Steelers select CB Artie Burns - Miami

[ark steel]

I didn't like the Golson pick last year either, but these are now our future cornerbacks. We're done for a while a the position. We will live/die with Tomlin's vision at the position now.

Personally, I think both are just meh... They'll be okay pros but part of a dominant defense? Probably not.

Everything about this team to me is 8-8 or 9-7 without Ben Roethlisberger. Antonio Brown is special. Bell was a great pick to see that type of talent once he lost 10 lbs.

But for the most part, I think how they built the offensive line, how they are rebuilding the defense is pretty average.

We're at a point where everyone is in Tomlin's image now. The D-line is all his. The linebackers are all his. Now the secondary is finally all his.

Every part now has Tomlin's idea of talent in it. Every part of the team now has 1st/2nd round picks that Tomlin has blessed/decided upon.

If that leads to an average defense, that's because Tomlin is coaching average and the talent he picked is average. There are no other reasons or excuses for it anymore. I'm sure most fans will try to see the glass half full. Heyward, Tuitt, Jones, Timmons, Shazier, Dupree, Golson, Burns are all "NFL talents". No one is denying that. They all belong in the NFL. That's 8 of your potential 11 starters as top-60 picks.

But are they now good enough and coached well enough to do it on the field? Be a top-10 defense again? We'll find out.

I worry there is a lot of "good" in that group, but not a lot of "great". And traditionally it takes one or two GREAT players to elevate an average defensive unit into something special.

The offensive side of the ball has always had something special: Roethlisberger. It's just taken a while for him to grow up, get into the right offense, fix the O-line (and his style of play, which arguably took longer than it should have) and find the proper hood ornaments (Browns/Bell) to bring it all together.

Now we see what the defense becomes over the next 3 years.

At this point, wouldn't average be a huge upgrade?

 

[Coach]

My take on Burns. The good, the bad, and the ugly

My take on Burns. The good, the bad, and the ugly


The Steelers very likely turned down the Broncos offer for their third round in round three. I would argue that Burns would be there for us at Denver's pick #31 overall and we could have used a third round pick!
Denver very liked called the Steelers to avoid the risk of another team calling trying to trade up for Lynch.

Our pass defense was ranked 30th, and gave up 29 touchdowns through the air, however, we also played 7 back -up Quarterbacks, so when you factor that it, it's in even worse shape than the statics show.

Everyone knows we need a corner. Gay is getting older and Blake who left via free agency was #1 in terms of yardage given up among CB's.


Burns:

nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/artie-burns?id=2555344


I have seen Burns play live and can tell you the coaching at UM is a mess. The kid is very raw. He's an athlete playing cornerback, and can look good on one play and terrible on the next. At age 20, he's 2-3 years younger than most prospects. While he has the height, speed, long arms and ball skills I like in a cornerback, he's weak vs. the run and was flagged 6 times last year, two for unsportsmanlike conduct.

So he's an upside project that needs a lot of work and a bit weak vs. the run. Bruns might not be ready to start until 2017, which means the DB's are not going to get much better unless Golson or Grant show something. Since we spent a first round pick here, odds are neither will impress enough. I liked Grant. I think Golson was a bad 2nd round pick.

It's very hard to rate a 20-year-old at corner. Unknown to me is his character off the field, his football character on the field, his Wonderlic score, and his psychological test score. UM has some troubled types off the field. Can this raw 20-year old learn? Is he willing to work hard? Burns could have used another year in school but due to his mom passing and his father being incarcerated he's opting to go pro.

Final thoughts: I'm not happy missing an opportunity to trade down, and since no CB's were taken after Burns, there is a very good chance he would be there at pick #31. If not, take NT/DT Billings and pick a corner in round two. My best guess is Burns will be beaten early in his NFL career and has a slower learning curve. The Steelers will need to be patient with him, even though our pass defense needs help NOW.

While the need for a cornerback is high, Burns to me is more of a 2nd round talent. I think he'll end up as a 1st round disappoint.

Grade for need A. We need a corner badly.
Grade for value in the round C- Burns was a reach.
Grade for not taken the trade if offered F
Grade for NFL upside A

**What type of player I think he will be.** Very difficult to project due his age and willingness and ability to learn. I'll say B- just an okay NFL starter with a high bust potential.

