Bpa

[JIMBO]

Now that we "solidified" the holes on defense and offense, I think we are in a great spot to sneak up on the rest of the league and grab someone totally unexpected. Unless we sell the farm and go all out for White, I could see us going not quite as high and taking one of the stud DL or TE guys. Bush does not impress me! Thoughts???

[steeler_george]

I am starting to think the surprise pick, at BPA, we go Burns.

I think Hockenson, or Bush might slip to us, but I think odds favore Burns.

[Oviedo]

I am starting to think the surprise pick, at BPA, we go Burns.

I think Hockenson, or Bush might slip to us, but I think odds favore Burns.

I don't think anyway Hockensen slips to us and highly unlikely Bush does. I think we have to trade up 5 spots if we want either of them.

I fully expect the Ravens to try to jump in front of us to get Bush. They need a ILB and the drop off between Bush and Wilson is significant

[dreegking]

Hockenson is an overrated TẾ that has Steelers fans pining yet again. We have MacDonald and he got healthy and showed he’s one of the best when healthy. Hockenson like most TẾ the fans wanted in the last many years is just overrated. And he is dropping. For a reason. Count me not interested. Especially in round one. Let someone else over value him.

[dreegking]

Let Baltimore overpay for Bush if they grab him ahead of us. So be it. I’m content with the Steelers staying lit and letting the board come to them. They key is to not error. And coach them up to their potential. I like the Steelers draft. Many astute teachers as coaches. The staff is stronger this year than last year.

[SidSmythe]

Trade up for WHITE = Yes
Trade up for BUSH = No Way (especially with the addition of Barron).
Sit at #20 and take Bush,Baker, Murphy or Hockenson (or someone worthy who fell out of the top 10 b/c 4 QBs were drafted)?= Yes

[Steel Maniac]

Hockenson is an overrated TẾ that has Steelers fans pining yet again. We have MacDonald and he got healthy and showed he’s one of the best when healthy. Hockenson like most TẾ the fans wanted in the last many years is just overrated. And he is dropping. For a reason. Count me not interested. Especially in round one. Let someone else over value him.

I remember when we were pinning away for Max Williams. Now he’s out there in free agency and there’s hardly a mention.

[pittpete]

If we cant get White or Bush i say we trade and move down if possible

[Ernie]

i see fant is actually rated higher in several recent mocks

[RuthlessBurgher]

I’m content with the Steelers staying lit.

Didn't Le'Veon sign with the Jets? He seemed to be the guy most interested in staying lit.

The staff is stronger this year than last year.

Mike Munchak is in Denver, so I'd have to disagree there. Hopefully Sarrett learned much from being his assistant for several years.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Hockenson is an overrated TẾ that has Steelers fans pining yet again. We have MacDonald and he got healthy and showed he’s one of the best when healthy. Hockenson like most TẾ the fans wanted in the last many years is just overrated. And he is dropping. For a reason. Count me not interested. Especially in round one. Let someone else over value him.

Hockenson's the most well-rounded TE prospect to come out in some time.

You are correct that Vance can be one of the best when healthy, but if he's not healthy (and that's been the case a lot so far in his career), then we have Xavier Grimble and Bucky Hodges right now. If we are able to add Hockenson, we can use Vance and Hock in tandem in 2 TE sets, as opposed to the 3 WR sets that were commonplace during the AB era. Both can block as well as catch passes, so our run game and pass game would benefit. With Vance, Hock, Juju, Moncrief, and Conner in the game, we could be either smashmouth or aerial without needing to sub in different personnel, and we can benefit from the defense not being able to switch into their sub packages.

Once upon a time, Heath Miller surprisingly fell to us, and it was a godsend as we won a Super Bowl in his rookie season. I would be quite satisfied if history repeated itself.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I remember when we were pinning away for Max Williams. Now he’s out there in free agency and there’s hardly a mention.

Maxx Williams was a 2nd round TE, not a potentially elite 1st round prospect. You are adamantly opposed to taking a TE in round one, assuming that we can get just as good of a TE later in the draft. But that strategy tends to lead to way more Maxx Williams picks than Gronk or Kelce picks. We should continue to stick to the strategy of taking the best player available at a position of need. And since TE is indeed a position of need for a right now, it's quite possible that a TE could be the best player available to us in round one, no matter how much you want a linebacker.

[RuthlessBurgher]

i see fant is actually rated higher in several recent mocks

Fant is more a Jimmy Graham type of TE, while Hockenson is more a Heath Miller type of TE.

Different teams looks for different attributes in their TE's, so I'm not surprised that some teams like Fant more.

But for the Steelers, I prefer Hockenson. Fant is a heck of a player in his own right, though.