Opinions wanted...

[Iron Shiek]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Gotta agree with you Pap. I am adopting the Chavezz plan...I liked pretty much everything he said in his earlier post...

[ANPSTEEL]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Imagine if we could sign top ranked free agent tackle Jordan Gross, then draft the best center in the draft in the first (Mack) and the #2 ranked guard in the second (Johnson)...talk about an extreme makeover to our team's biggest weakness...

I would love to see the Steelers go after Gross-

but even if they don't

I would not want them to reach for any position.

So- if the draft plays out the way Chadman has it figured...

The team IMO, would either:
- try to trade up using the compensatory pick they'll get for Faneca- in efforts to get a OT they are targeting
- Draft DL best available DE or DT
- Draft Unger to take over for Hartwig- if not in year 1- then year 2- Hartwig if kept, could move to OG.

Those are my opinions

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Imagine if we could sign top ranked free agent tackle Jordan Gross, then draft the best center in the draft in the first (Mack) and the #2 ranked guard in the second (Johnson)...talk about an extreme makeover to our team's biggest weakness...

I would love to see the Steelers go after Gross-

but even if they don't

I would not want them to reach for any position.

So- if the draft plays out the way Chadman has it figured...

The team IMO, would either:
- try to trade up using the compensatory pick they'll get for Faneca- in efforts to get a OT they are targeting
- Draft DL best available DE or DT
- Draft Unger to take over for Hartwig- if not in year 1- then year 2- Hartwig if kept, could move to OG.

Those are my opinions

Comp picks are untradeable, but that does not mean that you can't trade your regular 3rd round pick. If you could use that third round pick as ammo to possibly trade up in the first to get one of the top tackles, I would do that (Andre Smith and Michael Oher will both go at the very top of the draft and therefore out of the realm of possibility, but if it could get you up near Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith territory, it would be worth the type of trade we made to get Troy or Santonio, since it is arguable that tackle is an even bigger need now than safety or receiver was then). If not, it would be awesome to get, say, Duke Robinson with our first round pick, then package our 2nd and 3rd to move up to the early second to nab Alex Mack. You could use that Faneca comp pick for DL depth or maybe a return specialist who would also provide depth as a CB or WR.

[Iron Shiek]

Re: Opinions wanted...

You want an opinion? I'll give you an action item instead:

"Go eff yourself San Diego"

[ANPSTEEL]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Imagine if we could sign top ranked free agent tackle Jordan Gross, then draft the best center in the draft in the first (Mack) and the #2 ranked guard in the second (Johnson)...talk about an extreme makeover to our team's biggest weakness...

I would love to see the Steelers go after Gross-

but even if they don't

I would not want them to reach for any position.

So- if the draft plays out the way Chadman has it figured...

The team IMO, would either:
- try to trade up using the compensatory pick they'll get for Faneca- in efforts to get a OT they are targeting
- Draft DL best available DE or DT
- Draft Unger to take over for Hartwig- if not in year 1- then year 2- Hartwig if kept, could move to OG.

Those are my opinions

Comp picks are untradeable,

good point- i had forgotten about that.

but that does not mean that you can't trade your regular 3rd round pick. If you could use that third round pick as ammo to possibly trade up in the first to get one of the top tackles, I would do that (Andre Smith and Michael Oher will both go at the very top of the draft and therefore out of the realm of possibility, but if it could get you up near Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith territory, it would be worth the type of trade we made to get Troy or Santonio, since it is arguable that tackle is an even bigger need now than safety or receiver was then). If not, it would be awesome to get, say, Duke Robinson with our first round pick, then package our 2nd and 3rd to move up to the early second to nab Alex Mack. You could use that Faneca comp pick for DL depth or maybe a return specialist who would also provide depth as a CB or WR.

all good ideas...

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the team trade to move up in RD 1 to grab an OT.

Having said that, if they are unable to sign mcfadden- i think they'll be taking a CB- no latter than 3rd rd, and possibly w/ the 2nd rounder.

[Chadman]

Re: Opinions wanted...

So, just to clarify...we'd OVERPAY for a LT but we wouldn't OVER-DRAFT a LT?

What if the Steelers can't sign Gross?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Opinions wanted...

So, just to clarify...we'd OVERPAY for a LT but we wouldn't OVER-DRAFT a LT?

What if the Steelers can't sign Gross?

To clarify, I wouldn't REACH for an inferior player in the draft (I'd rather the #1 center than the #7 or #8 tackle in the first, and I'd rather the #2 guard in the second than the #12 tackle, strickly from a value perspective...we have enough average tackles as it is...why waste a premium pick on another average tackle when you can get a very good interior lineman instead).

