My Mock Along Mock

[SteelerFan448]

I like the concept of this, but would be more interested in seeing your thoughts without the trades as well since they didn't actually happen (and pretty much never do for the Steelers). It makes it more realistic.

 

[FordFairLane]

I like the concept of this, but would be more interested in seeing your thoughts without the trades as well since they didn't actually happen (and pretty much never do for the Steelers). It makes it more realistic.

I'd have took Foreman over JuJu and Jack over burns. Doesn't matter if I traded or not I take those two over our picks.

 

[FordFairLane]

So I do this every year so don’t think I dislike the Steelers draft. In fact I like their draft so much too many of my picks were the same. So many that it would make looking back on this year boring. So I’m changing it up to make things interesting. It’s fun looking back now on these old drafts and see how I did. Some years I do better than the Steelers some years I do worse. Some years it immediately looks like one or the other did better but 3 years later those have flipped. I started doing this way before 2008 but I didn’t start saving them until then.

#28 Anthony Miller WR Memphis
Again I like Terrell Edmunds but I am going my own route. Miller reminds me a lot of AB and OBJ it’s crazy. Quick feet, best hands in the draft, full route tree, adjusts to the ball in the air, good straight line speed. I know he played vs inferior competition and I think starting him in the slot would have been ideal to now throw too much at him at once but he likely gets put in opposite of Allen Robinson and will have a second year QB try to get him the ball. Honestly, think going to the Bears hinders his development.

#59(Saints trade 2017) Derrius Guice RB LSU
Guice fell because of character concerns but this is free pick so I take the chance.

#60 Justin Reid S Stanford
Too good of a value here. I think Reid has one of the highest floors in the draft. He is one of the most technically sound safeties I’ve seen come out in a long time. He’s scheme diverse, athletic, has instincts and understands zone and man concepts. I have no doubt he starts for the Texans sooner than later.

#79 Ian Thomas TE Indiana
Thomas is definitely a work in progress but I feel sitting behind James and McDonald would do him a load of good. He could sit at #3 TE this year, move to #2 next and if he could start in 2020 we could let McDonald go. Thomas has freaky hands, able blocker, good speed and adjusts to poorly thrown balls. He definitely needs refinement but has a lot of upside.

#92 Kenny Young ILB UCLA
I get my ILB and Young IMO was the last one whom has Mack backer ability. He hits like a house, flies to the ball, plays zone coverage very well, run sideline to sideline and has a non-stop motor.

#148 Tim Settle NT Virginia Tech
I go get us some competition at the interior defensive line. Settle has great power, nice push, extends his long arms and uses leverage well. Honestly, reminds me a ton of Casey Hampton.

#165 Jack Cichy ILB Wisconsin
Yes, Young was the last LB I thought could play Mack. But Vince Williams has one year left on his deal and plays Buck. Cichy had a string of injuries to end his college career but trust me he was every bit of not more of a defensive playmaker as TJ Watt when he was healthy. Give him a year to get healthy and understand the system then set him loose in 2019.

#220 Jordan Mailata OT Australia
I get my massive piece of clay for Munch to mold. 6-8 350 36” arms and still crazy athleticism. Probably practice squad the first year but after that I’d have loved to see what Munch could have done with him.

#246 Auden Tate WR Florida State
Tate is slow and not overly athletic but he has size and uses his body well in blocking out receivers. Could be a very nice red zone threat and perhaps gives some special team value pushing Hunter off the roster.

Again I really loved the Steelers draft. I went 3 for 3 with the first three picks and ended up 4/7. Too much similarities to I decided to go completely different this year. It’s fun to look back every year and compare.

Edited:

Forgot I traded last year so I had the 59th overall pick as well. I don’t want to change the whole draft so I’d take Derrius Guice whom went 59th overall anyways.

 

[Stryker]

The only person I called on any of my mocks, was Rudolph. I missed on everyone else.

 

[ark steel]

The only person I called on any of my mocks, was Rudolph. I missed on everyone else.

Going along with the draft, i got Rudolf. Got the right position when they took samuels, but i said the TN guy. Samuels looks more better but was listed as te.

