Weidel effect?

[SteelerSask2]

You mean, you "anticipate" things being this way. However, what I've read in other places indicates that the "bean counter" will have a significant say so during the talent evaluation phase of things and that he will have as much say so about draft picks as past GM/Pres. of Football Operations.

Well if the money people try to become the football people they are ******. Saying hockey....if a crusher tries to become a rusher he will be an usher.

 

[KStilley]

I probably remeber articles and info gleaned from media sources that I agree with vs. what I don't.

I have read and heard that Weidel is in charge of putting the big board ranking draft prospects together. Most also state that the GM, HC and Weidel will all have input with the goal of a consensus. Obviously Art R. will probably be the the voice if there's strong disagreement. Whatever transpires, Weidel is probably looking to become a GM/head honcho somewhere, if his board and voice is ignored and Tomlin or Kahn dominate the room, I don't think he'll want to stick around. This draft will affect his reputation even if he's ignored and I can't see a guy who's worked so hard to gain the reputation he has to sit still.

 

[Steelmann]

You mean, you "anticipate" things being this way. However, what I've read in other places indicates that the "bean counter" will have a significant say so during the talent evaluation phase of things and that he will have as much say so about draft picks as past GM/Pres. of Football Operations.

As he should. He is GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers. As far as I am concerned a GM is above HC and should have firing and drafting authority. With only the owner being able to veto. And of course the success of a GM is the expertise of the people below you,listening and evaluating then making the decision. Hopefully everyone will give him a chance.

I thought of Weidle that way too. Until I read somewhere recently that Omar is definitely putting his stamp on the scouting and scouting himself. I hope against all hope that his "scouting" includes having a verified and qualified talent evaluator with him at all times. And that said talent evaluator is showing him the ropes in regard to any of the areas of evaluation that Omar might be lacking in.

Omar seems like a smart guy. His stamp on scouting is hopefully evaluating what’s going on and improving that situation. Of course he will go to games and scout. He’s not going alone,has already made two major hires in the scouting department. He’s been here for 22 years. Let’s see him put his stamp on.

Our former GM got a heck of a lot of credit here during his tenure with the Steelers. And well deserved. Over the previous 5 + years I was a bit of a critic. I’d love to find a site with all KC’s free agent signings over his career. He struck out on so many. While I give him credit for making a big splash trade.......Bush didn’t exactly work out. And it’s not like there weren’t a few other head scratching draft picks. The writing was on the wall with our OLine the year before Pouncey retired. David was oft injured and slowing down. We could have had our line redone before our RB and QB selection. I just don’t get the philosophy sometimes.

 

[SteelerFan448]

As he should. He is GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers. As far as I am concerned a GM is above HC and should have firing and drafting authority. With only the owner being able to veto. And of course the success of a GM is the expertise of the people below you,listening and evaluating then making the decision. Hopefully everyone will give him a chance.

Omar seems like a smart guy. His stamp on scouting is hopefully evaluating what’s going on and improving that situation. Of course he will go to games and scout. He’s not going alone,has already made two major hires in the scouting department. He’s been here for 22 years. Let’s see him put his stamp on.

Our former GM got a heck of a lot of credit here during his tenure with the Steelers. And well deserved. Over the previous 5 + years I was a bit of a critic. I’d love to find a site with all KC’s free agent signings over his career. He struck out on so many. While I give him credit for making a big splash trade.......Bush didn’t exactly work out. And it’s not like there weren’t a few other head scratching draft picks. The writing was on the wall with our OLine the year before Pouncey retired. David was oft injured and slowing down. We could have had our line redone before our RB and QB selection. I just don’t get the philosophy sometimes.

Not only did they fail to rebuild the offensive line first, but the running back they drafted in the first round isn't explosive.

 

[Steelmann]

Not only did they fail to rebuild the offensive line first, but the running back they drafted in the first round isn't explosive.

I have nothing against Naj. This next season really will be the tell. Let’s hope it’s a great one.

