This should freak most of you out.....

**Chadman** · 03-18-2009, 07:39 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

So he's projected as a 4-5 round guy? Hmm...still fits in Chadman's "Colbert Value Zone" for OT's.

It's a possibility....

**Steel Life** · 03-18-2009, 08:55 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

"I'm a coming Lizabeth!!!"...heh, Redd Fox rocks...

Um, after seeing him resemble a human turnstile at the Senior Bowl, I think I'd recommend drafting long-snapper instead.

**Jom112** · 03-18-2009, 10:05 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Crap we're looking at the guy to. I'm not a big fan of Watkins. He can't play LT and isn't that great of a RT. For a fifth rounder he's got some potential though. Wouldn't touch him before that...

**SteelCrazy** · 03-18-2009, 10:07 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

If they are comparing him to Max Starks I guess we will sign him to a 1-2 yr contract worth 20 million.

**steelsnis** · 03-18-2009, 10:38 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

and just maybe win two more Super Bowls with him too!

**RKSteel** · 03-19-2009, 08:15 AM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Thanks Chadman. Now I have to clean coffee off my monitor.

**frankthetank1** · 03-19-2009, 05:19 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Originally posted by SteelCrazy

If they are comparing him to Max Starks I guess we will sign him to a 1-2 yr contract worth 20 million.

haha that is hillarious. i will say this starks played a hell of a lot better than i expected him to when smith was gone. not worth that money obviously, but he isnt the complete bum i thought he was before last season. still of all the players to compare him to they go with starks. pretty funny

**Oracle** · 03-19-2009, 06:44 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

To answer this you have to look at the situation we're in. We need a LT so badly right now and can't wait any longer. - and p.s. - of all the years to be picking 1.32 why did it have to be now?!... (j/k)

i honestly don't think the FO is going to extend Starks. (If they were, i think they would've done it last year). And his salary is killing us. This is a much a bigger deal than many draft experts are predicting. There is no heir apparent on our roster. And we almost assuredly won't pick up a high caliber free agent. That means our long tern LT is probably coming from this year's draft. And he probably won't be a late round developmental prospect like Watkins because:

a) we don't have that much time, Starks is gone next year (hopefully)
b) we can't risk a possible dud
c) we already have a couple of those late round caliber guys on our roster so why draft another.

What does this all mean then?

This means we will probably be selecting either Britton or Beatty in the first round or Meredith or Tupuo in the second. I know, I know, I can hear you all now - "Britton is not quick enough to play LT... Beatty is not strong enough..." True. But they're a hell of a lot better than those 4-5 rounders, and given a year to develop will be right there with 'slug-foot Starks' by 2010. Even Meredith or Tupuo should be better than Essex almost immediately. I'm not saying any of those four guys are our saviors but those are the best options we have, and i just can't see us going 3 rounds with no LT.

Some people say Colbert never goes OL in the first round. That's because he's never had to. Remember we drafted Simmons in the first. And why? Because we had a need. My personal opinion is that he's disguising his favorite prospects. After getting burned with Revis, he's learned his lesson. Get ready Steelers fans, your new LT is coming in round 1-2.

**Chadman** · 03-22-2009, 09:17 AM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Florida offensive tackle Jason Watkins was another player in high demand at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month. He had more than 20 formal interviews with NFL team officials, including the Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins.

Not bad for a guy who hadn't even thought about playing football until his junior year in high school.

"I grew up playing basketball. That was the sport I always played," he said during a recent interview. "When I moved to Florida, the football coach wanted me to try out and I thought I'd give it a try. So I tried it and I loved playing it."

When it came time for Watkins to head to college, he was recruited by Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn, Florida and Michigan State.

"It just felt right when I came here. I prayed on it, I talked to them all, but I think I moved to Florida for a reason," he said. "When I was younger, I didn't know what it was, but I guess I see now that God has a plan for me. Since I moved to Florida, everything just felt so right, so that's why I chose Florida."

Out of all of the formal interviews that Watkins had during the Combine, his one with the Steelers was one of the most memorable because it gave him the opportunity talk with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin.

"I was pretty much speechless because they just won the Super Bowl. When I walked into the meeting room, he was the first person who greeted me," he said. "I was like, 'man' and after that I was telling everyone in the hotel 'I met Coach Tomlin in there!' I think that was the highlight of my night and I was very honored."

Watkins, a 6-foot-6, 318-pound offensive tackle, started 29 games for the Gators, including two at tight end. He was a team captain during his senior year while Florida won their

**steelz09** · 03-22-2009, 10:26 AM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

That would be a good value in round 4. Played against good speed rushers in the SEC and obviously talented playing for the gators the last 2 years.

**RuthlessBurgher** · 03-22-2009, 12:21 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

I didn't realize that Watkins was 6' 6", 318 lbs., and athletic enough to start two games at Florida at tight end. That doesn't sound at all like the 6' 8", 345 lbs. Max Starks to me (even though Max often filled in as a tackle-eligible, quasi-3rd TE when Marvel and Colon were starting ahead of him and Tuman was injured a couple of seasons ago).

**Chavezz** · 03-22-2009, 06:11 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Take a look at his bench numbers.

There are a lot of factors as to why some players don't put up good numbers and although it's not the most important trait for an oline man, it's still important.

If you aren't strong enough to keep d lineman off of you and can't move the pile in the run game, you aren't going to cut it.

I took him off my board when I saw how weak he was.

**RuthlessBurgher** · 03-22-2009, 07:35 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Originally posted by Chavezz

Take a look at his bench numbers.

There are a lot of factors as to why some players don't put up good numbers and although it's not the most important trait for an oline man, it's still important.

If you aren't strong enough to keep d lineman off of you and can't move the pile in the run game, you aren't going to cut it.

I took him off my board when I saw how weak he was.

That's why he is a mid-round prospect (like Augustus Parrish, Gerald Cadogan, and Joel Bell) instead of an early round prospect (like Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, and Michael Oher). I wouldn't risk using a premium pick on a guy with a glaring weakness, but nobody that you are going to get in the middle rounds is going to be perfect (or else they would have already been selected earlier). If they are not able to get an OT on day one, he'd be worth considering in rounds 4 or 5, I would say.

**Chavezz** · 03-22-2009, 09:13 PM

Re: This should freak most of you out.....

Originally posted by RuthlessBurgher

Originally posted by Chavezz

Take a look at his bench numbers.

There are a lot of factors as to why some players don't put up good numbers and although it's not the most important trait for an oline man, it's still important.

If you aren't strong enough to keep d lineman off of you and can't move the pile in the run game, you aren't going to cut it.

I took him off my board when I saw how weak he was.

That's why he is a mid-round prospect (like Augustus Parrish, Gerald Cadogan, and Joel Bell) instead of an early round prospect (like Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, and Michael Oher). I wouldn't risk using a premium pick on a guy with a glaring weakness, but nobody that you are going to get in the middle rounds is going to be perfect (or else they would have already been selected earlier). If they are not able to get an OT on day one, he'd be worth considering in rounds 4 or 5, I would say.

Only worth it if the player can improve on those weaknesses. I used to think that strength was something that a player can improve once they got in the NFL conditioning programs. I think it can, but a player isn't going to improve by leaps and bounds.

If we're pinning our hopes on a mid round OT then the coaching staff isn't taking the oline seriously. Doing that is what got us where we are today in the 1st place.

This should freak most of you out.....

This should freak most of you out.....

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