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Re: Chadman's 2012 Off-season Free Agency & Draft thread
We'll come back to do the CB's soon, but for now- let's look at a "Position of Need" for the Steelers- NT.
As Chadman stated earlier, there isn't a lot of Combine info to work on as the last drafted NT for the Steelers was Chris Hoke- who just retired. Casey Hampton obviously has been around a long time now. The only other guy to work with is undrafted 2nd year guy- Steve McLendon. We'll do what we can...
Casey Hampton
6'1" 314lbs
40 Yard- 5.25
Bench- 34 Reps
Steve McLendon
6'2" 306lbs
40 Yard- 5.15
Bench- 31 Reps
Vertical- 29.5"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.45
3-Cone- 7.35
Chris Hoke
6'2" 305lbs
Chadman would love to tell you more about the Pro Day/ Combine numbers of Casey & Hokey, but they just don't seem to exist.
So, we work with what we've got.
Obviously, height we can judge. 6'1" or 6'2" seems ideal. Probably very good for leverage reasons. What is interesting is that none of these guys were 'massive' coming out of college. Hoke never really did bulk up. Obviously Casey has, and Chadman believes McLendon is still around the 300lbs area. (Official site has him at 280lbs- there is no way he's 280lbs!)
What this tells us is that the Steelers are not locked in to the 330lb monsters at NT. Functional strength (Casey 34 reps, McLendon 31 reps) seem more important.
We'll also use McLendon's 30" vertical as a guide to 'explosiveness' and if applicable, the 3-cone of 7.35 as the minimum requirement to determine short area quickness.
The Combine Candidates- Height & Weight (6'1" to 6'3" 300lbs-340lbs)
Jerel Worthy 6'2" 308lbs
Brandon Thompson 6'2" 314lbs
Mike Martin 6'1" 306lbs
Alameda Ta'amu 6'3" 348lbs
Marcus Forston 6'1" 301lbs
Hebron Fangupo 6'1" 323lbs
Bench Press of 30+
Hebron Fangupo 36 reps
Mike Martin 36 reps
Marcus Forston 35 reps
Alameda Ta'amu 35 reps
Brandon Thompson 35 reps
Jerel Worthy DNP
Vertical of 30"+
Mike Martin 33.5"
Hebron Fangupo 31.5"
Brandon Thompson 31"
Jerel Worthy 28.5"
Marcus Forston 28"
Alameda Ta'amu 26"
3-Cone of 7.35 or lower
Mike Martin 7.19
Jerel Worthy 7.60
Marcus Forston 7.64
Hebron Fangupo 7.94
Brandon Thompson 7.97
Alameda Ta'amu DNP
The results are pretty clear- Michigan's NT Mike Martin is, statistically, the best fit for the Steelers. To add to this, the Steelers HAVE interviewed him at the Combine. He's as much an athletic freak as you'll see at NT. Most likely, he'd be a similar type of player to Hoke, rather than Hampton. But he could add 10lbs & be a more traditional run plugger.
The other 2 names to keep on the radar are Hebron Fangupo & Brandon Thompson. Both pass a number of the criteria, but fail in the short area quickness. If the Steelers are looking for just a 2-down run plugger, both of these guys might be suitable. Keep in mind- the Steelers have not been afraid to draft from BYU in the past- Hoke & Keisel are good examples of that. Fangupo also brings versatility as he has played NT & DE at BYU.
We'll come back to do the CB's soon, but for now- let's look at a "Position of Need" for the Steelers- NT.
As Chadman stated earlier, there isn't a lot of Combine info to work on as the last drafted NT for the Steelers was Chris Hoke- who just retired. Casey Hampton obviously has been around a long time now. The only other guy to work with is undrafted 2nd year guy- Steve McLendon. We'll do what we can...
Casey Hampton
6'1" 314lbs
40 Yard- 5.25
Bench- 34 Reps
Steve McLendon
6'2" 306lbs
40 Yard- 5.15
Bench- 31 Reps
Vertical- 29.5"
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.45
3-Cone- 7.35
Chris Hoke
6'2" 305lbs
Chadman would love to tell you more about the Pro Day/ Combine numbers of Casey & Hokey, but they just don't seem to exist.
So, we work with what we've got.
Obviously, height we can judge. 6'1" or 6'2" seems ideal. Probably very good for leverage reasons. What is interesting is that none of these guys were 'massive' coming out of college. Hoke never really did bulk up. Obviously Casey has, and Chadman believes McLendon is still around the 300lbs area. (Official site has him at 280lbs- there is no way he's 280lbs!)
What this tells us is that the Steelers are not locked in to the 330lb monsters at NT. Functional strength (Casey 34 reps, McLendon 31 reps) seem more important.
We'll also use McLendon's 30" vertical as a guide to 'explosiveness' and if applicable, the 3-cone of 7.35 as the minimum requirement to determine short area quickness.
The Combine Candidates- Height & Weight (6'1" to 6'3" 300lbs-340lbs)
Jerel Worthy 6'2" 308lbs
Brandon Thompson 6'2" 314lbs
Mike Martin 6'1" 306lbs
Alameda Ta'amu 6'3" 348lbs
Marcus Forston 6'1" 301lbs
Hebron Fangupo 6'1" 323lbs
Bench Press of 30+
Hebron Fangupo 36 reps
Mike Martin 36 reps
Marcus Forston 35 reps
Alameda Ta'amu 35 reps
Brandon Thompson 35 reps
Jerel Worthy DNP
Vertical of 30"+
Mike Martin 33.5"
Hebron Fangupo 31.5"
Brandon Thompson 31"
Jerel Worthy 28.5"
Marcus Forston 28"
Alameda Ta'amu 26"
3-Cone of 7.35 or lower
Mike Martin 7.19
Jerel Worthy 7.60
Marcus Forston 7.64
Hebron Fangupo 7.94
Brandon Thompson 7.97
Alameda Ta'amu DNP
The results are pretty clear- Michigan's NT Mike Martin is, statistically, the best fit for the Steelers. To add to this, the Steelers HAVE interviewed him at the Combine. He's as much an athletic freak as you'll see at NT. Most likely, he'd be a similar type of player to Hoke, rather than Hampton. But he could add 10lbs & be a more traditional run plugger.
The other 2 names to keep on the radar are Hebron Fangupo & Brandon Thompson. Both pass a number of the criteria, but fail in the short area quickness. If the Steelers are looking for just a 2-down run plugger, both of these guys might be suitable. Keep in mind- the Steelers have not been afraid to draft from BYU in the past- Hoke & Keisel are good examples of that. Fangupo also brings versatility as he has played NT & DE at BYU.
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