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Don’t have the time to scout 300+ prospects anymore so here’s the beginning of a list of prospects at each position that the Steelers have shown interest in. I will keep updating this as visits and pro days continue. I probably sprinkle in some of the prospects I personally like as well.
QB-
Mason Rudolph Oklahoma St.
My opinion- Rudolph has above average strength and athleticism, enough arm, great deep ball accuracy, and above average football IQ. He lacks elite arm strength, and holds the ball too long sometimes. Ceiling= Phillip Rivers. Floor= Landry Jones
Lamar Jackson Louisville
My opinion- Jackson is a college highlight reel. He made amazing plays with his feet, extended plays allowing receivers to get open, was a dynamic college football player. Unfortunately, he has very limited arm strength, completely unable to read a defense or run an offense, and has almost 0 NFL ability. He is Michael Vick but slower and no arm. Mike did show a little ability to run a one read offense with Philadelphia later in his career but I am not sure Jackson lasts in the NFL long enough to get that opportunity and again is not the athlete Vick was. He’d need to go to a team with an offensive guru for OC and he’d have to put in more work than he’s ever had to do to his athleticism. Ceiling- Robert Griffin III. Floor- DJ Shockley
Riley Ferguson Memphis
My opinion- Ferguson has a quick release, enough arm, stands tall in the pocket, some mobility, has NFL IQ, and is accurate. My questions are his love for the game and he could use another 20lbs of functional weight. Of all the QB’s the Steelers have shown interest in his projected round and upside are more intriguing to me than the ones mentioned above as Ferguson is rated 5th or later on the draft boards I have seen.. Ceiling- Nick Foles. Floor- John Beck
RB-
Derrius Guice LSU
My opinion- Guice ran behind a typical dominant LSU line and crushed it vs inferior opponents. VS SEC competition he didn’t do much of anything having Alabama, Auburn and Florida keeping him in check the last two years. VS AP he was 77 290 yards 3.8 ave 0 TD’s. To compare Barkley whom had to face 3 defenders spying him was 68 352 yards 5.2 ave with 5 TD’s. Guice is big, fast, decent balance but at this point he’s all potential in my opinion. I have a late 3rd round grade on him. Ceiling- Ronnie Brown. Floor- Trent Richardson
Kerryon Johnson Auburn
My opinion- I feel Guice and Johnson are very similar backs but I give Johnson a little nod over Guice. I think Johnson rated as a 3rd-4th round pick also interests me much more than Guice at #28 overall. I could get behind going S, ILB, and then luxury and security with Bells future not clear. Johnson is a patient runner, glides past the LOS, follows blocks, nice balance. Not much of a homerun threat (like Bell) but does seem to always get positive yards. Ceiling- Le’Veon Bell. Floor- Charles Sims
Kalen Ballage Arizona St.
My opinion- Ballage has a lot of upside as he split carries with another capable RB in college in Demario Richard. Ballage is a late round prospect which for me makes him appealing as we already spent a 3rd on Connor last year. Ballage is big, fast, can’t arm tackle, falls forward and has a nose for the end zone. He also has very good hands for a RB but didn’t run much in the way of routes. Runs a little too upright for my liking and he played a lot of wild cat. Ceiling- Le’Veon Bell. Floor- Tony Hunt
WR-
James Washington Oklahoma St.
My opinion- Washington took advantage of having a QB who accurately throws the deep ball but that said Washington does a nice job with his footwork and acceleration out of breaks to gain separation from his man. He isn’t an elite athlete but I feel his athleticism translates on the football field where some just show it in shorts. The bad is he’s not very tall, with average sized hands, but is thickly built and should hold up well in the NFL. Ceiling- Hines Ward. Floor Peter Warrick.
Dante Pettis Washington
My opinion- Pettis is a big play and big time return man. I am very curious to see his workout numbers but as the draft approaches I am starting to doubt he runs before the April event. On tape in his returns or route running he uses his elite feet and shoulder movement to set up his route. He catches the ball very well but not elite, he tracks the ball well in the air, and isn’t afraid of the middle of the field. When returning he quickly sets up his return with very little wasted movement always looking to go north/south. Frame looks small and considering he is still recovering from an ankle injury I would be very concerned about his medical (will he need surgery this year and IR’d) and his long term durability. Can he expand his route tree? I think because of medical and not working out the Steelers could snag him later than he is projecting to go. I just don’t see teams not red flagging his ankle and inability to workout prior to the draft. Ceiling- Poor man’s AB. Floor- Antwan Randle El. Best NFL comparison would be Ted Ginn Jr.
