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Starkey: Tomlin/Colbert drafts deserve another look
By Joe Starkey Freelance Columnist
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, 10:33 p.m.
Updated 12 hours ago
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Lookie here: The Steelers, with a playoff spot clinched, tied for third most in the NFL with five players voted to the Pro Bowl and easily could have had more.
That tells me they are well-stocked with high-end talent.
The Steelers, with a division title at stake Sunday night, have transitioned from old, slow and done to young, fast and fun — especially on offense and excluding the secondary.
That tells me somebody must be drafting well because we know the Steelers do not play the high-stakes free agent game.
If Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor don't start against the Cincinnati Bengals, only five of 22 starters from the lʍoq ɹǝdnS team of 2010 will start the game (not including William Gay and James Harrison, who left and came back).
In other words, the Steelers have completely reshaped their roster. And if this is indeed the other side of the rebuild, we will be forced to reconsider a few things.
First, we'll have to look back and say the transition wasn't nearly as painful as it could have been. The price for a massive overhaul is usually a lot steeper than two 8-8 seasons ending with near-playoff misses.
Second, and more to the point, we really must reappraise the quality of the Mike Tomlin/Kevin Colbert drafts, which are looking better every day.
Conventional wisdom would have you believe Tomlin and Colbert mangled multiple drafts and left the Steelers wanting at too many positions to be a serious contender. The flaw in that theory completely destroys it. The Steelers are a serious contender.
We know about the misses. Everybody misses. Some studies will tell you that even in the first round, the league-wide bust rate is about 40 percent. It only goes up after that. So we know all about the Ziggy Hoods and Curtis Browns. We know Dri Archer so far looks like Chris Rainey II, only Archer can't return kickoffs and was taken two rounds earlier.
To focus on the misses is to miss the point. Every team can look back on a lost draft class or two. The point is the Steelers have hit on enough picks — some of them grand slams — to make themselves a winner again.
Start with two of the NFL's most prolific players — Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown — on what has become the most prolific offense in franchise history. In any remix of their draft years, both would be legit top-five picks. The Steelers got Bell in the second round, Brown the sixth.
The Steelers found Brown with the 195th pick in 2010, the same year they drafted Maurkice Pouncey 18th overall. In my book, those two alone make that a great draft. Pouncey, despite losing a season to injury, is the most decorated offensive lineman of the 2010 draft with four Pro Bowl invites. The Steelers also got a couple of other legit NFL starters in Emmanuel Sanders and Jason Worilds.
How come we never talk about that draft?
Meanwhile, Markus Wheaton (third round, 2013) is developing nicely, and this year the Steelers snagged a game-changer in the fourth round (118th overall) in Martavis Bryant, who only has transformed the offense. Bryant set an NFL record with six touchdown catches in first four games.
Anybody giving Tomlin and Colbert credit for that pick?
David DeCastro was another nice catch. He is beginning to remind people of his number-sake, Alan Faneca. The Steelers took DeCastro with 24th pick in 2012, and that brings up another key point: Tomlin and Colbert never get a top-10 choice. Their highest selection has been 15th (twice).
One of their best picks was a seventh-rounder who has turned into a quality player at a premium position: left tackle. That would be Kelvin Beachum, the 248th selection in 2012.
Defensively, the record has not been as good, but there are bright spots. Lawrence Timmons (15th overall) and Heyward (31st) were brilliant picks. This year's second-rounder, Stephon Tuitt, played his best game against Kansas City and appears to be on the rise.
It's still too early to judge first-rounders Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier. You wonder what linebacker Sean Spence (third round, 2012) might have been had he not suffered a catastrophic knee injury.
If there is an area in which the Tomlin/Colbert union has failed, it's the secondary. The one elite cornerback they drafted was Keenan Lewis, whom they failed to properly identify as an impact player and did not retain. We'll see about safety Shamarko Thomas and highly paid corner Cortez Allen.
Analyzing drafts is a fluid exercise. Perceptions change fast as players rise and fall. At the moment, it appears the Steelers have drafted way better than commonly believed.
They must have.
Look at the standings.
Hopefully Shazier can make a big play or two. I think Tuitt is the key for a playoff run.