points, David DeCastro 4 Points, Brandon Washington 7 Points

OT- Mike Adams 20 Points

TE- Dwayne Allen 7 Points, Coby Fleener 2 Points

WR- Michael Floyd 15 Points, Kendall Wright 17 Points, Alshon Jeffery 9 Points, Mohamed Sanu 4 Points, Reuben Randle- 6 Points

RB- Lamar Miller 5 Points, David Wilson 5 Points

QB- Ryan Tannehill 6 Points

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Before we tally up points, the Steelers will not be drafting a QB or a RB in Round 1. We shall eliminate both positions from calculations.

This makes our "Mock Bubble" Top 10 players-
Cordy Glenn OG
Dontari Poe NT
Fletcher Cox DE/NT
Whitney Marcilus OLB
Dont'a Hightower ILB
Peter Konz OC/OG
Nick Perry OLB
Mike Adams OT
Kendall Wright WR
Mark Barron SS

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Given that we know that the Steelers like to draft-

Big School- Big Production

Juniors

Character

Chadman will attempt to rank these players...
1. Peter Konz
2. Fletcher Cox
3. Dont'a Hightower
4. Cordy Glenn
5. Mark Barron
6. Whitney Marcilus
7. Kendall Wright
8. Nick Perry
9. Dontari Poe
10. Mike Adams

These rankings are based on the fact that both Konz & Fletcher fit all the 3 requirements- big schools, productive, juniors & good character. Konz probably edges Cox for 2 reasons- position of need & the Steelers might want to give new OC a shiny new toy. Oh- and it's the Offenses turn in the DEF-OFF-DEF rotation.

Hightower fits all except the Junior tag, and Glenn is the same (although there are questions about consistancy with Glenn).

Barron fits everything except the Junior status, but also doesn't play a 'position of need' just yet. That isn't to say he wouldn't be looked at- Clark & Polamalu can't play forever.

OLB & WR are not big needs, but Marcilus, Perry & Wright fit on many levels if you overlook 'need'. If Wallace leaves- Wright would be an excellent replacement. If the Steelers are not sold on Worilds...

Poe seems to fit on so many levels, but his level of competition makes him a risk, and therefore unlikely. The Steelers might even attempt to trade down if it got to him on the list.

Adams has a history of character concerns as well as inconsistancy. He's a very unlikely choice.

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

Now for a little "What do the Steelers look for at the Combine"..

We'll start with one of the positions the Steelers may look at in 2012- WR...

Looking at the results from 2006 to 2012, we see:

40 Yard- 2 Steelers players were drafted that finished in the Top 10 WR 40's in this time period- Mike Wallace is 6th overall at 4.33 & Willie Reid is equal 7th at 4.34.

In 2006 Willie Reid was #2 overall. 2009 gave us the #2 WR in Mike Wallace. 2010 gave us the equal 2nd WR in Manny Sanders.

Bench Press- Not 1 Steeler player fits in the leaderboard of WR Bench Press.

In 2009 Mike Wallace did come in 12th for Bench Press.

Vertical Jump- No Steeler player is within the top 15 of Vertical Jump testing.

2006 Willie Reid did finish 7th for his Vertical Jump. 2008 gave us Limas Sweed & his 7th placed finish. Mike Wallace finished 4th overall in 2009. Manny Sanders came in 5th in 2010.

Broad Jump- 1 Steeler draftee fits in here- Dallas Baker is equal 7th with 10' 9"

Dallas Baker actually finished 1st overall in 2007. Mike Wallace was equal 1st in 2009. Amazingly- Manny Sanders was #1 overall in 2010.

3 Cone- 1 Steeler again finished here- Manny Sanders is equal 9th with 6.60

Dallas Baker came in 5th in 2007. Mike Wallace finished equal 13th in 2009. Manny Sanders was 2nd overall in 2010.

20 Yard Shuttle- No Steelers have finished in the top 15 overall.

Dallas Baker came in equal 7th in 2007. Manny Sanders finished 3rd in 2010. Antonio Brown finished 7th.

60 Yard Shuttle- No Steelers have finished in the Top 15 overall.

Antonio Brown finished 3rd in 2010.

Going over the history of recent Steeler WR draft picks shows that nearly all of the picks were up around the top of the class in quite a few of the athletic tests. Mike Wallace obviously proved to be an athletic freak at the combine, but Manny Sanders & Willie Reid should not be sneezed at for their athletic contributions. Adding to that- Antonio Brown finished just outside the top group for most of his tests too.

