2016 nfl draft

After sifting thru the Senior Bowl tape this week I think I developed a couple opinions of the Safety prospects I liked. Miles Killebrew covered well when in the slot and in the box. When he was deep in a cover 1 look, he appeared to be late getting to the ball and taking wide angles. Charles Davis said..." Killebrew is the guy you love to have as a teammate, but hate to play against", also "somebody is on the ground and Killebrew is around the play, not surprising".

Darrian Thompson showed that he was better as the single high safety in a classic FS look. He also played the TE's in the slot in 1 on 1 drills well and should have had an INT in the 1st half of the game. The knock is he is not strong in the run game, but showed willingness to come downhill and tackle, IMO.

Short of it is, Killebrew looked like an in the box kind of SS that loves to hit but can run with TE's, while Thompson is a ball hawking FS, with better ball skills. I think if the Steelers ended up with Thompson, the plan would be to get him to be the FS and have Mitchell play more of a SS role. I like how Killebrew plays, but IMO Thompson is the better pass defender.

Really don't get the love of Eli Apple - Steelers match. It seems that the mock drafts experts just picked the best available CB at their draft board and found that it's Apple. His skill set is not what the Steelers defense looks for.

If the Steelers resign Gay and Boykin and if they could get Weddle through free agence, one of the options could be TE Hunter Henry in the first round. That's a lot of ifs of course.

Hunter and Jesse James sounds nice as a future combo

kan_t wrote:

Really don't get the love of Eli Apple - Steelers match. It seems that the mock drafts experts just picked the best available CB at their draft board and found that it's Apple. His skill set is not what the Steelers defense looks for.

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL network has Apple going #9 to Tampa. Others have him bottom of 1st. He is 6'1" with long arms and will tackle, so many will tout him as the next Richard Sherman or Aquib Talib. If he runs a decent 40, somebody will take him in the top 15 and we don't have to worry about it.

I think he is a press man corner that will need a couple years in a zone system. If he stayed in school his technique would improve, but his stock wont get any higher than it will be this year, so he made the right decision to come out. Something tells me he isn't the Steelers guy...underclassman CB that played a lot of man to man.

Stella Nation wrote:

If the Steelers resign Gay and Boykin and if they could get Weddle through free agence, one of the options could be TE Hunter Henry in the first round. That's a lot of ifs of course.

Hunter and Jesse James sounds nice as a future combo

dave: Will TE be a high priority in this draft?

Gerry Dulac: Yes it will.


Jack Splat: Just based on what I am hearing so far - why is Jesse James not seen as the eventual #1 TE? Stories/evaluations I read seem to limit hi to a back up not a #1.

Gerry Dulac: I don't think the coaches view him as a No. 1 tight end because he is limited in his route running. But I think he will be a good No. 2.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

After sifting thru the Senior Bowl tape this week I think I developed a couple opinions of the Safety prospects I liked.  Miles Killebrew covered well when in the slot and in the box.  When he was deep in a cover 1 look, he appeared to be late getting to the ball and taking wide angles.  Charles Davis said..." Killebrew is the guy you love to have as a teammate, but hate to play against", also "somebody is on the ground and Killebrew is around the play, not surprising".

Darrian Thompson showed that he was better as the single high safety in a classic FS look.  He also played the TE's in the slot in 1 on 1 drills well and should have had an INT in the 1st half of the game.  The knock is he is not strong in the run game, but showed willingness to come downhill and tackle, IMO.

Short of it is, Killebrew looked like an in the box kind of SS that loves to hit but can run with TE's, while Thompson is a ball hawking FS, with better ball skills.  I think if the Steelers ended up with Thompson, the plan would be to get him to be the FS and have Mitchell play more of a SS role.  I like how Killebrew plays, but IMO Thompson is the better pass defender.

Killebrew is very impressive on tape. I love the angles he takes to get to the ball carrier, and how he is able to shed blocks and instinctively navigate through the scrum of bodies to blow people up. He never gives up on a play, and plays with maximum effort.

I agree, that he's not the prototype FS, but would be a hell of a SS.

I know you're not the biggest Mitchell fan at FS, but if they added Killebrew and kept Mitchell at FS could you imagine the hits if those two were on the field at the same time? You saw the affect of Mitchell's hitting and intimidation this year with many dropped passes. Receivers would be afraid to lift their arms to catch a pass.

Of course, there could be a few personal foul penalties as well.

The question then becomes, would the coverage suffer greatly with two players like that on the field? If the Steelers believe Mitchell is good enough on the back end in coverage, and that he may continue to improve as well, they may be interested in a player like Killebrew.

You're right about loving him if he's on your team, and hating him if he's playing for someone else.

I also love the fact that he's not a talker. They have enough of those now. Just crush someone and run back to the huddle or to the sideline.