J’Mon Moore Missouri
My opinion- Moore is a tall, big play, jump ball kind of WR. He has elite ball tracking ability and even though 40 was slow he’s a long strider and once he hits hi gear he will blast past you. Not great hands, and definitely needs to learn to run a full route tree. Ceiling- Allen Robinson. Floor- Rueben Randle
TE-
Mike Gesicki Penn St.
My opinion- Gesicki is an elite height, weight, speed prospect. He has great size at 6-5, arms at 34”, and over 10” hands. Crazy fast running 4.54 40 and then you combine all that with a 41 ½” vertical and you have a freak athlete. He also has great hands and a humungous catch radius. This year he worked on his route running and is able to set up his guy to create space via feet and shoulder movement. Why isn’t he a sure fire top 10 pick? He couldn’t block his own grandma. I don’t know if he can’t or just doesn’t give a crap but for the love of god Barkley was constantly avoiding Gesicki’s man in the backfield. Ceiling- Jimmy Graham. Floor- Jesse James.
Mark Andrews Oklahoma
My opinion- Andrews checks the boxes when it comes to production, size, and speed. He didn’t play as fast as he timed but he did a nice job of getting open. Will need to use his athleticism in the NFL to get open and play like his timed speed. He needs to work on his blocking as well. Would be nice to see him finish his guy instead of just be in his way. Ceiling- Jason Witten (if he learns to block). Floor- Coby Fleener.
Ian Thomas Indiana
My opinion- Thomas might have the most upside to any TE in this draft next to Gesicki. Thomas has HUGE banana hands at 11 ½” long, crazy arm length (like Gesicki) at 34 1/8” long, and still at 6-4 260lb frame. Despite “inconsistent” QB play Thomas put up good numbers and made some crazy highlight catches. Problems are he definitely does not run a full route tree as he seemed to be a seam guy using his body and speed to get past LB’s or oversize CB/S. Needs to be more aggressive in blocking but compared to the Gesicki and Andrews he is actually better in this department. Ceiling- Greg Olsen. Floor- Ladarius Green.
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QB-
Mason Rudolph Oklahoma St.
My opinion- Rudolph has above average strength and athleticism, enough arm, great deep ball accuracy, and above average football IQ. He lacks elite arm strength, and holds the ball too long sometimes. Ceiling= Phillip Rivers. Floor= Landry Jones
Lamar Jackson Louisville
My opinion- Jackson is a college highlight reel. He made amazing plays with his feet, extended plays allowing receivers to get open, was a dynamic college football player. Unfortunately, he has very limited arm strength, completely unable to read a defense or run an offense, and has almost 0 NFL ability. He is Michael Vick but slower and no arm. Mike did show a little ability to run a one read offense with Philadelphia later in his career but I am not sure Jackson lasts in the NFL long enough to get that opportunity and again is not the athlete Vick was. He’d need to go to a team with an offensive guru for OC and he’d have to put in more work than he’s ever had to do to his athleticism. Ceiling- Robert Griffin III. Floor- DJ Shockley
Riley Ferguson Memphis
My opinion- Ferguson has a quick release, enough arm, stands tall in the pocket, some mobility, has NFL IQ, and is accurate. My questions are his love for the game and he could use another 20lbs of functional weight. Of all the QB’s the Steelers have shown interest in his projected round and upside are more intriguing to me than the ones mentioned above as Ferguson is rated 5th or later on the draft boards I have seen.. Ceiling- Nick Foles. Floor- John Beck
RB-
Derrius Guice LSU
My opinion- Guice ran behind a typical dominant LSU line and crushed it vs inferior opponents. VS SEC competition he didn’t do much of anything having Alabama, Auburn and Florida keeping him in check the last two years. VS AP he was 77 290 yards 3.8 ave 0 TD’s. To compare Barkley whom had to face 3 defenders spying him was 68 352 yards 5.2 ave with 5 TD’s. Guice is big, fast, decent balance but at this point he’s all potential in my opinion. I have a late 3rd round grade on him. Ceiling- Ronnie Brown. Floor- Trent Richardson
Kerryon Johnson Auburn
My opinion- I feel Guice and Johnson are very similar backs but I give Johnson a little nod over Guice. I think Johnson rated as a 3rd-4th round pick also interests me much more than Guice at #28 overall. I could get behind going S, ILB, and then luxury and security with Bells future not clear. Johnson is a patient runner, glides past the LOS, follows blocks, nice balance. Not much of a homerun threat (like Bell) but does seem to always get positive yards. Ceiling- Le’Veon Bell. Floor- Charles Sims
Kalen Ballage Arizona St.