With this in mind, it is quite logical to actually look at Combine numbers for WR's as far as Steeler targets go. With the WR group looking pretty strong, an early round WR seems unlikely- however here are a few names to keep under your hat:

Chris Owusu - Stanford
A.J. Jenkins- Illinois
Danny Coale- Virginia Tech
Jerrell Jackson- Missouri
Junior Hemmingway- Michigan
Kashif Moore- Connecticut
Keshawn Martin- Michigan St

Nearly all of these players are expected to go in the middle to later rounds, and all of them fit within the boundaries the Steelers have drafted within at WR in recent history. In particular- guys like Coale, Martin & Hemmingway also have a career record that indicates these guys are more than 'just Combine guys'. They might not be 'Big Names'- but they could fit nicely into a 4th or 5th WR role for the near future.

[SS Laser]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

NICE work with the WR's Chadman. I don't want to muck up your thread. But could you do DE next? The steelers took 2 in the last three drafts. And have missed on every late round DE since Keisel. There was 4 DE's drafted late rounds. So I still think there is a late round need at back up DE. So a break down like the WR would be interesting for sure. Also top of the interesting list would be CB also. There have been a bunch since Ike Taylor was drafted.

Thanks for a great thread Chadman!

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

DE it will be SS!

Let it not be said that Chadman is not, at the least- quite accomodating.

The DE's will be teamed with the NT's (Should be a short list) for arguments sake, but we'll avoid using simply the Combine for the DL players as the results are quite unhelpful Chadman has found after trying a few on for size. So for the project's purposes, we'll use Pro Days where applicable to fill in the necessary stats. And we'll do this lot by player, not year...just because. Actually, not 'just because'- the Combine includes both 3-4 DL & 4-3 DL together, so in effect, 3-4 DE's are competing with 3-4 OLB's for the same results- which is unfair.

1. Cameron Heyward- 2011
6'5" 295lb
40 Yard- 4.95
Vertical- 35"

Cameron was recovering from surgery and was, as a result, unable to perform certain tasks. Of note- both Mike Tomlin & Bad Word LeBeau attended his Pro Day.

2. Doug Worthington- 2010 7th Round pick
6'5" 292lb
40 Yard- 5.02
Bench- 19 Reps
Vertical- 35.5"
Broad- 10'01"

3. Ziggy Hood- 2009 1st Round pick
6'3" 300lb
40 Yard- 4.83
Bench- 34 Reps (4th at Combine)
Vertical- 33" (12th at Combine)
Broad- 9'00"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.55
3 Cone- 7.50

4. RaShon Harris- 2009 6th Round pick
6'4" 298lb
40 Yard- 5.05
Bench- 28 Reps
Vertical- 25.5"
Broad- 10'06"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.87
3 Cone- 8.18

5. Ryan McBean- 2007 4th Round pick
6'5" 286lb
40 Yard- 4.98
Bench- 27 reps
Vertical- 28"
Broad- 9'00"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.46
3 Cone- 7.79


Going over the stats, Chadman comes up with the following-

6'5"ish is about the right height for a Steelers DE. Add to these players Aaron Smith & Brett Keisel, and the trend continues.

Add to the height, a weight of around 290lb-300lb is ideal. Again, when you include both Smith & Keisel you start to see a trend.

Speed-wise, it seems that around 5.00 is acceptable for the Steelers. It's quite possible that this stat means very little.

Bench- It would appear a mark of high 20's to 30's is about the target. Interesting that Ziggy should have the highest Rep count- we don't assosciate Ziggy with his strength in general.

Vertical- both the vertical & broad jump should indicate a level of explosiveness. No surprise that both Hood & Heyward excelled here, where later round picks like Harris & McBean were not as impressive.

Broad- See Vertical. Ziggy didn't jump as well as the Steelers seem to like- but could this be partly due to being shorter & stumpy?

20 Yard Shuttle & 3-Cone- These tests tend to try & show agility. No surprise that Ziggy should test well here as he seems quite shifty in his play. Surprisingly...or perhaps not seeing as how he now starts for the Broncos- Ryan McBean was not far off Hood on measurables.

So what did we learn? Steelers 3-4 DE's should be up around the 6'5", 290lb area, be able to run at around 5.00, bench around 27-30 (higher is good), jump up around 30". Higher the jump- higher the draft round. That appears to be the main criterea for Steelers 3-4 DE draft picks.

As no NT was selected under the Colbert-Tomlin era, it is hard to guage what they will look for in a NT.

[Chadman]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

So- who fits as far as 2012 goes? Let's see..

Players that are 6'5" (ish) & 290+ lbs..

