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

[RuthlessBurgher]

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

Chadman is truly the K.C. Joyner (Football Scientist) of our board's draft season.

[Chadman]

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

So far, the Steelers have been reported to be in contact with:

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 will update this regularly.

[SS Laser]

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

Thank you very much Chadman! Nice work on the DE's! Keep it coming. I vote for ILB next or CB. Heck do whatever you fell like doing. I am enjoying it all sir.

[Chadman]

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

Next on our list of Breakdowns will be "The Linebackers".

We won't seperate ILB from OLB because, essentially, they are not seperated at the Combine.

A look at the Steelers LB's selected under Tomlin-Colbert-

1. Lawrence Timmons- 2007 Round 1
6'1" 234lbs
40 Yard- 4.66
Bench- 25 Reps
Vertical- 35"
Broad- 10'03"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.32
3 Cone- 6.92

2. LaMarr Woodley- 2007 Round 2
6'2" 266lbs
40 Yard- 4.74
Bench- 29 Reps
Vertical- 38.5"
Broad- 9'9"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.42

3. Bruce Davis- 2008 Round 3
6'3" 252lbs
40 Yard- 4.78
Bench- 19 Reps
Vertical- 29"
Broad- 9'01"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.47
3 Cone- 7.34

4. Mike Humpal- 2008 Round 6
6'3" 244lbs
40 Yard- 4.82
Bench- 20 Reps
Vertical- 31"
Broad- 9'11"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.25
3 Cone- 7.07

5. Jason Worilds- 2010 Round 2
6'1" 254lbs
40 Yard- 4.51
Bench- 24 Reps
Vertical- 38"
Broad-
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.29
3 Cone- 6.95

6. Thaddeus Gibson- 2010 Round 4
6'2" 243lbs
40 Yard- 4.58
Bench- 32 Reps
Vertical-
Broad-
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.27
3 Cone- 6.84

7. Stevenson Sylvester- 2010 Round 5
6'2" 231lbs
40 Yard- 4.71
Bench- 23 reps
Vertical- 30.5"
Broad- 8'09"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.50
3 Cone- 7.22

8. Chris Carter- 2011 Round 5
6'1" 248lbs
40 Yard- 4.66
Bench- 27 Reps
Vertical- 36"
Broad- 9'06"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.34
3 Cone- 6.88

[RuthlessBurgher]

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

3. Bruce Davis- 2008 Round 3
6'3" 252lbs
40 Yard- 4.78
Bench- 19 Reps
Vertical- 29"
Broad- 9'01"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.47
3 Cone- 7.34

These combine numbers seem to indicate someone who is not particularly fast, not particularly strong, and not a particularly explosive athlete either. There you have it...sometimes the Combine drills can predict precisely what type of player you can expect to get...way to go Combine!!!

[Chadman]

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

3. Bruce Davis- 2008 Round 3
6'3" 252lbs
40 Yard- 4.78
Bench- 19 Reps
Vertical- 29"
Broad- 9'01"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.47
3 Cone- 7.34

These combine numbers seem to indicate someone who is not particularly fast, not particularly strong, and not a particularly explosive athlete either. There you have it...sometimes the Combine drills can predict precisely what type of player you can expect to get...way to go Combine!!!

Exactly Ruthless. Also Mike Humpal is a guy that can't run & can't bench- and he's out of the NFL too.

LB might just be one of the positions that the Combine actually IS a good indicator.

Another interesting piece of information in there is how similar Worilds & Timmons are athletically.

With the Steelers having shown interest in Bruce Irvin- another OLB- could there be moves a-foot to move Worilds inside?

[Chadman]

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

So let's take a look & see which LB's fit "The Steelers Mold"-

Height & weight should be between 6'1" & 6'3", and between 230-250lbs. Why? Don't really know- could be because of leverege, could be that the Steelers feel that their best combination of speed/agility etc comes from this physical dimension.

40 time should be between 4.6 & 4.75- any slower seems to result in non-success. Benching should be between 25 & 35 reps. Vertical jump numbers should be high 20's upwards- the higher the better. Broad jump is all over the place & can probably be disregarded.