 

[FordFairLane]

Like I said I really like the Steelers draft. Round one they get a sub packages replacement for Shazier and a long term replacement for safety. Burnett is 29 so he’s a 1-2 year stop gap. If you look at Burnett’s contract it’s really one year guaranteed.
James Washington has Hines Ward written all over him and replaces Bryant. Also, AB isn’t getting any younger.
Mason Rudolph might very well end up being the steal of the draft. I honestly don’t see that big of a difference between Josh Rosen and Mason Rudolph . I mean I had Rosen a tic ahead of Rudolph but not that far and I had Rudolph way ahead of Lamar Jackson. Give Rudolph two years to develop and learn the offense and he could be the next Aaron Rodgers.
Okorafor has rare length, size, strength and feet. Could be Jonathan Ogden type LT.
Allen might be overkill at the safety position but if the Steelers start playing some 2-2-7 next year and put Allen and Edmunds in the intermediate middle having safeties that can hit like Edmunds and Allen will be a good thing.
Samuels to me is a poor mans LeVeon Bell. He can do about anything you ask. Since Bell isn’t locked up long term this kid could fill a need.
Frazier at the very least should push McCullers to either step up or step aside.

Really can’t be upset about a single pick.


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[Drink IRON City]

Like I said I really like the Steelers draft. Round one they get a sub packages replacement for Shazier and a long term replacement for safety. Burnett is 29 so he’s a 1-2 year stop gap. If you look at Burnett’s contract it’s really one year guaranteed.
James Washington has Hines Ward written all over him and replaces Bryant. Also, AB isn’t getting any younger.
Mason Rudolph might very well end up being the steal of the draft. I honestly don’t see that big of a difference between Josh Rosen and Mason Rudolph . I mean I had Rosen a tic ahead of Rudolph but not that far and I had Rudolph way ahead of Lamar Jackson. Give Rudolph two years to develop and learn the offense and he could be the next Aaron Rodgers.
Okorafor has rare length, size, strength and feet. Could be Jonathan Ogden type LT.
Allen might be overkill at the safety position but if the Steelers start playing some 2-2-7 next year and put Allen and Edmunds in the intermediate middle having safeties that can hit like Edmunds and Allen will be a good thing.
Samuels to me is a poor mans LeVeon Bell. He can do about anything you ask. Since Bell isn’t locked up long term this kid could fill a need.
Frazier at the very least should push McCullers to either step up or step aside.

Really can’t be upset about a single pick.


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EXCELLENT post Ford, can't argue with any of it. I too am very happy with this outcome / crop of draftees.




Salute the nation

 

[Litos]

Like I said I really like the Steelers draft. Round one they get a sub packages replacement for Shazier and a long term replacement for safety. Burnett is 29 so he’s a 1-2 year stop gap. If you look at Burnett’s contract it’s really one year guaranteed.
James Washington has Hines Ward written all over him and replaces Bryant. Also, AB isn’t getting any younger.
Mason Rudolph might very well end up being the steal of the draft. I honestly don’t see that big of a difference between Josh Rosen and Mason Rudolph . I mean I had Rosen a tic ahead of Rudolph but not that far and I had Rudolph way ahead of Lamar Jackson. Give Rudolph two years to develop and learn the offense and he could be the next Aaron Rodgers.
Okorafor has rare length, size, strength and feet. Could be Jonathan Ogden type LT.
Allen might be overkill at the safety position but if the Steelers start playing some 2-2-7 next year and put Allen and Edmunds in the intermediate middle having safeties that can hit like Edmunds and Allen will be a good thing.
Samuels to me is a poor mans LeVeon Bell. He can do about anything you ask. Since Bell isn’t locked up long term this kid could fill a need.
Frazier at the very least should push McCullers to either step up or step aside.

Really can’t be upset about a single pick.


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http://www.steelernationforums.com/...5th-Round-Pick&p=494834&viewfull=1#post494834

hey you stole that from me hehe

 

[FordFairLane]

2019 Mock Along Mock
So I sit still and don’t trade up so this will be a very different mock than the Steelers jus for that fact.

#20- Noah Fant TE Iowa
Get Ben another TE to throw to. Fant is very quick and athletic though not a great blocker. He would be a nice #2 and an eventual replacement for McDonald.

#52- Chase Winovich Edge Michigan
Get a push rusher to go opposite of Watt. Winovich grew on me as I watched him and I like his non stop motor and relentless pursuit of the ball.

#66- Germaine Pratt ILB NC State
Pratt a former safety bulked up and transitioned to MLB. He really came on last year and I feel the arrow is pointing up on him. Reminds me a lot of Darius Leonard.

#83 Hakeem Butler WR Iowa State
If not for the fact I already took a pass catcher in the first and ILB was such a need I probably take hi at #66 so him still being on the board is a great value.

#122- Isaiah Johnson CB Houston
Johnson reminds me a lot of Layne in the sense he is a former WR transitioning to CB with tons of athleticism but so much technique to learn.

