Way too early mock draft

[FordFairLane]

Draft Creed Humphrey in the first round. I'll admit I liked Tevin Jenkins, but I never paid attention to his injury red flag. Humphrey was on the radar for me early and I take him as a better first-round investment than a running back.

Day 3 draft Trey Smith. He's been a guy we've talked about on this board about being a perfect fit for the Steelers for a couple of years now. Health red flags become less of a concern on day 3 when you absolutely take a top talent over a special teams linebacker.

Now I have two talented rookie starters on the offensive line, Pat Freiermuth and name whatever guy you want in the third round. Everyone wanted to sign Morgan Moses to play RT and I'm fine with that. Now you have a line with Okorafor-Dotson-Humphrey-Smith-Moses. I'd also do a real job search for an OL coach and not promote a guy who lacks NFL experience as OL coach.

I don't care if Linderbaum is position flexible. I'm drafting him to play center, not guard or tackle. You draft guys late in the draft for position flexibility, not in the first few rounds.

So you take a guy we could have in round 2 with our 1st…
Now in my mock along mock I do take Humphrey in the second. It did just make sense with Pouncey’s retirement. But I can’t say I don’t see what they were trying. I did like Green as a third day development OC. And he’s definitely played like one. Steelers tried hitting home runs later in the draft. In your draft we don’t have a running back. Najee has been a huge part of the offense. I can’t believe we win anymore games with Humphrey over Najee. And Freiermuth has been a good find. He looks to be our next TE for a good decade. Not too shabby.

Trey Smith is a tough one. I don’t know his medical, but blood clots are a big deal. Maybe he didn’t pass their physical. He must’ve not passed many physicals because he slipped far. I guess that’s a comfort zone. I definitely think Harvin was a wasted pick.

We didn’t have money for Morgan Moses.

Good. You draft Linderbaum in the first on your team. But my guess is 32 NFL general managers don’t. And look at where he’s rated now. Top 10 on some of these draft experts. But I’ll go out on a limb and say he doesn’t get drafted in the first. Maybe late first but definitely not top 10.

 

[SteelerFan448]

So you take a guy we could have in round 2 with our 1st…
Now in my mock along mock I do take Humphrey in the second. It did just make sense with Pouncey’s retirement. But I can’t say I don’t see what they were trying. I did like Green as a third day development OC. And he’s definitely played like one. Steelers tried hitting home runs later in the draft. In your draft we don’t have a running back. Najee has been a huge part of the offense. I can’t believe we win anymore games with Humphrey over Najee. And Freiermuth has been a good find. He looks to be our next TE for a good decade. Not too shabby.

Trey Smith is a tough one. I don’t know his medical, but blood clots are a big deal. Maybe he didn’t pass their physical. He must’ve not passed many physicals because he slipped far. I guess that’s a comfort zone. I definitely think Harvin was a wasted pick.

We didn’t have money for Morgan Moses.

Good. You draft Linderbaum in the first on your team. But my guess is 32 NFL general managers don’t. And look at where he’s rated now. Top 10 on some of these draft experts. But I’ll go out on a limb and say he doesn’t get drafted in the first. Maybe late first but definitely not top 10.

That's not true. In my draft we don't have a running back with the first, second, or one of the day 3 picks. Harris and Williams are the leading rookie rushers, but of the others, Elijah Mitchell and Khalil Herbert were sixth rounders, Michael Carter, Rhamondre Stevenson, & Chuba Hubbard fourth rounders. None have the pedigree of Harris, but would be serviceable, especially if paired with a veteran.

I don't think Smith is particularly tough. The Steelers have had a lot of duds selected in rounds 4-7 so why not swing big? They don't do it often enough. Smith is easily the best player on the board with high-end talent. Maybe health issues creep up in 3-4 years? At that point you hope he is healthy, but in terms of the roster you had a good starter for 3-4 seasons. That's better than most of the guys who flame out and never amount to anything.

The Steelers did have enough room to sign him for $3.6 million in July? That's fine, I'll still run with Dotson, Humphrey, and Smith on the interior.

It was a mock draft and Linderbaum went 18th. Four months ahead of the draft, I liked the idea of taking the top-ranked center to address the Steelers biggest weakness (also under the assumption they'll address several positions, including CB, in free agency).