Draft ideas/questions before combine.

[Shawn]

Took a look at some game film and here is what I see:
Uses his hands well placement is good and long arms keep defenders off his frame.
As a OLB he holds the edge well showing good leverage and stack n shed ability because he has a quick get off and very good technique.
Excellent motor. Good play recognition.
Does show ability to convert speed to power and disengage to finish plays. A little surprised he showed this ability. Dupree only started showing this this year.
Only saw him drop twice against LSU. Ugly was the word that best sums that up. Now doesn't mean he can't just has likely never done it. Hell he played TE a while so reps are needed there big time. Bit of a project but what rookie isn't.
He doesn't redirect well and though quick he does not look fast. Speed looks average.
Combine will show a lot. Has to be able to drop in coverage.
Likely most important check will be his medical. Has had injuries.
I see him as a 4-3 DE first OLB 2nd. I do not see him inside believe his skill set is best off the edge. Based on blood lines would not bet against him but combine tests will go a long way to see if this rook goes top 25 or top 75.
If we do not go edge rusher in the first and Watt is there in the 2nd it will be interesting.

I agree with much of your assessment. The speed that he does have (which isn't elite by any measure) he is able to leverage into power to beat tackles. You may be right about OLB vs ILB, but I don't see him being an elite OLB in the NFL...good yes, elite no. I like him at ILB because of his ability to diagnose plays, hold his own locked up with men much bigger and he showed ability to sort through trash. These all scream ILB in our system.

[Shawn]

He gets his arms extended quickly. His hand game is top notch. He quick and fast at creating leverage points and is great at push and pull technique. Always knows where the ball is and knows how to get to it. He is average at coverage but James and Bud aren't winning any coverage awards either. He can learn. Plus his brother is one of the best...He is going teach him a lot. Id grab him at 30, but apparently I'm the only guy on earth that thinks that highly of him.

He is a great football player. I get why you like him. But, he doesn't have elite athleticism. He is a technically sound player. I love those guys. But, if you want a guy who can disrupt guys like Brady...you need speed. That he doesn't have.

[Real Deal Steel]

What we need first is for Colbert to become as good at finding CB/OLB talent as he is at finding wide receiver talent in the later rounds. LOL But I like Haason Reddick from Temple and I like Duke Riley from LSU. If either one of these guys were our first linebacker taken, I'd be happy with that. Riley's measurables are better across the board but you can't measure a players heart.

I don't think we'll have a shot at Mckinley from UCLA.

[RuthlessBurgher]

What we need first is for Colbert to become as good at finding CB/OLB talent as he is at finding wide receiver talent in the later rounds. LOL But I like Haason Reddick from Temple and I like Duke Riley from LSU. If either one of these guys were our first linebacker taken, I'd be happy with that. Riley's measurables are better across the board but you can't measure a players heart.

I don't think we'll have a shot at Mckinley from UCLA.

I think both Reddick and Riley are 4-3 Will backers at the NFL level (or 3-4 ILB), not 3-4 edge rushers.

More like Shazier than Deebo or Bud.

[Shoe]

Took a look at some game film and here is what I see:
Uses his hands well placement is good and long arms keep defenders off his frame.
As a OLB he holds the edge well showing good leverage and stack n shed ability because he has a quick get off and very good technique.
Excellent motor. Good play recognition.
Does show ability to convert speed to power and disengage to finish plays. A little surprised he showed this ability. Dupree only started showing this this year.
Only saw him drop twice against LSU. Ugly was the word that best sums that up. Now doesn't mean he can't just has likely never done it. Hell he played TE a while so reps are needed there big time. Bit of a project but what rookie isn't.
He doesn't redirect well and though quick he does not look fast. Speed looks average.
Combine will show a lot. Has to be able to drop in coverage.
Likely most important check will be his medical. Has had injuries.
I see him as a 4-3 DE first OLB 2nd. I do not see him inside believe his skill set is best off the edge. Based on blood lines would not bet against him but combine tests will go a long way to see if this rook goes top 25 or top 75.
If we do not go edge rusher in the first and Watt is there in the 2nd it will be interesting.