It's an intriguing possibility.

pczach wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

After sifting thru the Senior Bowl tape this week I think I developed a couple opinions of the Safety prospects I liked.  Miles Killebrew covered well when in the slot and in the box.  When he was deep in a cover 1 look, he appeared to be late getting to the ball and taking wide angles.  Charles Davis said..." Killebrew is the guy you love to have as a teammate, but hate to play against", also "somebody is on the ground and Killebrew is around the play, not surprising".

Darrian Thompson showed that he was better as the single high safety in a classic FS look.  He also played the TE's in the slot in 1 on 1 drills well and should have had an INT in the 1st half of the game.  The knock is he is not strong in the run game, but showed willingness to come downhill and tackle, IMO.

Short of it is, Killebrew looked like an in the box kind of SS that loves to hit but can run with TE's, while Thompson is a ball hawking FS, with better ball skills.  I think if the Steelers ended up with Thompson, the plan would be to get him to be the FS and have Mitchell play more of a SS role.  I like how Killebrew plays, but IMO Thompson is the better pass defender.

Killebrew is very impressive on tape. I love the angles he takes to get to the ball carrier, and how he is able to shed blocks and instinctively navigate through the scrum of bodies to blow people up. He never gives up on a play, and plays with maximum effort.

I agree, that he's not the prototype FS, but would be a hell of a SS.

I know you're not the biggest Mitchell fan at FS, but if they added Killebrew and kept Mitchell at FS could you imagine the hits if those two were on the field at the same time? You saw the affect of Mitchell's hitting and intimidation this year with many dropped passes. Receivers would be afraid to lift their arms to catch a pass.

Of course, there could be a few personal foul penalties as well.

The question then becomes, would the coverage suffer greatly with two players like that on the field? If the Steelers believe Mitchell is good enough on the back end in coverage, and that he may continue to improve as well, they may be interested in a player like Killebrew.

You're right about loving him if he's on your team, and hating him if he's playing for someone else.

I also love the fact that he's not a talker. They have enough of those now. Just crush someone and run back to the huddle or to the sideline.

It's an intriguing possibility.

The more I see of Killebrew, the more I like him in the box...but also the more I think that Mitchell is not that good in coverage and 2 guys like that is more of a liability than if they were able to get a guy like Thompson and let Mitchell play more in the box or closer to the LOS.

I expect Robert Golden to be back for his depth, versatility and ST play and I still think Mike Mitchell is a mediocre safety, who tries to mask his deficient play with trash talk and lining up big hits. IMO, Mike Mitchell is a downgrade from Ryan Clark or Chris Hope who played FS. Fans just think he is good because he is the best talent we currently have at the position.

I've seen a lot of mock drafts lately and I have noticed that there's a huge diffrence in choices if it comes to the Steelers. In the first round alone I have seen CB, S, OLB, DE, OT and TE. I think we have to wait until the end of free agency to get a better picture of who the Steelers might draft.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

ImperialFan wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Speaking of Desmond King



An interesting video explaining the story behind Desmond King's success. I love this kid. I think he's going to be an impactful player in the NFL, and I sincerely hope that somehow he ends up in the Black & Gold at the professional level. I'd be the first to buy his jersey.

http://btn.com/2015/12/10/big-ten-football-iowas-desmond-king-wins-jim-thorpe-award/

I am on board with King. I wouldnt object to taking him in round 1 if hes still there

Quite possible he will be on the board in the 2nd.  While great technique and physical player, tackler, he doesn't look to have the speed that a 1st round CB would have.  Doesn't look explosive on film, so if he doesn't have the 40 time or vertical, it will confirm those thoughts.

If he jumps something like 36" vertical or runs a 4.4, then he could make the 1st round.  If not, then he ends up projecting as a nickel CB or even potential convert to Safety.

I don't think King should have lasted until the 5th round, but his 4.60 and 34" vertical likely showed he should make the move to safety. I think he could have been a solid FS prospect for the Steelers.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

ImperialFan wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Speaking of Desmond King



An interesting video explaining the story behind Desmond King's success. I love this kid. I think he's going to be an impactful player in the NFL, and I sincerely hope that somehow he ends up in the Black & Gold at the professional level. I'd be the first to buy his jersey.

http://btn.com/2015/12/10/big-ten-football-iowas-desmond-king-wins-jim-thorpe-award/

I am on board with King. I wouldnt object to taking him in round 1 if hes still there

Quite possible he will be on the board in the 2nd.  While great technique and physical player, tackler, he doesn't look to have the speed that a 1st round CB would have.  Doesn't look explosive on film, so if he doesn't have the 40 time or vertical, it will confirm those thoughts.

If he jumps something like 36" vertical or runs a 4.4, then he could make the 1st round.  If not, then he ends up projecting as a nickel CB or even potential convert to Safety.

I don't think King should have lasted until the 5th round, but his 4.60 and 34" vertical likely showed he should make the move to safety.  I think he could have been a solid FS prospect for the Steelers.

I agree, I do think he's better suited to safety, has great ball skills, and is a pretty sure tackler. I wanted so badly to see him in a Steelers uniform. I do think he's going to be a good player in the NFL though, and now he's got a chip on his shoulder after falling so far in the draft.