#141- Ben Burr-Kirven ILB Washington
Not quite the athlete as Bush is but more productive. I feel Pratt/Burr-Kirven could make a nice combo as ILB for years to come.

#175- Travis Homer RB Miami
I was hoping Darius Slayton would fall but Homer is not a bad consolidation prize. We got power in Conner a little bit of all purpose in JaySam and Homer is that homerun threat we need.

#192- Jimmy Moreland CB James Madison
I feel Hilton is looking to get paid and we might not have the cash to pay him so lets develop a nice nickelback now. Moreland has 18 career INT’s.

#207- Dillon Mitchell WR Oregon
Get another WR on the roster who has a shot at becoming a starter. This four star recruit with basketball skills had 1,184 yards at almost 16 a crack with 10 TD’s last year.

#219- Lukas Denis S Boston College
Rangy safety who had a fantastic 2017 with 7 picks but lost production in 2018 with 1 INT. Needs help in tackling which is a huge red flag but his ball skills are exceptional. Would be a nice PS player to coach up.

 

[Steelmann]

Thanks for carrying on the tradition. It’s always an interesting read.

 

[Zack_of_Steel]

What would you have done with the trade scenario?

 

[FordFairLane]

What would you have done with the trade scenario?

The Steelers got the correct trade value in that trade. But if you look at my previous drafts I have guys like Shaq Thompson and Kenny Young already on my roster. But if I did trade up with the current roster I’d have grabbed Bush as well.


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[FordFairLane]

So to keep with tradition I am doing my mock along mock. It is interesting to see my previous picks and how they are doing. Last year decided to do mine without the trade since I already would have Shaq Thompson on my roster. I agreed if I did the trade I would have grabbed Bush. But I will use that 3rd round pick on Lloyd Cushenberry III that we gave to the Broncos.

#49- Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M
This is a tough choice between Baun and Madubuike but with the departure of Hargrave I get ourselves a plug and play interior defensive lineman. Madubuike is a penetrator who can stack and shed. We are really counting on Tuitt to stay healthy this year now that Hargrave is gone and I feel getting some insurance against injury is probably our biggest need right now.

#83- Lloyd Cushenberry, LSU
I know we don't have this pick but last year I did my mock as if I had Shaq Thompson on the roster making the trade for Bush not needed. Donkey's pick up Cushenberry and I think he would have been in play for us as well. I will continue the mock as if I did not pick up Cushenberry so I can get back with what the Steelers need from here on out.

#102- La'Mical Perine, Florida
For my money he is the most complete back in this draft. Nasty down hill runner that punished defenders and runs through arm tackles, great when going out for passes and his pass protection is way about the curve for a college kid. I love Conner when he is healthy but seems to not be able to stay on the field and this gives us a trey 3-down back.

#124- Amik Robertson, Louisiana Tech
Hilton is a free agent next year and I don't know if we can resign him. He wants to get paid and I feel with Watt and Dupree get the big deals and that leaves the team with limited cap space for a lot of free agents. I wouldn't be surprised if Sutton gets a deal over Hilton as I feel he would be a cheaper option to resign. Robertson is a Hilton clone and is just a baller. The true Junior at 21 has 14 picks, 34 PD's, 23 TFL and 4 sacks in his collegiate career.

#135- Kenny Robinson, West Virginia
True ballhawk who can play both FS/SS. He had some academic issues and was suspended for academic fraud but this is a first round talent at 135. He just turned 21 and has 9 picks over his lat 28 ganes. Risk vs reward. If he gets himeslf in trouble we dump a 4th round pick. If he keeps his nose clean we get a first round talent in the 4th.

#198- Evan Weaver, Cal
Weaver is a tackling machine. He should immediately become a special teams ace taking over for Dirty Red and being able to backup Vince.

#232- Alex Taylor, South Carolina State
Mountain of a man with freakish athleticism. He will definitely need a year to be coached up but you can't teach a guy to be 6-8 with 36 1/8" arms and 11 1/4" hands while running a 5.09 forty. He won consistently with his basketball athleticism in College but he will need to be coached up to get it done consistently in the NFL.

Should be fun to see how everything looks 5 years from now.

 

[nooneuno]

Kudos to you Ford, at least you aren’t afraid to hide behind your picks like some. (Coach)

Glad you didn’t pick our squad in 2017 lol good pick off Xavier Woods in the 5th and Watt of course but the rest damn lol

 

[FordFairLane]

Yeah, Watt, Douglas and Woods are all good but the rest sucked. Foreman I thought would be what Chubb has become. Dorian Johnson just never got his pass pro in check. I overlooked his issues at pass protection because he was such a big powerful man but he ended up being too much of a liability.