Shuttle numbers should fit between 4.2 & 4.5 seconds while 3 Cone should be about 6.80 to 7.00- higher than this is rarely selected/succeed.

Who fits the Height/Weight?
Luke Kuechly 6'3" 242lbs
Donta Hightower 6'2" 265lbs (a little heavy, but for DD's sake, we'll pass him here)
Vontaze Burfect 6'1" 248lbs
James Micheal Johnson 6'1" 241lbs
Jerry Franklin 6'1" 241lbs
Zach Brown 6'1" 244lbs
Lavonte David 6'1" 233lbs
Bruce Irvin 6'3" 245lbs
Nigel Bradham 6'2" 241lbs
Demario Davis 6'2" 235lbs
Travis Lewis 6'1" 246lbs
Emmanual Acho 6'1" 238lbs
Tank Carder 6'2" 236lbs
Jacquies Smith 6'3" 253lbs

Of these, who ran 4.6-4.75 (or better)
Zach Brown 4.50
Bruce Irvin 4.50
Luke Kuechly 4.58
Demario Davis 4.61
Nigel Bradham 4.64
Lavonte David 4.65
Donta Hightower 4.68
James-Micheal Johnson 4.68
Tank Carder 4.69
Emmanual Acho 4.73

Bench Pressed 25 upwards...(there abouts)
Demario Davis 33 Reps
Luke Kuechley 27 Reps
Emmanual Acho 24 Reps
Nigel Bradham 24 Reps
Bruce Irvin 23 Reps
James-Michael Johnson 23 Reps

And then performed a Vertical Jump of 28" or higher..
Demario Davis 38.5"
Luke Kuechly 38"
Nigel Bradham 37"
James-Michael Johnson 37"
Emmanual Acho 35.5"
Bruce Irvin 33.5"
Donta Hightower 32"

Ran a Shuttle drill between 4.2 & 4.5 seconds..
Bruce Irvin 4.03
Luke Kuechly 4.12
Demario Davis 4.28
Nigel Bradham 4.37
James-Michael Johnson 4.37
(Acho, Hightower did not run this drill)

And a 3 Cone drill no higher than 7 seconds..
Bruce Irvin 6.70
Luke Kuechly 6.92
(Again, neither Acho or Hightower ran this drill)

So according to the stats, only 2 players fit every catagory, and one of those guys should be gone by the time the Steelers draft. Interesting that the Steelers interviewed Bruce Irvin at the Combine- his stats sure indicate he could be a powerful force at OLB in a 3-4.

Hightower & Acho did not complete all the drills, but were passing the tests reasonably well at that stage.

Add to this- MANY of the prospects are 'nearly' in the range, or miss on 1 drill. Guys like Demario Davis, Nigel Bradham, Tank Carder & James-Michael Johnson are certainly, by the numbers, better prospects than Bruce Davis, Mike Humpal & even Stephenson Sylvester are/were.

Lavonte David & Zach Brown did not show enough strength to be Steelers LB's, in Chadman's opinion.

[SS Laser]

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

On come on Chadman you forgot a undrafted LB named Patrick Bailey! Who is still in the NFL. He is 6-4 235 had a 40 of 4.79 with no other stats. But I am just busting your chops!

Nice Job once again.

[Chadman]

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

On come on Chadman you forgot a undrafted LB named Patrick Bailey! Who is still in the NFL. He is 6-4 235 had a 40 of 4.79 with no other stats. But I am just busting your chops!

Nice Job once again.

Yeah, but he wasn't DRAFTED by the Steelers...

LB's are now completed.

[Steel Life]

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

Chad...where would Bobby Wagner fit in your profile? Or even Miles Burris as an ILB convert? And even though he doesn't fit from a height aspect, I'd like to get your opinion on Mychal Kendricks...the kid is a beast.

[Chadman]

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

So far, the Steelers have been reported to be in contact with:

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
Steelers interviewed Michigan NT Mike Martin at the Combine
Steelers attended Cincinnatti Pro Day- RB Isiah Pead DE Derek Wolfe


Chadman will update this regularly.