Dontari Poe 6'4" 346lbs
Fletcher Cox 6'4" 298lbs
Devon Still 6'5" 303lbs
Kendall Reyes 6'4" 299lbs
Kheeston Randall 6'5" 293lbs
Akiem Hicks 6'5" 318lbs
Derek Wolfe 6'5" 295lbs
Billy Wynn 6'4" 294lbs
Ryan Van Bergen 6'6" 288lbs

From those guys- players that run around 5.00...(or under)

Fletcher Cox- 4.79 (Outstanding!)
Kendall Reyes- 4.95
Dontari Poe- 4.98
Kheeston Randall- 5.00
Billy Wynn- 5.00
Derek Wolfe- 5.01

And then Benched more than 27 Reps...

Dontari Poe 44
Kendell Reyes 36
Derek Wolfe 33
Fletcher Cox 30
Kheeston Randall 28

Vertical Jump of 28"+...

Kendell Reyes 34.5"
Kheeston Randall 34"
Derek Wolfe 33.5"
Dontari Poe 29.5"



So there you have it- based on Steeler history, the 4 men we have above us here are the perfect examples of a Steeler 3-4 DE, based on their athletic abilities alone.

The chances of the Steelers drafting a 3-4 DE are slim- but could grow somewhat if Ziggy Hood is moved to NT, or if the plan is to move him eventually. If no obvious NT is drafted, the chances of a DE improve again.

1st round DE appears unlikely 2 years in a row, but a mid round guy like Kheeston Randall out of Texas might be worth considering as an option. He fits the criteria of a Steelers 3-4 DE perfectly.

[Northern_Blitz]

Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread

The interesting positions to look at in regards to "inserting an untested player without Vet competition already in place" appears to be-

LG- With Kemo likely gone, Legursky will be 'slated' as the starting LG if he is signed. It's likely the Steelers will look at an OG or two in the draft, but expect a Vet like Legursky to be brought back to 'hold' the position until it becomes apparent the player behind him is better. The other option is to sign an UFA, but given the cap situation at the moment, it is difficult to find a player that can be guarenteed a starter on Vet minimum money. The likely scenario- Legursky #1 on a cap friendly multi-year contract, and a rookie backing him up.

RG- Ramon Foster is a RFA, and will likely be tendered. Once that is done, he'll likely be named the starter at RG. A rookie or UFA could be brought in to challange this spot however as the FO seem to be constantly trying to replace Foster.

NT- Hoke & Hampton could be gone, and McLendon is an ERFA. McLendon is likely to come back, Hoke is likely to retire. Hampton? Chances are they'll want to restructure his contract. but if Casey is reluctant, or if the cap hit is still too high, the Steelers could just cut him & draft a guy to 'challenge' McLendon. Chadman doubts that the Steelers would feel comfortable going forward with McLendon #1, Rookie #2 at NT though.

ILB- Farrior holds the key to a number of issues- Larry Foote's status, Stevenson Sylvester's playing time, and the draft investment in an ILB. Chadman 'expects' Farrior to take a paycut, then split time with Sylvester. Or retire. But likely a paycut. That would mean the end for Larry Foote, who is quite possibly the better ILB at this point. If the Steelres don't think Sylvester is the future, drafting an ILB on draft day is very likely.

So the key players as far as Chadman sees it here are Legursky, Kemo, Foster, Hampton, McLendon, Farrior & Foote. These guys will be the biggest influences as far as their contract/status will impact the season coming up.

Realistically, what happens with guys like Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, Arnaz Battle, Bryant McFadden, Dennis Dixon, Chris Hoke & Max Starks may have very little impact on the team next season. They are either already replaced, or very replaceable.

The 'variable' impact player may be Willie Gay, who stepped up his game this season. If the rookies/young players are ready to step in to Gay's role, the Steelers are fine at CB. But if they haven't developed as hoped, Gay may become a priority signing.

How about this plan for left guard and it helps the salary cap situation, because we wouldn't be signing Wallace to a contract and we would be getting the best guard in the draft?

The board has been bantering around Mike Wallace and his worth or lack of it for the past few weeks. Prior to the current CBA a top tender for a player that will become an RFA was a 1st and a 3rd round pick. The current CBA limits it to a first round only (I think).

The Patriots need help on the outside (and their draft position is very late) and the Steelers need help at guard. what if the Steelers could get New England's first (1.31) and their third round (3.95) for Wallace? Then the Steelers try to trade into the 12th, 13th or 14th spot by using their 1st and 2nd round picks (and they may have to throw in a late round selection as well) to grab Decastro. This would leave the Steelers with DeCastro, and picks at 1.31, 3.88 and 3.95 in the first three rounds, but they wouldn't have Wallace any longer or their second round pick.

Would it be worth it?

Pappy

I think that the Pats will first sign Welker to a deal. He'll get a big deal because he's been amazingly productive.

After they do that, I don't think they'd be willing to give Wallace a big deal and forfeit (even a late) 1st round pick.

That would be a lot to sacrifice when their biggest problems are on D.