I like looking back about 5 years because you really get a nice look at where and what could have happened. 2015 was a pretty sweet draft. Thompson, Hunter and Waller all pro bowlers. Randy Gregory is what I thought risk vs reward. Could have been all pro if he would put down the weed. Who knows maybe with the new rules he will comeback and reach his potential.

 

[FordFairLane]

So in keeping the tradition alive my annual mock along mock update for the 2021 draft.

Round 1- Najee Harris RB Alabama
I did hem and haw a little because I have Perine who is unfortunately stuck on the jets so likely never see’s his potential met. But that said I like Harris as a 3-down back who can catch and has big play potential. Could be Derrick Henry with better hands.

Rounds 2- Creed Humphrey OC Oklahoma
Now this does not mean I don’t love the Freiermuth pick. I just stick with my board and try to help Ben and my first round pick by getting an anchor to the line. BJ is a nice stopgap but I feel Creed has that elite athleticism, experienced, and size needed. I do like Green as well but I feel Humphrey is the safer pick.

Round 3- Spencer Brown OT Northern Iowa
I feel the Steelers like our offensive line a bit more than I do. But Banner and Chuks are both free agents in 2022. So if both players do great we likely don’t resign both. This gives us options as Brown only played RT in college but displayed LT athleticism and size. He also plays nasty and is definitely a finisher when he locks on his guy. He also does a phenomenal job getting to that second level and bulldozing lanes. Harris I feel would again benefit from this pick and I want to set up my first round pick to succeed.

Round 4- Marco Wilson CB Florida
I feel I get Hadens replacement here. Wilson has elite athleticism. He can play inside or out. His tape shows a lot of inconsistencies but if you can coach out the bad you got an elite CB.

Round 4- Shaun Wade DB Ohio State
Wade is a tail of two tapes. As a nickel defender he looked awesome but when they moved him outside he seemed to get over matched. I feel I start him inside at nickel and maybe even try him at safety a little. But if Marco can go outside and Wade inside we might have filled Hilton leaving and have Hadens replacement in this one draft.

Round 5- Simi Fehoko WR Stanford
Now I wouldn’t have made this trade first of all. But people get all butt hurt when I make better trade decisions than Tombert so if I did make this trade I take a physical freak that should give us options when JuJu and Washington’s contracts come up next year. Nearly 6-4, 222lbs, 10.25” hands, 4.44 forty. Needs better route running but a year of being coached should help. Probably 5th WR this year but if JuJu and Washington are gone he could be opposite Claypool with Johnson in the slot in 2022.

Round 6- Shaka Toney Edge Penn State
It’s pick your flavor at this point. Quincy Roche has the stats but is physically limited. William Bradley-King is not as athletic as Toney and not as productive as Roche. But I go for pure potential here. Toney has elite speed and bend so I give a piece of clay to Butler and tell him to sculpt a masterpiece.

Round 7- Tony Poljan TE Virginia
A bit surprised he didn’t get drafted. Smart player, good size, good blocker, not as athletic as I thought but definitely worth getting drafted.

Round 7- Dylan Moses LB Alabama
Again, not sure why this kid didn’t get drafted. I like Buddy Johnson and all but I don’t feel ILB is a huge need with us having Bush back, Bince signing back, Spillane healthy, Marcus Allen back, and Gilbert healthy. I just can’t pass on the talent though. I feel at this point you try to get value into camp and Moses is definitely a good value pick here.

 

[Litos]

There must be some serious issues under the table if he wasn't drafted, Moses I mean

 

[Steelmann]

So in keeping the tradition alive my annual mock along mock update for the 2021 draft.

Round 1- Najee Harris RB Alabama
I did hem and haw a little because I have Perine who is unfortunately stuck on the jets so likely never see’s his potential met. But that said I like Harris as a 3-down back who can catch and has big play potential. Could be Derrick Henry with better hands.

Rounds 2- Creed Humphrey OC Oklahoma
Now this does not mean I don’t love the Freiermuth pick. I just stick with my board and try to help Ben and my first round pick by getting an anchor to the line. BJ is a nice stopgap but I feel Creed has that elite athleticism, experienced, and size needed. I do like Green as well but I feel Humphrey is the safer pick.

