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Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft starting on April 28th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next up…
The Steelers’ brass, consisting of Head Coach Mike Tomlin, General Manager Kevin Colbert, and Defensive Assistant Coach Brian Flores, were in Oxford, Mississippi on Wednesday for the Ole Miss Pro Day. The Steelers have been following the top quarterbacks this past week, as we’ve seen them with Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, and Matt Corral today. But with that said, there were other offensive prospects who worked out for the Steelers today and one in particular could help the Steelers’ receiving corps. With the Steelers currently being without a true slot receiver, they’ll need to look for one in the draft. Lucky for them, they got a good glimpse at a possible match made in heaven today catching passes from Corral. That receiver is Dontario Drummond.
Drummond is a massive body. At the NFL Combine in February, he measured in at 6’1” and 215 pounds. In college, he showed he knows how to use his size to his advantage. Although he doesn’t possess true breakaway speed, Drummond can box out defenders to make a play on the ball and pick up yards. In 2021, Drummond ranked second in the entire SEC in yards after the catch (YAC). For reference, Drummond (699 yards) was sandwiched between the Alabama duo of Jameson Williams (722 yards) and John Metchie III (640 yards) who are both considered top prospects in the draft. In terms of where he succeeds on the field, he’s best in the slot. Between his skillset of strong hands, smooth route running, and YAC-upside, paired with him being such an imposing physical player in the inside, he’d fit well in a Matt Canada offense. At Ole Miss, Drummond did well in a motion-filled scheme, which is what Canada likes to run. Not to mention, it takes a lot for Drummond to get tackled, as seen in his YAC numbers. I consider Drummond having one of the highest ceilings of later value picks in this year’s draft.
As I mentioned above, Drummond’s speed is lacking. At the combine, he posted a 4.65-second 40-yard dash, and on Wednesday at his Pro Day, a 4.67-second 40-yard dash. Speed is clearly not a part of his game. In addition, his route tree is pretty small. He was only asked to run specific routes in college as a part of an up-tempo spread offense, so he was able to get away with only running a limited number of routes. Although he has tremendous size, Drummond has trouble getting good separation on defenders. Sure, he can box them out, but if he is paired against a defensive back or a coverage linebacker in press coverage, he’ll have issues getting open. Finally, he plays with relatively small arms. His arms measured at 31.5” at the combine and doesn’t show he plays with a large catch radius. Between his lack of speed, limited route tree capability, troubles against press coverage, and having a small catch radius, those will lead him to drop on most NFL scout’s draft boards.
Drummond is a safe third-day selection in this year’s draft. He is going to have to start his NFL career as a special teams contributor and will have to earn his way into a starting role. But I still think he has a relatively high ceiling for where he’s projecting. Depending on where things fall throughout the draft, Drummond may slide into the 5th round, but I think it is safe to see him get selected in the 6th round. I don’t anticipate he’ll be gone anywhere before that.
Drummond is a tough read for the Steelers. Historically speaking, the Steelers have shown they can win with a ‘slow yet physical’ slot receiver. Not to mention, Drummond is going to be a late-round pick, allowing them to not need to reach on him necessarily. With what Drummond brings to the field and with how the Steelers can coach-up wide receivers, I wouldn’t be mad if they used their 208th or 225th overall pick on him. There is no getting around the fact the Steelers need a slot receiver at some point in the draft. If they decide to wait until later in the draft weekend to address that, Drummond could be their guy. With the Steelers also getting a solid look at Drummond on Wednesday’s Pro Day, that may have improved Drummond’s stock on Colbert’s board; or the complete opposite. Only time will tell as we get closer to the last weekend of April.
Where do you see Drummond going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Dontario Drummond (Wide Receiver), Ole Miss, Red Shirt Senior
OVERVIEW
The Steelers’ brass, consisting of Head Coach Mike Tomlin, General Manager Kevin Colbert, and Defensive Assistant Coach Brian Flores, were in Oxford, Mississippi on Wednesday for the Ole Miss Pro Day. The Steelers have been following the top quarterbacks this past week, as we’ve seen them with Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, and Matt Corral today. But with that said, there were other offensive prospects who worked out for the Steelers today and one in particular could help the Steelers’ receiving corps. With the Steelers currently being without a true slot receiver, they’ll need to look for one in the draft. Lucky for them, they got a good glimpse at a possible match made in heaven today catching passes from Corral. That receiver is Dontario Drummond.
PROS
Drummond is a massive body. At the NFL Combine in February, he measured in at 6’1” and 215 pounds. In college, he showed he knows how to use his size to his advantage. Although he doesn’t possess true breakaway speed, Drummond can box out defenders to make a play on the ball and pick up yards. In 2021, Drummond ranked second in the entire SEC in yards after the catch (YAC). For reference, Drummond (699 yards) was sandwiched between the Alabama duo of Jameson Williams (722 yards) and John Metchie III (640 yards) who are both considered top prospects in the draft. In terms of where he succeeds on the field, he’s best in the slot. Between his skillset of strong hands, smooth route running, and YAC-upside, paired with him being such an imposing physical player in the inside, he’d fit well in a Matt Canada offense. At Ole Miss, Drummond did well in a motion-filled scheme, which is what Canada likes to run. Not to mention, it takes a lot for Drummond to get tackled, as seen in his YAC numbers. I consider Drummond having one of the highest ceilings of later value picks in this year’s draft.
CONS
As I mentioned above, Drummond’s speed is lacking. At the combine, he posted a 4.65-second 40-yard dash, and on Wednesday at his Pro Day, a 4.67-second 40-yard dash. Speed is clearly not a part of his game. In addition, his route tree is pretty small. He was only asked to run specific routes in college as a part of an up-tempo spread offense, so he was able to get away with only running a limited number of routes. Although he has tremendous size, Drummond has trouble getting good separation on defenders. Sure, he can box them out, but if he is paired against a defensive back or a coverage linebacker in press coverage, he’ll have issues getting open. Finally, he plays with relatively small arms. His arms measured at 31.5” at the combine and doesn’t show he plays with a large catch radius. Between his lack of speed, limited route tree capability, troubles against press coverage, and having a small catch radius, those will lead him to drop on most NFL scout’s draft boards.
DRAFT PROJECTION: Late 5th to 6th Round
Drummond is a safe third-day selection in this year’s draft. He is going to have to start his NFL career as a special teams contributor and will have to earn his way into a starting role. But I still think he has a relatively high ceiling for where he’s projecting. Depending on where things fall throughout the draft, Drummond may slide into the 5th round, but I think it is safe to see him get selected in the 6th round. I don’t anticipate he’ll be gone anywhere before that.
VERDICT
Drummond is a tough read for the Steelers. Historically speaking, the Steelers have shown they can win with a ‘slow yet physical’ slot receiver. Not to mention, Drummond is going to be a late-round pick, allowing them to not need to reach on him necessarily. With what Drummond brings to the field and with how the Steelers can coach-up wide receivers, I wouldn’t be mad if they used their 208th or 225th overall pick on him. There is no getting around the fact the Steelers need a slot receiver at some point in the draft. If they decide to wait until later in the draft weekend to address that, Drummond could be their guy. With the Steelers also getting a solid look at Drummond on Wednesday’s Pro Day, that may have improved Drummond’s stock on Colbert’s board; or the complete opposite. Only time will tell as we get closer to the last weekend of April.
Where do you see Drummond going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
