Your Thoughts on our # 1 Pick 2013 Draft

[supersteeler]

We discussed a fair amount of prospects, and positions the Steelers might draft. We also know we could use help in several positions plus considered the Steelers might draft the BPA.
According to our poll here OLB seems to be our greatest need and I wouldn't argue with that but I have another take and ask you if it makes any sense to you.

We could draft a safety and be set for the future, an OLB, WR,RB and get help now but I have another thought.


I'm thinking which one player that could possibly make one area of our team not only better it could make it dominate in the future. I'm thinking it would help us right now too, plus the future. We can debate which side of the ball needs more help but for me when you struggle to score points it begs for help to correct it.

I've always thought for any offense to work well you need a QB first which we have, then you need a O-line to protect him and blockers who can make even an average back look good. It all goes hand and hand with a strong O-line, a entire offense can feed off that.


Just imagin if we drafted Chance Warmack in our first pick. We would have the following O-line in place as projected with Starks , Foster, and Colon all leaving.


LT MIKE ADAMS



LG CHANCE WARMACK *



C POUNCEY*



RG DECASTRO*



RT GILBERT


I would think the interior of that line could be dominate, help our run game and improve the offense as a whole, the only question is if Adams or Gilbert could play that LT position at least decent.

My original pick was NT, but we have 3 potential players for that position with the addition of Fangupo. If we draft an OLB, chances are he won't start as Woodley and Worlids would be the starters if Harrison leaves. If we draft a Safety he too wouldn't start because of Troy and Clark.

The only positions I see a #1 pick start is LG or RB, out of the two I want the LG first so our backs have the blockers up front. I know we went O-line last season with our picks but now we should solidify it and make it a strong point of our team.
I'm tired of seeing Ben with an average line, lets give him what most playoff teams have....a good O-line.

About three years ago the 49ers weren't that good offensively, they had a good D, but struggled until they drafted help on their O-line. Today, they have 3 PRO BOWLERS who start on that line who are all coming together now.


O-LINE!

[Sugar]

How about TE? He can help protect Ben but can also be a weapon. The fact that the health of our Heath is questionable for the start of the year only makes it that much more compelling to me. Zach Ertz should be available when we pick from what I've read. He has also played alongside David DeCastro, so you would think there would be some kind of bonus there as well.

[raycafan]

I don't follow college ball that close. Plus the fact that Miller is probably my favorite Steeler at this point. But who are some play making TE's in the college ranks that could make an impact?

[Dee Dub]

supersteeler, that is all great, but how do you propose the Steelers draft Chance Warmack? They can't do it at number 17. He will be long off the board by then. I think it would be a better discussion on how we obtain him instead of fantasizing about how we would look if we had him. You're on on the clock, chief.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I don't follow college ball that close. Plus the fact that Miller is probably my favorite Steeler at this point. But who are some play making TE's in the college ranks that could make an impact?

The two best in this draft are Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert and Stanford's Zach Ertz. Both are 6'6" 250 lbs. They are both rated in the late 1st, early 2nd area, though, meaning that neither one of them will be the BPA at #17, and neither of them should fall as far as #48 either. The only way that I see us ending up with one of these guys is via a trade-down scenario in which we land another valuable day two pick.

[SS Laser]

supersteeler, that is all great, but how do you propose the Steelers draft Chance Warmack? They can't do it at number 17. He will be long off the board by then. I think it would be a better discussion on how we obtain him instead of fantasizing about how we would look if we had him. You're on on the clock, chief.

Please Dub, Just like Decastro would not be there for us at what 24. The Draft is different now with the rookie wages. 2nd year in and everyone has to get used to the "new" system. 8 new coaches throw a wrench into it also. Is it also 9 new GM's? Who would have put money on Seattle's pick last year? Since the 08 draft it seems things have changed. Players that are rated high in the sports/nfl media are falling because some teams take big chances on players or the back round info is more looked at then the past. What kind of effect does all the internet stuff of players show teams? I for one am glad I just have fun with mock drafts because it is only that anymore. For fun.

[Dee Dub]

Please Dub, Just like Decastro would not be there for us at what 24. The Draft is different now with the rookie wages. 2nd year in and everyone has to get used to the "new" system. 8 new coaches throw a wrench into it also. Is it also 9 new GM's? Who would have put money on Seattle's pick last year? Since the 08 draft it seems things have changed. Players that are rated high in the sports/nfl media are falling because some teams take big chances on players or the back round info is more looked at then the past. What kind of effect does all the internet stuff of players show teams? I for one am glad I just have fun with mock drafts because it is only that anymore. For fun.

But DeCastro was never rated as one of the top 3 players in his draft class. Warmack is. Big difference. Warmack will be long gone before pick number 17.

[hawaiiansteel]

Walter Football has Warmack being drafted by the Rams at #16 in their latest mock draft, one spot ahead of us.

[Dee Dub]

Walter Football has Warmack being drafted by the Rams at #16 in their latest mock draft, one spot ahead of us.

And who is Walter? Yes a fan of football. Not a professional scout. Look, Warmack is an elite guard. Not just a first round pick. He is a dominator. I realize things could happen but I doubt very seriously if he makes it out of the top 10. Scouts Inc. has him rated #3 overall and being selected by the Cardinals at #7.

