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

[Chadman]

7 Steeler coaches, including Mike Tomlin, are in attendance at the Miami Pro Day. Other coaches include- Haley, Colbert, Hunt, Butler, Kreidler & Montgomery.

Lamar Miller, Sean Spence, Brandon Washington, Marcus Forston, Tommy Streeter, Olivier Vernon, Chase Ford, Tyler Horn, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Jacory Harris, JoJo Nicholas, LaRon Byrd, Micanor Regis, Adewale Ojomo or Mike Williams- who were they there to see?

[ikestops85]

7 Steeler coaches, including Mike Tomlin, are in attendance at the Miami Pro Day. Other coaches include- Haley, Colbert, Hunt, Butler, Kreidler & Montgomery.

Lamar Miller, Sean Spence, Brandon Washington, Marcus Forston, Tommy Streeter, Olivier Vernon, Chase Ford, Tyler Horn, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Jacory Harris, JoJo Nicholas, LaRon Byrd, Micanor Regis, Adewale Ojomo or Mike Williams- who were they there to see?

and only Colbert attended the Alabama pro day? Hmm, I guess they weren't very interested in a certain linebacker.

[RuthlessBurgher]

7 Steeler coaches, including Mike Tomlin, are in attendance at the Miami Pro Day. Other coaches include- Haley, Colbert, Hunt, Butler, Kreidler & Montgomery.

Lamar Miller, Sean Spence, Brandon Washington, Marcus Forston, Tommy Streeter, Olivier Vernon, Chase Ford, Tyler Horn, Aldarius Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Jacory Harris, JoJo Nicholas, LaRon Byrd, Micanor Regis, Adewale Ojomo or Mike Williams- who were they there to see?

Brandon Washington and Sean Spence could both be day 2 possibilities. Perhaps a later round flyer on Chase Ford as developmental TE prospect (not very much production, but has some tools you could work with).

[Chadman]

Agree with Spence, but if they were there to see Washington- why no Coach Kugs?

Chadman's bet- Streeter & Spence with a dash of Forston...

[Chadman]

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.

A total of 18 teams were on hand Thursday to watch Mississippi State’s pro day, where the performance of DT Fletcher Cox likely cemented his status as a late first-round pick.

The defensive line coaches for the Steelers and Chiefs were on hand, as well as Packers director of college scouting John Dorsey, who usually shows up at a workout when there’s a prospect he’s interested in.

Cox, DT (6-3 3/4, 299) — Had a 26-inch vertical and a 9-foot broad jump. Looked good in the drills and showed a lot of quickness while moving very well. He’s now a lower first-round pick. He’s comparable to Memphis DT Dontari Poe but not quite as strong or fast.

[Chadman]

Thirty teams were in attendance for the University of Alabama’s pro day on Wednesday, with 14 players working out out indoors. The Bears and the Rams were the only two teams not in Tuscaloosa, while the GMs from the Bills, Titans and Steelers all showed up.

Brad Smelley, TE (6-2, 237) — He’s a guy we need to add. Ran 4.77- and 4.76-second 40s; also had a 9-4 broad jump, 4.49 short shuttle, 7.15 cone drill and had 13 strength lifts. He didn’t do the vertical jump. He’ll be drafted by a team that runs a west-coast offense.

Can we PLEASE draft Smelley & have him line up next Willie Colon on a couple of series?

[Chadman]

Moving forward, we'll now take a look at the Steelers OL draft choices under Tomlin/Colbert.

2007
OG Cameron Stephenson
6'3" 306lbs
40 Yard- 5.40
Bench- 34 (Tied 3rd at Combine)
Vertical- 28.5" (Equal 13th)
Broad- 8'05"
3-Cone- 7.72
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.81

2008
OT Tony Hills
6'5" 309lbs
40 Yard- 5.16
Bench- 24
Vertical- DNP
Broad- DNP
3-Cone- DNP
20 Yard Shuttle- DNP
(Hills was recovering from a significant lower leg injury & was limited in his workouts)

2009
OG Kraig Urbik
6'5" 328lbs
40 Yard- 5.37
Bench- 29 (Equal 14th)
Vertical- 24"
Broad- 7'10"
3-Cone- 7.87
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.89

OC A.Q. Shipley
6'1" 304lbs
40 Yard- 5.19
Bench- 33 (Equal 4th)
Vertical- 31" (Equal 6th)
Broad- 8'04"
3-Cone- 7.46 (Equal 4th)
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.40 (Equal 2nd)

(Although not drafted by the Steelers- he's on our roster)
OT Jamon Meredith
6'5" 304lbs
40 Yard- 4.99 (2nd)
Bench- 31 (Equal 8th)
Vertical- 28"
Broad- 8'09" (Equal 10th)
3-Cone- 8.01
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.82

2010-
OC Maurkice Pouncey
6'5" 304lbs
40 Yard- 5.25
Bench- 25
Vertical- 27"
Broad- 7'11"
3-Cone- 7.74
20 Yard Shuttle- 4.92