My opinion- Ballage has a lot of upside as he split carries with another capable RB in college in Demario Richard. Ballage is a late round prospect which for me makes him appealing as we already spent a 3rd on Connor last year. Ballage is big, fast, can’t arm tackle, falls forward and has a nose for the end zone. He also has very good hands for a RB but didn’t run much in the way of routes. Runs a little too upright for my liking and he played a lot of wild cat. Ceiling- Le’Veon Bell. Floor- Tony Hunt
WR-
James Washington Oklahoma St.
My opinion- Washington took advantage of having a QB who accurately throws the deep ball but that said Washington does a nice job with his footwork and acceleration out of breaks to gain separation from his man. He isn’t an elite athlete but I feel his athleticism translates on the football field where some just show it in shorts. The bad is he’s not very tall, with average sized hands, but is thickly built and should hold up well in the NFL. Ceiling- Hines Ward. Floor Peter Warrick.
Dante Pettis Washington
My opinion- Pettis is a big play and big time return man. I am very curious to see his workout numbers but as the draft approaches I am starting to doubt he runs before the April event. On tape in his returns or route running he uses his elite feet and shoulder movement to set up his route. He catches the ball very well but not elite, he tracks the ball well in the air, and isn’t afraid of the middle of the field. When returning he quickly sets up his return with very little wasted movement always looking to go north/south. Frame looks small and considering he is still recovering from an ankle injury I would be very concerned about his medical (will he need surgery this year and IR’d) and his long term durability. Can he expand his route tree? I think because of medical and not working out the Steelers could snag him later than he is projecting to go. I just don’t see teams not red flagging his ankle and inability to workout prior to the draft. Ceiling- Poor man’s AB. Floor- Antwan Randle El. Best NFL comparison would be Ted Ginn Jr.
J’Mon Moore Missouri
My opinion- Moore is a tall, big play, jump ball kind of WR. He has elite ball tracking ability and even though 40 was slow he’s a long strider and once he hits hi gear he will blast past you. Not great hands, and definitely needs to learn to run a full route tree. Ceiling- Allen Robinson. Floor- Rueben Randle
TE-
Mike Gesicki Penn St.
My opinion- Gesicki is an elite height, weight, speed prospect. He has great size at 6-5, arms at 34”, and over 10” hands. Crazy fast running 4.54 40 and then you combine all that with a 41 ½” vertical and you have a freak athlete. He also has great hands and a humungous catch radius. This year he worked on his route running and is able to set up his guy to create space via feet and shoulder movement. Why isn’t he a sure fire top 10 pick? He couldn’t block his own grandma. I don’t know if he can’t or just doesn’t give a crap but for the love of god Barkley was constantly avoiding Gesicki’s man in the backfield. Ceiling- Jimmy Graham. Floor- Jesse James.
Mark Andrews Oklahoma
My opinion- Andrews checks the boxes when it comes to production, size, and speed. He didn’t play as fast as he timed but he did a nice job of getting open. Will need to use his athleticism in the NFL to get open and play like his timed speed. He needs to work on his blocking as well. Would be nice to see him finish his guy instead of just be in his way. Ceiling- Jason Witten (if he learns to block). Floor- Coby Fleener.
Ian Thomas Indiana
My opinion- Thomas might have the most upside to any TE in this draft next to Gesicki. Thomas has HUGE banana hands at 11 ½” long, crazy arm length (like Gesicki) at 34 1/8” long, and still at 6-4 260lb frame. Despite “inconsistent” QB play Thomas put up good numbers and made some crazy highlight catches. Problems are he definitely does not run a full route tree as he seemed to be a seam guy using his body and speed to get past LB’s or oversize CB/S. Needs to be more aggressive in blocking but compared to the Gesicki and Andrews he is actually better in this department. Ceiling- Greg Olsen. Floor- Ladarius Green.
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