But when you have a guy like Blake staring he's a D-

Overall Grade for the Pick C+ We could have done better.

 

[ark steel]

If it is, indeed, true that they turned down Denver's offer, I don't get it. Some are saying that AZ would have taken Burns, but I would have taken that risk for the extra 3rd. When I saw the mocks with us taking Burns even with WJIII on the board, I was confused. Maybe some see him differently than us.

 

[Spike]

hahahahahaha

Now how did I know coach would be the first to start another Burns thread?

 

[deljzc]

At this point, wouldn't average be a huge upgrade?

Maybe. Last year to me was average defense.

2015: Good Offense + Average Defense = 11-5 season
2014: Good Offense + Bad Defense = 8-8 season
2013: Average Offense + Average Defense = 8-8 season

I sort of suspect another Good Offense + Average Defense again and likely another 10-12 win season.

If we can ever get the defense to be good (maybe even for a spurt at the right time), I think that leads to the potential of a deep playoff run. Until then, average might be good enough for playoffs, but not much more.

 

[DocScott]

After reading up on Burns, I LIKE THE PICK! He will be a starter that will help solidify a glaring problem in the secondary. I thought we would grab Billings but again, that's another reason why I'm not on the staff. If Tomlin and Colbert had Burns high on the board and we got him, then they've done their job. Go Steelers!!!!

 

[Coach]

hahahahahaha

Now how did I know coach would be the first to start another Burns thread?

New information: Colbert said he received several calls to trade down.

 

[ZACKB]

I have heard in a few places that KC and AZ wanted a corner, probably him. After we took him, KC traded out of the first rd. Teams had all kinds of grades on him. He is raw as hell, but so is Apple and WJIII

 

[Coach]

I didn't like the Golson pick last year either, but these are now our future cornerbacks. We're done for a while a the position. We will live/die with Tomlin's vision at the position now.

Personally, I think both are just meh... They'll be okay pros but part of a dominant defense? Probably not.

Everything about this team to me is 8-8 or 9-7 without Ben Roethlisberger. Antonio Brown is special. Bell was a great pick to see that type of talent once he lost 10 lbs.

But for the most part, I think how they built the offensive line, how they are rebuilding the defense is pretty average.

We're at a point where everyone is in Tomlin's image now. The D-line is all his. The linebackers are all his. Now the secondary is finally all his.

Every part now has Tomlin's idea of talent in it. Every part of the team now has 1st/2nd round picks that Tomlin has blessed/decided upon.

If that leads to an average defense, that's because Tomlin is coaching average and the talent he picked is average. There are no other reasons or excuses for it anymore. I'm sure most fans will try to see the glass half full. Heyward, Tuitt, Jones, Timmons, Shazier, Dupree, Golson, Burns are all "NFL talents". No one is denying that. They all belong in the NFL. That's 8 of your potential 11 starters as top-60 picks.

But are they now good enough and coached well enough to do it on the field? Be a top-10 defense again? We'll find out.

I worry there is a lot of "good" in that group, but not a lot of "great". And traditionally it takes one or two GREAT players to elevate an average defensive unit into something special.

The offensive side of the ball has always had something special: Roethlisberger. It's just taken a while for him to grow up, get into the right offense, fix the O-line (and his style of play, which arguably took longer than it should have) and find the proper hood ornaments (Browns/Bell) to bring it all together.

Now we see what the defense becomes over the next 3 years.

I hated the Golson pick. Small, not that fast, very light, injury prone, gives up TD's to taller WR's, etc...

 

[Hines57]

Gay, Golson, Burns, Cockrell, Grant. Those are our 5 DBs. I expect us to take another DB early, R3 or R4. Seeing as how we cut Grant last year this doesn't make me warm and fuzzy. We need these youngsters to perform. Ain't much else to say about it.

 

[Tibs]

First-round pick Artie Burns gives his take on Mike Tomlin, the Steelers and more.
http://www.steelers.com/news/draft/...4-topics/fe9afaa2-811e-44a5-84b9-5c5848e401b9

What you want: It’s not often you get what you want, but that was the case for Artie Burns when the Steelers drafted him in the first round on Thursday night, the 25th pick overall. The cornerback from Miami said the Steelers were the team he hoped would pick him, and he got just what he wanted.