However, if we cannot sign Gross, I would also be willing to overpay via trade to move up in the first like we did for Troy and Santonio to get a top 5 ranked tackle tackle like Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith (the elite tackle prospects like Michael Oher and Andre Smith will likely be taken too high to be a reasonable target for a trade).

[Chavezz]

Re: Opinions wanted...

So, just to clarify...we'd OVERPAY for a LT but we wouldn't OVER-DRAFT a LT?

What if the Steelers can't sign Gross?

It's about talent, paying too much for a GREAT player is better than paying too much (draft picks) for a player of lesser quality.

Contingency if we can't get Gross?

Dunno, like I said earlier, all of my offseason dreams lie with Gross. He's the main cog in my off season wheel.

I guess we'd then go for another highend FA at another position. LT is Gross or nothing IMO. There really isn't anyone else I like at OT.

Haven't really looked at the guard position in free agency? Is there any quality out there?

I know Igor Olshansky has been tossed around as a pick up. Although I think he'd be a good fit and fits the mold of what we normally go after, do we sign him knowing that it would be in a rotational setting? Would he be that much better than Keisel? Just lots of questions there I can't answer.

Damn I'm sick of having a ****ty oline.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Opinions wanted...

So, just to clarify...we'd OVERPAY for a LT but we wouldn't OVER-DRAFT a LT?

What if the Steelers can't sign Gross?

It's about talent, paying too much for a GREAT player is better than paying too much (draft picks) for a player of lesser quality.

Contingency if we can't get Gross?

Dunno, like I said earlier, all of my offseason dreams lie with Gross. He's the main cog in my off season wheel.

I guess we'd then go for another highend FA at another position. LT is Gross or nothing IMO. There really isn't anyone else I like at OT.

Haven't really looked at the guard position in free agency? Is there any quality out there?

I know Igor Olshansky has been tossed around as a pick up. Although I think he'd be a good fit and fits the mold of what we normally go after, do we sign him knowing that it would be in a rotational setting? Would he be that much better than Keisel? Just lots of questions there I can't answer.

Damn I'm sick of having a ****ty oline.

If you can't sign Gross, and wanted to go for another high end FA at another position, you could throw big time cash at Nnamdi Asomugha (the best CB in the game right now IMO) to replace McFadden. Nnamdi, Ike, Troy, and Clark would be sick behind our front seven. Although o-line is a much higher priority, for sure.

[bthorn86]

Re: Opinions wanted...

If the Steelers go DL first round Tyson Jackson from LSU would be a solid pick. He reminds me a lot of Ty Warren, he is 6'4 295 and would be a solid DE. If not him Ziggy Hood from Missouri in the 2nd would be another solid choice. I think the best fit though is B.J. Raji 6'1" 330, as an eventual replacement for Casey. He's a stud but will most likely be gone by the time Pittsburgh picks.

[MaxAMillion]

Re: Opinions wanted...

I don't think the Steelers should spend a first round pick on a DL unless Raji is available. I think 3-4 DE can usually be found in later rounds. I would draft Mack in round 1 and then draft a second OL in round 2. I would make an exception for a corner in the early rounds but that is it.

The Steelers must do whatever it takes to fix the OL. It makes know sense to pay Ben 100 million and then watch him get hit over and over again. If you have to spend your first two picks on OL, then so be it.

[Steel Life]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Simple...draft Tyson Jackson in the first & snag Jonathon Luigs in the second.

[Chadman]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Chavezz & Ruthless- Chadman's just trying to get an idea what the board posters would do if (worst case scenario) the top tackles are gone & the Steelers can't get Gross in FA- because it seems most will agree that OT is a dire NEED for this team.

Are you saying that if the Steelers only get a shot at second tier talent at OT in the draft in Round 1 & they can't get a quality FA OT, then the Steelers should RE-SIGN some of the current OT's on the roster- Smith, Starks or Essex?

If the Steelers can't sign a FA OT to start, or draft one at 32..( )..then what do they do at LT in 2009/2010?

Or- if the Steelers can solidify the INTERIOR of the OL- (Alex Mack & Herman Johnson)- does that minimise the need for a new LT & Smith/Starks/Essex/Colon/Hills will suffice?

[Chadman]

Re: Opinions wanted...

Or, added to that, if the Steelers can't get a quality LT in Round 1, does drafting Phil Loadholt & plugging him in at RT do a similar job?

As a LT, Loadholt figues to be around the #10 OT on the board- but he's probably #1 at RT....

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Opinions wanted...

These physical similarities scare me a bit:
Phil Loadholt is listed as 6'8" and 350.
Max Starks is listed as 6'8" and 345.

I see Loadholt as a 2nd round prospect (although I also considered Cherilus and Baker to be 2nd round prospects last year, but they were both taken before our pick at #23, so you just never know). I don't want to reach for a tackle at the end of round one like I think Houston did last year taking Duane Brown at #26.