[SS Laser]

But DeCastro was never rated as one of the top 3 players in his draft class. Warmack is. Big difference. Warmack will be long gone before pick number 17.

We will see. I have not seen him rated in the top 3? Things have changed and I am sticking with that. Team grades seem to be much different then the media anymore. Were was Decastro rated the day before the draft? How far did he fall really? The projections are much harder now I think. But I don't think other teams will pass on Warmack. So I agree he will not be there at 17 as of today. But it will be close and things could change from now till draft day. If he is drafted before 17 I think he maybe the highest guard pick in the last 13 years. History is not on his side but things have changed.

[Dee Dub]

We will see. I have not seen him rated in the top 3? Things have changed and I am sticking with that. Team grades seem to be much different then the media anymore. Were was Decastro rated the day before the draft? How far did he fall really? The projections are much harder now I think. But I don't think other teams will pass on Warmack. So I agree he will not be there at 17 as of today. But it will be close and things could change from now till draft day. If he is drafted before 17 I think he maybe the highest guard pick in the last 13 years. History is not on his side but things have changed.

Well then you haven't paid much attention. Almost everyone has him rated that high.

SCOUTS INC.'S TOP 32

1. [URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29237"]Star Lotulelei[/URL]	DT	Utah	96
2. [URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30227/damontre-moore"]Damontre Moore[/URL]*	DE	Texas A&M	96
3. [URL="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/29233"]Chance Warmack[/URL]	G	Alabama	96

[url]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2013[/url]

[url]http://gbnreport.com/top100.html[/url]

And from Gil Brandt, ex-NFL GM/Director of Scouting....

3) Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama: The last guard to be taken with a top-10 draft pick was Chris Naeole, selected 10th overall by the [URL="http://www.nfl.com/teams/neworleanssaints/profile?team=NO"]New Orleans Saints[/URL] in 1997. However, guards are becoming more important, and Warmack, who's strong in both pass protection and run blocking, projects as a 15-year player in the NFL.

[url]http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap1000000126798/article/luke-joeckel-chance-warmack-head-crop-of-top-prospects[/url]

[SS Laser]

Thanks for the links. I must check the wrong draft sites. I also had a link saved that had some of the best mock guys ranked and who won there mock contest out of the media (big names) for that year but can not find it now. Link must be broken? I think Walter did ok with his pick % wise. But can not confirm yet. Edit: it was the huddle report and the page is broken.
[URL="http://www.thehuddlereport.com/Free/"]www.thehuddlereport.com/Free/[/URL]mockdraftscoring.shtml

Here is the link that works: [URL]http://www.thehuddlereport.com/index/mockdraftscores.shtml[/URL]
And it was not Walter I was thinking of but Scott wright of draftcountdown. Which he has Warmack at 5 overall rank. And has him going 10th to Tenn. Titans.

[hawaiiansteel]

Mel Kiper Jr. has Warmack going #7 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

[lloydroid]

The jury is still out on Adams and Gilbert. We really don't know if either can play OT very well. I am really concerned that they need to bring back Starks and HOPE that between the other two that one can play RT. (Plus, we need an extra body because we kNOW we will have injuries.

[supersteeler]

supersteeler, that is all great, but how do you propose the Steelers draft Chance Warmack? They can't do it at number 17. He will be long off the board by then. I think it would be a better discussion on how we obtain him instead of fantasizing about how we would look if we had him. You're on on the clock, chief.

Usually when teams draft in the higher rounds for O-linemen they are looking for Tackles especially LT's that seem to be a premium position on the line. In this paticular draft we may still have a shot at Warmack who in my mind would make that interior of our line dominate. My point in this was to see if there was an area of our team that we could mazimize it to become dominate.

From what I witnessed over the last several years either injuries or not having the top tier linemen effected our offense both in passing and especially running the football. Pouncey is in the top tier, Decastro is projected to be top tier and Starks IMO was better than average but not top tier in that position. Those three were our best linemen, and Starks was consistent and never left the field but the Steelers don't look to keep him unfortunately.

Big Ben is our best chance to regain a championship team, he's in his prime. The Steelers need to surround him with the best line possible and the rest of that offense will work even without Mendy and Wallace.
When our line was healthy even with the players we had they played well as we seen Ben have a damn good season early on, now think if we add a dominate Guard to our line how good it could be at least in the run game where we need it.

For me, if I'm an owner and want to build a great team I start with a QB, then try and get the best players possible on both lines offense and defense. When you have dominate people up front you can get by with above average players like WR, RB, that line will make them have more success.

Now, here is my question to you guys, if Warmack is there when we pick would you select him? I want our interior line to be dominate so I would take him over any other position. For sure OLB is a great need but who comes in here to dominate day one with Woodley and Worlids starting? Pardon the pun, but I'll take my chance on CHANCE!


This is what Chance could do for our run game...[url]http://i.turner.ncaa.com/dr/ncaa/ncaa/release/sites/default/files/images/UA-Chance-Warmack-G-12-Split-photo.jpg[/url]