Round 3- Spencer Brown OT Northern Iowa
I feel the Steelers like our offensive line a bit more than I do. But Banner and Chuks are both free agents in 2022. So if both players do great we likely don’t resign both. This gives us options as Brown only played RT in college but displayed LT athleticism and size. He also plays nasty and is definitely a finisher when he locks on his guy. He also does a phenomenal job getting to that second level and bulldozing lanes. Harris I feel would again benefit from this pick and I want to set up my first round pick to succeed.

Round 4- Marco Wilson CB Florida
I feel I get Hadens replacement here. Wilson has elite athleticism. He can play inside or out. His tape shows a lot of inconsistencies but if you can coach out the bad you got an elite CB.

Round 4- Shaun Wade DB Ohio State
Wade is a tail of two tapes. As a nickel defender he looked awesome but when they moved him outside he seemed to get over matched. I feel I start him inside at nickel and maybe even try him at safety a little. But if Marco can go outside and Wade inside we might have filled Hilton leaving and have Hadens replacement in this one draft.

Round 5- Simi Fehoko WR Stanford
Now I wouldn’t have made this trade first of all. But people get all butt hurt when I make better trade decisions than Tombert so if I did make this trade I take a physical freak that should give us options when JuJu and Washington’s contracts come up next year. Nearly 6-4, 222lbs, 10.25” hands, 4.44 forty. Needs better route running but a year of being coached should help. Probably 5th WR this year but if JuJu and Washington are gone he could be opposite Claypool with Johnson in the slot in 2022.

Round 6- Shaka Toney Edge Penn State
It’s pick your flavor at this point. Quincy Roche has the stats but is physically limited. William Bradley-King is not as athletic as Toney and not as productive as Roche. But I go for pure potential here. Toney has elite speed and bend so I give a piece of clay to Butler and tell him to sculpt a masterpiece.

Round 7- Tony Poljan TE Virginia
A bit surprised he didn’t get drafted. Smart player, good size, good blocker, not as athletic as I thought but definitely worth getting drafted.

Round 7- Dylan Moses LB Alabama
Again, not sure why this kid didn’t get drafted. I like Buddy Johnson and all but I don’t feel ILB is a huge need with us having Bush back, Bince signing back, Spillane healthy, Marcus Allen back, and Gilbert healthy. I just can’t pass on the talent though. I feel at this point you try to get value into camp and Moses is definitely a good value pick here.

Love looking back on these. Thanks Ford!

 

[Steeltime]

Awesome job, Fairline. Your drafts are pretty darn good for the most part.

 

[slashsteel]

Awesome job, Fairline. Your drafts are pretty darn good for the most part.

Ford is steady Eddie. Always putting in the work. We all will have our good and bad drafts. Matters not still fun to read and fun to debate. Picked three Steelers this year though pretty damn good.

 

[diver]

It is neat looking at these. I recognized some names after the 3rd round in those drafts, but nit many. It just seems to me all the teeth nashing over trading away a 4th round pick...heck, how many of those guys are doing much?

 

[FordFairLane]

Thanks everyone. Yeah, these are fun 4-5 years later to come back on and look. I would say if I could make scouting a full time job I could probably hold my own for talent evaluation. I probably put in 40ish hours of film work. I try to watch two full games focusing on the player I want to evaluate. I prefer a game with good stats vs good competition and then a game without stats vs inferior competition. Sometimes I can’t find those combinations. With the advent of YouTube though the process is easier. I used to have to TiVo every college football game and then hope I could watch the games before my memory was full. I probably put in 200+ hours back then. But I feel if this was my job and I put 2000 hours a year in I’d be able to watch more film and really zero in on the strengths and weaknesses of each player.

 

[Superman]

Thanks everyone. Yeah, these are fun 4-5 years later to come back on and look. I would say if I could make scouting a full time job I could probably hold my own for talent evaluation. I probably put in 40ish hours of film work. I try to watch two full games focusing on the player I want to evaluate. I prefer a game with good stats vs good competition and then a game without stats vs inferior competition. Sometimes I can’t find those combinations. With the advent of YouTube though the process is easier. I used to have to TiVo every college football game and then hope I could watch the games before my memory was full. I probably put in 200+ hours back then. But I feel if this was my job and I put 2000 hours a year in I’d be able to watch more film and really zero in on the strengths and weaknesses of each player.

we cant all be Cooch

 

[Stryker]

Mel Kiper would have given you a C also. You didn't draft a QB @FordFairLane !

I do love your draft though.

 

[FordFairLane]

we cant all be Cooch

I have to have something to reach for