[Chadman]

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

Chad...where would Bobby Wagner fit in your profile? Or even Miles Burris as an ILB convert? And even though he doesn't fit from a height aspect, I'd like to get your opinion on Mychal Kendricks...the kid is a beast.

Steel Life- Bobby Wagner didn't attend the Combine, so we can't match his measurables...yet. Once he's had his Pro Day, we an revise him.

Miles Burris only completed a few drills- at 6'2" 246lbs, he fits the size requirements. He also did 31 Reps on the Bench which is good. 37.5" Vertical certainly puts him in the frame as well. Unfortunately we can't compare his speed drills as he didn't complete this. Again, after his Pro Day, we might get a better idea. If he can prove to be fast enough- he definately fits the rest of the requirements.

Mychal Kendricks did, however, complete all the drills. The only knock on him is size- 5'11" is not good. His weight is fine- 240lbs is perfect, but his height really puts him out of the Steeler ratios. His every other measurable however, is good. 4.47 40 Yard, 24 Reps, 39.5" Vertical, 127" Broad jump, 4.19 20 Yard Shuttle...all good.

If the Steelers can look past his height, Kendricks certainly ticks a lot of boxes. For Chadman, however- Burris looks the best fit of those guys.

[Chadman]

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

So far, the Steelers have been reported to be in contact with:

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
Steelers interviewed Michigan NT Mike Martin at the Combine
Steelers attended Cincinnatti Pro Day- RB Isiah Pead DE Derek Wolfe
Steelers worked out/attended Miami Ohio OG Brandon Brooks

Chadman will update this regularly.

[Chadman]

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

Off topic slightly...but if Peyton Hilis can't find the FA deal he's looking for, he'd be a great RB for a team like Pittsburgh...

[Chadman]

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

Let's ramp this up a bit before we get to FA..

Defensive Backs.

Would you believe, under the Tomlin-Colbert regime, the Steelers have only ever drafted 1 safety? It's true- Ryan Mundy. This will make analysing Safeties a little difficult, so Chadman will add in Troy Polamalu's stats, as well as a couple of other Safeties we've seen in Pittsburgh in that time just to get a clearer picture on what the Steelers look for, athletically.

SAFETIES-
2008
Ryan Mundy
6'1 215lbs
4.55 40 Yard
21 Reps
36" Vertical
10'10" Broad
4.33 20 Yard Shuttle
6.81 3-Cone

Troy Polamalu
5'10" 206lbs
4.35 40 Yard
29 Reps
43" Vertical
4.06 20 Yard Shuttle
6.75 3-Cone

Will Allen
6'1" 202lbs
4.58 40 Yard
36" Vertical
4.25 20 Yard Shuttle
7.06 3-Cone

Damon Cromartie-Smith
6'2" 206lbs
4.56 40 Yard
20 Reps
32" Vertical
9'09" Broad
4.47 20 Yard Shuttle
7.24 3-Cone

Obviously Troy was a workout freak, and it's unfair to include his numbers when looking for some kind of pattern. What we can work out from Mundy, Allen & Cromartie-Smith is that, normally, the Steelers look for-
Height/Weight- Around 6' to 6'2" and about 200lbs
40 Yard- 4.5 seems about right.
Bench- 20 Reps seems about right.
Vertical- Mid 30" area seems the likely target
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.3 to 4.5 looks the target range
3-Cone- It seems the Steelers will look as high as 7.2, but Mundy/Polamalu are well under 7.2. We'll say 7 as the cut-off.

Those that pass the criteria are:
Harrison Smith 6'2" 213lbs
4.57 40 Yard
19 Reps
34" Vertical
4.12 20 Yard
6.63 3-Cone

Sean Richardson 6'2" 216lbs
4.52 40 Yard
22 Reps
38.5" Vertical
4.44 20 Yard
7.01 3-Cone

As is the case with many positions- there are a nuber of prospects that 'nearly' fit the statistics. Add to this, the #1 Safety- Mark Barron, did not complete any drills at the combine. Other names that got close- Christian Thompson, Delano Howell, Duke Ihenacho & Trent Robinson.