I really think that we don't have to have one Aldon Smith-like pass rush type guy to be successful here. Because the tendency (at Pick 30) is to reach on a guy who sorta-kinda looks like he could be that type of player, but ultimately probably doesn't. Instead, guys that run and hit, and guys who just can play, are guys you can find there at 30. A guy like Shazier (though I know he was picked higher). Guys like Sean Lee, the Kendricks brothers, this is where there is usually value at 30. The problem with those type guys, is that they aren't rushers in that big, strapping, Aldon Smith type way. But I think our scheme really could adjust well, if we got another Shazier-type. This goes back to the classic, 4-3 vs. 3-4 debate on here. But I could envision a LB corps with Shazier, Matakevich, and the guy we're able to land here (at 30).

[Shawn]

If ILB is the best Watt can do then I'd rather go with a guy like McKinley from your mock. We need that 2nd OLB in the worst way....However, I see Watt beating Tackles in the NFL, but even most of what I've read from the so called pros said he'd be better suited inside in a 3/4 or outside in a 4/3, so maybe I'm wrong. I think it's a weight issue mostly because he's a non stop force from what I've seen.

He is an amazing football player, no way around that. But, when is the last time you seen Tomlin and Co. draft just a solid football player in the first? A well oiled machine of a technician? I can't remember the last time. In the first, historically the Steelers go for 40 times and freak athleticism. Good or bad, that's the way it works. So, you may very well be right about Watt. I think he is going to be a very good player at the next level. But, I highly doubt the Steelers are wanting him in the first.

[ramblinjim]

JJ was supposedly a well oiled technician even though his combine numbers weren't great and he turned out to be a decent football player. And by decent I mean "not a stud, by any reach of the imagination". But the past 1st rounders have been athletic freaks, usually young too IIRC.

[SteelerMaine83]

I think both Reddick and Riley are 4-3 Will backers at the NFL level (or 3-4 ILB), not 3-4 edge rushers.

More like Shazier than Deebo or Bud.

Agreed. If we get Reddick at 30, I'm okay with it, but he is more Shazier than either of our OLBs. In our scheme, more talent at LB is never a bad thing, though, and with aggressive fronts with guys moving around (as Butler did during the win streak closing the season) Shazier and Reddick would find spots to rush the passer as well. A real stud edge-guy would be awesome at 30, but Reddick wouldn't be a bad pick, either.

[Real Deal Steel]

Thats my point. The chances of a real stud edge guy at 30? Reddick will be fine.

[Rara]

I'd take Reddick inside with Shazier if Timmons left and sign a veteran outside linebacker in free agency.

It'd be like having two Shaziers on the inside.

[SteelCrazy]

He is an amazing football player, no way around that. But, when is the last time you seen Tomlin and Co. draft just a solid football player in the first? A well oiled machine of a technician? I can't remember the last time. In the first, historically the Steelers go for 40 times and freak athleticism. Good or bad, that's the way it works. So, you may very well be right about Watt. I think he is going to be a very good player at the next level. But, I highly doubt the Steelers are wanting him in the first.

But they should because he would answer the OLB call we desperately need to make....We can't afford another 4 years on JJ again....Watt will be a star. Have you heard the things coming out on him lately? Football is his life. It's all that he does, just like brother JJ Watt.

[steelerkeylargo]

Yup I think Reddick would play inside for us, but his versatility would be awesome. Don't be shocked if Peppers is there at 30. Vince Beigel or Bryan Cox would be a nice mid round guy

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Yup I think Reddick would play inside for us, but his versatility would be awesome. Don't be shocked if Peppers is there at 30. Vince Beigel or Bryan Cox would be a nice mid round guy

SKL, what do you think about Jabrill Peppers? Do you think he'd be a fit on the Steelers' D?

[Shawn]

But they should because he would answer the OLB call we desperately need to make....We can't afford another 4 years on JJ again....Watt will be a star. Have you heard the things coming out on him lately? Football is his life. It's all that he does, just like brother JJ Watt.

I get why you love him. You get man crushes on the types of players I like as well. I like guys who like football, who may not time crazy well but are football players. Give me a locker room full of those guys. I wouldn't be sad at all if the Steelers went with Watt. He just doesn't seem like a current Steeler guy...we like speed, athleticism and don't seem to take other factors as seriously when it comes to first round players. Hey maybe you can write Tomlin and petition for him.

[Shawn]

Yup I think Reddick would play inside for us, but his versatility would be awesome. Don't be shocked if Peppers is there at 30. Vince Beigel or Bryan Cox would be a nice mid round guy

Now, if Peppers is there...I'm fairly sure the Steelers look real hard at him. He is the type of guy the Steelers go after in the first round.