OG Chris Scott
6'5" 319lbs
40 Yard- 5.52
Bench- 19
Vertical- 22.5"
Broad- 7'06"
3-Cone- 8.24
20 Yard Shuttle- 5.03

2011
OT Marcus Gilbert
6'6" 330lbs
40 Yard- 5.41
Bench- 30 (Equal 6th)
Vertical- 30.5" (Equal 8th)
Broad- 8'02"
3-Cone- DNP
20 Yard Shuttle- 5.02

OG Keith Williams
6'4" 314lbs
40 Yard- 5.28
Bench- 23
Vertical- 24.5"
Broad- 7'09"
3-Cone- 8.42
20 Yard Shuttle- 5.03

[Chadman]

After going over the stats/results- Chadman has realised that nearly every OL player at the Combine passes the majority of the Steelers-results. Naming all the players that fit may actually end up more confusing. For arguments sake, we'll assume that 6'3" to 6'5" is the ideal height range. 310lbs upwards is the ideal weight range. And a Bench press result above 27 is ideal, but NOT a deal breaker.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Agree with Spence, but if they were there to see Washington- why no Coach Kugs?

Chadman's bet- Streeter & Spence with a dash of Forston...

Spence only putting up 225 lbs. a dozen times is a red flag, though. The only players with less reps than Spence were a few corners and wideouts (there were actually more than 50 corners and wideouts who lifted more than Spence). As much as it tells you about his strength (or lack thereof), it also indirectly can unearth a possible work ethic issue (this is the most important job interview of your life, you should have been preparing for it for months, and all you can do is lift the bar 12 times? Seriously?). I wonder the same thing about mammoth OT Mike Adams only putting up the bar 19 times as well. The strength coaches at Miami and Ohio State likely did massive facepalms when they saw those Combine lifting performances.

[Chadman]

Changing our direction slightly- let's look at some Steeler "Draft Trends" in relation to college divisions, and the rounds that we see the Steelers under Colbert/Tomlin choose players from these divisions.

Starting from the obvious position-

ROUND 1
2007- ACC Florida State
2008- BIG 10 Illinois
2009- BIG 12 Missouri
2010- SEC Florida
2011- BIG 10 Ohio State

ROUND 2-
2007- BIG 10 Michigan
2008- BIG 12 Texas
2009- No Pick
2010- ACC Virginia Tech
2011- SEC Florida

ROUND 3-
2007- BIG 10 Minnesota
2008- PAC 12 UCLA
2009- BIG 10 Wisconsin
- SEC Mississippi
- PAC 12 Oregon State
2010- CONFERENCE USA Southern Methodist
2011- BIG 12 Texas

ROUND 4-
2007- BIG 12 Baylor
- BIG 12 Oklahoma State
2008- BIG 12 Texas
2009- No Selection
2010- BIG 10 Ohio State
2011- SOUTHERN Citadel

ROUND 5-
2007- BIG EAST Rutgers
- BIG EAST Louiseville
2008- PAC 12 Oregon
2009- CONFERENCE USA Central Florida
- MOUNTAIN WEST UNLV
2010- SEC Tennessee
- ACC Clemson
- PAC 12 Utah
2011- WAC Fresno State

ROUND 6
2007- No Selection
2008- BIG TEN Iowa
- BIG EAST West Virginia
2009- PAC 12 Oregon
2010- ACC Georgia Tech
- MID AMERICAN Central Michigan
2011- BIG 10 Nebraska

ROUND 7
2007- SEC Florida
2008- No Selection
2009- BIG TEN Penn State
- SUN BELT Arkansas State
2010- BIG 10 Ohio State
2011- BIG 12 Texas Tech

[Chadman]

We can instantly see that 4 divisions dominate the Steelers draft choices- in particular the first 2 rounds of the draft- Big 10, Big 12, SEC & ACC.

In fact, 10 of the 41 Tomlin/Colbert draft picks are from the Big 10. 7 are from the Big 12. That's nearly 50% of Tomlin/Colbert's draft choices coming from 2 divisions. Coincidence?

[Chadman]

PAC 12 has added 5 players to the roster, 5 from the SEC & 4 from the ACC. That's 31 of 41 picks out of 5 divisions.

Not surprisingly- only 1 player under Tomlin/Colbert comes outside of Division 1-A. That was Cortez Allen last season out of Citidel.

[SS Laser]

Very interesting Chadman. Nice work!

Also got to thinking about the OL. Maybe some posters here are very correct that the steelers can't pick OL. Why does so many match up. Or do the steelers not put much stock in numbers for the OL? Is it just about the tape for OL? There has been more coach turnover for OL then other positons since Cowher. Last 2 picks have been better.

[Chadman]

Very interesting Chadman. Nice work!