But I fully agree with you. The kid drafted by the Jags had an explosive year catching the ball and running ,over 1100 yds at a 5.1 average. And can take it to the house on any given play.

Like many on here,I would not have drafted Naj to begin with. Fix the line first. Look at this year’s draft 2 years later. By all accounts a very good RB draft. We could have waited.

 

[Stryker]

I heard Weidl is putting the big board together. He's a scout and understands personnel.

 

[Steeltime]

Like many on here,I would not have drafted Naj to begin with. Fix the line first. Look at this year’s draft 2 years later. By all accounts a very good RB draft. We could have waited.

I liked the pick only because I thought he was a key addition with Ben still under center and the talented group of WR's. My disappointment was related to ignoring the OL in the 2nd round, then reaching for a guy who had never played center in the 3rd.

And you are 100% correct that this draft is deep in RB. Further, teams find RB's in the 3rd, 4th, even as UDFA's. Look at some of the best:

• Nick Chubb - 2nd round
• Dalvin Cook - 2nd round
• Aaron Jones - 5th round
• Jamaal Williams - 4th round
• Kenneth Walker - 2nd round
• Rhamondre Stevenson - 4th round
• Tyler Allgeire - 5th round
• Tony Pollard - 4th round

Very, very good RB's can and are found routinely in the 2nd round and later.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Jalen Warren, Un-Drafted.

Creed Humphreys Current Pro Bowler


Salute the nation

 

[TDX27]

Wiedl puts the board together with Tomlin's input. Then, Khan, Tomlin, and Rooney make the selections with Rooney being the ultimate tiebreaker. At least, that is how Dulac from the PG said it is done. The best OL, DL, and CB should be our top 3 picks.

 

[madinsomniac]

I liked the pick only because I thought he was a key addition with Ben still under center and the talented group of WR's. My disappointment was related to ignoring the OL in the 2nd round, then reaching for a guy who had never played center in the 3rd.

And you are 100% correct that this draft is deep in RB. Further, teams find RB's in the 3rd, 4th, even as UDFA's. Look at some of the best:

• Nick Chubb - 2nd round
• Dalvin Cook - 2nd round
• Aaron Jones - 5th round
• Jamaal Williams - 4th round
• Kenneth Walker - 2nd round
• Rhamondre Stevenson - 4th round
• Tyler Allgeire - 5th round
• Tony Pollard - 4th round

Very, very good RB's can and are found routinely in the 2nd round and later.

Yep hate the pick, not the player…

Running back is just one of the simplest and easiest positions to fill in the NFL. A ton of first round RBs are nothing special but get several years of starts just because of their draft position. A guy like Benny Snell, who shows flashes but no consistency will start for two or three years if he is a first round pick even if a low round pick or undrafted player is out performing them In practice…

There once was this perfect juxtaposition back in willie parker’s era when the all pro backs over a period of time were almost evenly distributed between top ten picks, lower first rounders, mid rounders, late rounders, and udfas…

I would never use a first rounder on a back.. we should have traded down and taken Creed…

 

[SteelerFan448]

I liked the pick only because I thought he was a key addition with Ben still under center and the talented group of WR's. My disappointment was related to ignoring the OL in the 2nd round, then reaching for a guy who had never played center in the 3rd.

And you are 100% correct that this draft is deep in RB. Further, teams find RB's in the 3rd, 4th, even as UDFA's. Look at some of the best:

• Nick Chubb - 2nd round
• Dalvin Cook - 2nd round
• Aaron Jones - 5th round
• Jamaal Williams - 4th round
• Kenneth Walker - 2nd round
• Rhamondre Stevenson - 4th round
• Tyler Allgeire - 5th round
• Tony Pollard - 4th round

Very, very good RB's can and are found routinely in the 2nd round and later.

The big problem with drafting a guy like Najee in the first is he isn't an explosive player. No second gear. Guys like Saquon, CMC, Chubb, Cook all have a special characteristic. Henry is a freak of nature with a combination of size and speed. Harris is a tough runner, yet does nothing great in the NFL. He career YPC is way lower than it should be and there are backs who have done better with poor offensive lines. Given Ben's lack of mobility, offensive line was the way to go and going back by committee would've worked. If the Steelers had a Kansas City-like rebuild of the offensive line they would've had an absolute dominate group this year.