“After meeting with Mike Tomlin, he was one of the coolest coaches I’ve met,” said Burns. “The players really relate to him. They want to play for him. When he talked to me, I could tell that everything he was saying was legit. He seemed like a genuine person. The way he carries himself, he just has so much swag. Swag that’s so natural for a head coach.

“It has always been a great organization. They play zone defense.”

Steelers Nation: Burns also said he was excited to be drafted by the Steelers because it’s a team he has watched since he was young, and he fits the type of defense Keith Butler runs.

“They’re known as a tough defense,” said Burns. “I’m that kind of guy. I’ve been watching the Steelers defense since I was young. That’s always been my team since I was young. I always idolized them, year in and year out.”

Speedster: Burns didn’t just excel for Miami on the football field, but also on the track where he excelled in the 110 meter hurdles. Burns said it was important for him to devote himself to both sports, and it showed as he won All-ACC honors the last two years.

“I’m just a pure athlete,” said Burns. “I never put one sport in front of the other. I always treated them the same. I just dedicated my time to both of them.”

Facing adversity: Burns has definitely grown from the adversity he has faced in life, from his father going to jail when he was in the fourth grade, to his mother suddenly dying from a heart attack last October and having to raise his younger brothers. He has grown as a man, and as an athlete with what he has been through.

“It’s definitely helped me through different situations that I’ve had to deal with,” said Burns. “Tough situations that forced me to stop. I was just facing adversity. You know it helped me a lot, going through all of that and it helped on the field."

 

[antdrewjosh]

If you like him that much over the other CBs why trade down for basically a 4..why risk it.

 

[Scott109]

I have heard in a few places that KC and AZ wanted a corner, probably him. After we took him, KC traded out of the first rd. Teams had all minds of grades on him. He is raw as hell, but so is Apple and WJIII

Plus you can't rule out Carloina taking Burns after losing Josh Norman.

 

[ZACKB]

Alexander is the last decent, healthy corner. KC will prob take him. There are concerns about Fuller's knees.

 

[Steelerfan]

No, no, no. All 6 of you who replied need to start your own threads. Get with the program.

 

[Superman]

ah ha! using the trade up/back argument with the "______ wasnt taken again until ......." statement, why would the Broncos essentially trade up considering that NOT A SINGLE ******* QB WAS TAKEN AFTER WENTZ?

god, this board is getting stupider and stupider with every draft.

 

[ZACKB]

I see a lot of upside, and it wouldn't;t surprise me if he was their pick all along. They may have taken him ahead of WJIII. Remember, 2 months ago, WJIII was considered a 3rd rounder.

 

[Tibs]

I see a lot of upside, and it wouldn't;t surprise me if he was their pick all along. They may have taken him ahead of WJIII. Remember, 2 months ago, WJIII was considered a 3rd rounder.

We'll never know I guess, but imagine the brains that would have exploded if the Steelers had picked Burns with WJIII still on the board, lol. That's the thing, we have no way of knowing how their CB board was stacked. But it would not surprise me if they had him ahead of both WJIII and Apple.

 

[antdrewjosh]

We'll never know I guess, but imagine the brains that would have exploded if the Steelers had picked Burns with WJIII still on the board, lol. That's the thing, we have no way of knowing how their CB board was stacked.

Now that would of been EPIC

 

[Lambert58]

i'm not sure that he's a first rounder. the mock that i saw by daniel jeremiah has us taking him and leaving billings on the table. honestly, no chance i see that happening

Well, you gotta be shocked now!

 

[Superman]

the last time we took a db in the first that coach didnt like, that dude turned out pretty good. pollymollyloo or something.

 

[ZACKB]

A number of mocks had just that happening. I think some of these media guys have connections and hear stuff.

 

[Tibs]

Btw, did anyone catch Ike Taylor simply gloating over the pick on NFL Network? My sense is he knew all along, which tells me Burns was probably higher on the Steelers board than we think. He also trolled the media by picking Billings in the pre-draft live mock they did on air. He was trying to throw everyone off. Sly like a fox Ike, job well done.

 

[Superman]

Ike has more brain power than the average person.

his cranium is almost Southern Steeler-esque

 

[Shane Falco]

So this is our new corner