Also got to thinking about the OL. Maybe some posters here are very correct that the steelers can't pick OL. Why does so many match up. Or do the steelers not put much stock in numbers for the OL? Is it just about the tape for OL? There has been more coach turnover for OL then other positons since Cowher. Last 2 picks have been better.

Honestly- there could be multiple reasons. Not putting enough value in the position is a strong possibility- possibly a good reason why the "good 2" OL picks- Pouncey & Gilbert- were 1st & 2nd rounders. Thing is- the NFL is littered with OL guys that were picked outside of those rounds- so the Steelers SHOULD, theoretically- have hit on at least 1 lower round OL guy.

Another reason why we might not have seen the position as 'valued' is that Tomlin inherited a few long-term starters- Max Starks, Willie Colon & Chris Kemoeatu. While their relative merits are questioned often- they have been constants on an unstable position. Chadman believes the theory in OL development is LT first, Center 2nd, RT third, LG fourth & RG fifth as far as 'importance' goes. Well, Starks & Colon were targets 1 & 3. Kemo had #4 down. And Tomlin's first FA signing was Sean Mahan- even thouhg he was terrible, you can see that Tomlin tried to fix #2 immediately. Then when that didn't work out- Justin Hartwig was brought in. So it's not like Tomlin/Colbert have not tried to solve the issue- it's just that the players they've used have not been up to the level required. Pouncey was an immediate upgrade. He was also a highly touted college player. Gilbert fit in nicely & looks a better version of Max Starks at this point. Ideally, Chadman would like to see Gilbert continue at RT in the future. Colon's injuries could not be forcast- and despite many people's dislike of Colon, he's a steady player. He could very well be a guy playing out of position too- although Chadman would not assume LG would suit either- most likely RG. Kemo has progressively gotten worse each year to the point where he was replaced by every OL on the roster it seemed. While it was obvious he was regressing, the Steelers had invested a fair bit of money in him & might have been obliged to let him play it out until he became untenable in his position.

The Steelers have also gotten decent service out of Legursky & Foster- 2 undrafted guys that have overachieved. While we may all wish for better- they are servicable at the least. If they were both competing for 1 spot- RG- chances are most of the OL woes would diminish considerably. But because we are having them man both starting spots, we see the Steelers playing marginally talented guys on either side of the line.

Trai Essex & Jonathon Scott have been disappointments- although Chadman feels a little sorry for Scott as he always seem to be thrust into the starting line-up when he has to face Terrell Suggs- who simply owns him. Both, however, could be easily replaced.

Do the Steelers need to draft early round OL? Theoretically- no. However it seems that they have trouble scouting talent for the OL, so perhaps it's safer to just pick the more highly touted guys. It seems the Steelers will feel that they have Center, LT & RT sorted- positions 1, 2 & 3. Chadman disagrees however & thinks that the Steelers have #2, #3 & #5 positions as a 'strength' (Really- if Pouncey, Colon, Gilbert were the right side, we'd look pretty good), but lack positions #1 & #4.

Perhaps instead of an elite LG, the Steelers should look at an LT early & sign a mid to low range LG in FA? It might present them with a better overall OL than simply grabbing an elite LG & have him play alongside a marginal LT.

OR- re-sign Max Starks to play LT & draft your elite LG?

Lastly- the Steelers OL has been, by & large, a round peg trying to fit a square hole. When Tomlin came in, he switched the blocking from the "power blocking" under Cowher to the "Zone blocking" under Zeirlein. The players, however, stayed the same. So you had power blockers sudden;y being asked to be more agile. The Steelers started to move towards zone blockers, drafted Urbik, obtained Legursky & Foster...then sacked Zeirlein & inserted Kugler- who seems to be reverting back towards the more power blocking technique. It might suit the Steelers to just decide what they are trying to achieve- and insert players according to that scheme.

[Chadman]

Now let's look at a few more Steelers-Tomlin/Colbert draft trends:

1. 1st round pick...2007- Def, 2008- Off, 2009- Def, 2010- Off, 2011- Def, 2012- ?

2. Early draft picks (Rounds 1 & 2) consist of the following positions- ILB, OLB, RB, WR, DE, OC, OLB, DE, OT. Only 2 picks out of 9 are for 'skill' positions. 2 picks for QB protection. 5 for pocket collapsing or QB rushing positions. Do Tomlin/Colbert value pass rushers & pocket collapsers higher?

3. 8 LB's have been drafted under Tomlin/Colbert. In 2009 the Steelers drafted 0 LB's. In 2010 the Steelers drafted 3 LB's to make up for missing a year.

4. 6 CB's have been drafted under Tomlin/Colbert. Curtis Brown was the highest CB selection at the 31st pick in the 3rd round.

5. 8 OL players have been selected. 2 OC's have been selected, 2 OT's & 4 OG's. Steelers weakest position? OG.

6. Steelers have selected a RB in every draft outside of Tomlin/Colbert's first in 2007.