 

[slashsteel]

Wiedl puts the board together with Tomlin's input. Then, Khan, Tomlin, and Rooney make the selections with Rooney being the ultimate tiebreaker. At least, that is how Dulac from the PG said it is done. The best OL, DL, and CB should be our top 3 picks.

You had me until the end. Their BPA needs to be wider than 3 areas. To include ILBer,OLBer,WR and SS. You really don't want to miss out on a clearly higher rated prospect by boxing out areas of need. They have free agency to narrow down the top needs. If things are equal sure hit those trenches and CB hard.

 

[SteelerFan448]

You had me until the end. Their BPA needs to be wider than 3 areas. To include ILBer,OLBer,WR and SS. You really don't want to miss out on a clearly higher rated prospect by boxing out areas of need. They have free agency to narrow down the top needs. If things are equal sure hit those trenches and CB hard.

They definitely need a good player. If Branch is sitting there at 1.17, he'd be very hard to pass up regardless of who else is on the board. I will say, ILB is pretty much in the same category as RBs and TEs. Unless they are a special athlete, the position just doesn't have enough value to draft in the first round compared to other positions. A great one is nice to have, but you can win without stellar play from the position. There also usually excellent value in the second and third rounds.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Trench is a HUIGE need and for me to narrow it down, OLT in my dream is 1st pick. I’m also smart enough to know that value and need must coexist.

I don’t have a “BIG” board but I do like to input some and see what happens.


Salute the nation

 

[Fiji Mariner]

Really depends. If someone has the final say and is picking BPA that is leaning on GM- draft constructed big board, I am less concerned than if someone ignored their input and or when the big board was created pushed for their prospects over what everyone else said. Then sure I would be concerned.

The great reason to fear Tomlin having “final say” is that he is averse to drafting OL with his dumbass weapons do the same thing but better theory. If Tomlin has final say expect a WR or CB where OT and DL should be. Hoping Weidl gets to steer this draft towards some unsexy big beasts for the LOS

 

[TDX27]

You had me until the end. Their BPA needs to be wider than 3 areas. To include ILBer,OLBer,WR and SS. You really don't want to miss out on a clearly higher rated prospect by boxing out areas of need. They have free agency to narrow down the top needs. If things are equal sure hit those trenches and CB hard.

Sure, it would depend but I see no way we pick a WR in Rd. 1 or even Rd. 2. It's just not that big of a need. OLB is for depth unless they can't sign Highsmith for around $12 million per and they do need ILB help but they may want to see what they have with Robinson. The biggest needs still remain OL, DL, and CB. If the don't get a solid above-average starter (for more than 1 year) in free agency, which I doubt they will, they absolutely have to finally address OL and DL in the 1st 2 rounds. They have been kicking that can down the road for almost a decade. We need a stud on both lines.

 

[slashsteel]

Sure, it would depend but I see no way we pick a WR in Rd. 1 or even Rd. 2. It's just not that big of a need. OLB is for depth unless they can't sign Highsmith for around $12 million per and they do need ILB help but they may want to see what they have with Robinson. The biggest needs still remain OL, DL, and CB. If the don't get a solid above-average starter (for more than 1 year) in free agency, which I doubt they will, they absolutely have to finally address OL and DL in the 1st 2 rounds. They have been kicking that can down the road for almost a decade. We need a stud on both lines.

Robinson is an unknown. By hook or crook they better bring in an ILBer. As in by the draft or free agency. You never want those unknowns to be stand alones as in your only option.

 

[steel dino]

The big problem with drafting a guy like Najee in the first is he isn't an explosive player. No second gear. Guys like Saquon, CMC, Chubb, Cook all have a special characteristic. Henry is a freak of nature with a combination of size and speed. Harris is a tough runner, yet does nothing great in the NFL. He career YPC is way lower than it should be and there are backs who have done better with poor offensive lines. Given Ben's lack of mobility, offensive line was the way to go and going back by committee would've worked. If the Steelers had a Kansas City-like rebuild of the offensive line they would've had an absolute dominate group this year.

The great reason to fear Tomlin having “final say” is that he is averse to drafting OL with his dumbass weapons do the same thing but better theory. If Tomlin has final say expect a WR or CB where OT and DL should be. Hoping Weidl gets to steer this draft towards some unsexy big beasts for the LOS

Lets hope Weidel is a "big ugly whisperer"....

He certainly did a great job in Philly with that O-Line...which is the best I have seen in a long time.

 

[ZonaBurgh]

Free agency will play a big part in how this draft goes, guess we'll find out next month whether the Steelers history of not participating much holds true or they try to address the holes in the roster.

If the can't resign Sutton, Tomlin likely takes the best WR in the draft at 17.

 

[topseed]

They definitely need a good player. If Branch is sitting there at 1.17, he'd be very hard to pass up regardless of who else is on the board. I will say, ILB is pretty much in the same category as RBs and TEs. Unless they are a special athlete, the position just doesn't have enough value to draft in the first round compared to other positions. A great one is nice to have, but you can win without stellar play from the position. There also usually excellent value in the second and third rounds.

I guess that the Steelers' brass didn't recognize this in 2019, when they traded up to draft an ILB with the tenth overall pick. An undersized one at that. Pissing away two second-day picks in the process.

 

[TDX27]

Robinson is an unknown. By hook or crook they better bring in an ILBer. As in by the draft or free agency. You never want those unknowns to be stand alones as in your only option.

I think they draft one in the 3rd or 4th unless one of the best drops to 32. 32 is the wildcard pick this year in my mind.

 

[SteelerFan448]

I'm still having a hard time getting passed the idea that teams that could throw the ball well and teams that are effective at stopping the pass were the teams making deep playoff runs. Grabbing another receiver and an interior pass rusher on the defensive line would go a long way to pushing the Steelers forward in these two areas. There's still room to get an offensive lineman and a cornerback, just thinking of how to prioritize a draft board.

 

[Confluence]

Maybe with this being Omar's first draft in the chair, we might see some style differences beginning with some cap cuts, new FAs, etc. to position draft with less need. I saw an article today that said with cutting Mitch, Jack, Witherspoon and a couple others that $40M cap could be saved.....they do not need to cut them all, and will still need some of that saving even for depth signings, but imagine shaving $20M net, having reasonable backups and addressing OL/DL/ILB/WR prior to the draft.....it sure would seem like a way to lessen the number of need positions.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Maybe with this being Omar's first draft in the chair, we might see some style differences beginning with some cap cuts, new FAs, etc. to position draft with less need. I saw an article today that said with cutting Mitch, Jack, Witherspoon and a couple others that $40M cap could be saved.....they do not need to cut them all, and will still need some of that saving even for depth signings, but imagine shaving $20M net, having reasonable backups and addressing OL/DL/ILB/WR prior to the draft.....it sure would seem like a way to lessen the number of need positions.

Great post, but the type of OL & DL quality we need would eat that $20mil right up. I think you are correct but I still see OLT / DL are still biggest needs or close to it. A drafted player money-wise seems to make best sense In those regards.

I hear yay loud and clear and in your boat in that whom ever we can get (hope high quality) in FA will change the priorities in the draft.



Salute the nation

 

[Confluence]

Great post, but the type of OL & DL quality we need would eat that $20mil right up. I think you are correct but I still see OLT / DL are still biggest needs or close to it. A drafted player money-wise seems to make best sense In those regards.

I hear yay loud and clear and in your boat in that whom ever we can get (hope high quality) in FA will change the priorities in the draft.



Salute the nation

Agreed. I think they could use $20M to address ILB and WR with FAs, then use the three top 50 picks for OL/DL/CB and the 3rd for OLB to b/u Watt and Highsmith.