Which rookie will have the biggest impact this year?

I think it is going to be Shuster. I believe we will see the second coming of Hines Ward. I have a good feeling about this young man. I've been wrong before but I like what I see and hear about his character,team first mentality and his skill set.

solardave wrote:

I think it is going to be Shuster. I believe we will see the second coming of Hines Ward. I have a good feeling about this young man. I've been wrong before but I like what I see and hear about his character,team first mentality and his skill set.

I think it's Conner this year, Watt and Smith-Shuster long term. RBs always have the shortest learning curve.

Hines had 15 catches his first year for 246 yrds.

All of Them!

Cameron Sutton, he will soon start as our cb in the slot, maybe already on day 1

Ju Ju will be prominent in the rotation. Just think of it, they had Hamilton and Ayers playing last year and he is much better than both.

Sutton will likely challenge as the #4 CB and make an impact on Special teams. Colin Hoba was drafted to long snap and he will do that likely from the start.

Watt will hopefully work his way into the rotation by mid season but play special teams and I think we see Connor ascending to the #2 RB unless he has some injury issues.

Sutton, or JuJu.

I for one believe Sutton will start as the slot CB day 1.

JuJu will be sharing PT with Rogers, Coates. I believe he'll be ahead of those guys, but they'll get their snaps. (Lets hope Coates fingers are healed)

BlackAndGold wrote:

Sutton, or JuJu.

I for one believe Sutton will start as the slot CB day 1.

JuJu will be sharing PT with Rogers, Coates. I believe he'll be ahead of those guys, but they'll get their snaps. (Lets hope Coates fingers are healed)

I know you really like Sutton, but its always tough for rookies to walk in right away. I think they will start with Gay there and Sutton will challenge, but he will earn his reps and is going to replace Gay at some point. either way, Sutton is going to be a long term Steeler DB, barring injury IMO. I think I see it taking approx. half a season until Sutton really finds his way in the NFL.

Coates was not a natural catcher of the football and doesn't track the ball well deep. I hope he steps up his game, but I honestly think that Rogers is the starter in the slot and Bryant will start on the outside and JuJu will take some reps from him. When Bryant gets suspended again, then Schuster will be the #2 on the outside.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

BlackAndGold wrote:

Sutton, or JuJu.

I for one believe Sutton will start as the slot CB day 1.

JuJu will be sharing PT with Rogers, Coates. I believe he'll be ahead of those guys, but they'll get their snaps. (Lets hope Coates fingers are healed)

I know you really like Sutton, but its always tough for rookies to walk in right away.  I think they will start with Gay there and Sutton will challenge, but he will earn his reps and is going to replace Gay at some point.  either way, Sutton is going to be a long term Steeler DB, barring injury IMO.  I think I see it taking approx. half a season until Sutton really finds his way in the NFL.

Coates was not a natural catcher of the football and doesn't track the ball well deep.  I hope he steps up his game, but I honestly think that Rogers is the starter in the slot and Bryant will start on the outside and JuJu will take some reps from him.  When Bryant gets suspended again, then Schuster will be the #2 on the outside.

It's true that it's difficult for rookies to step in immediately, but aren't they somewhat forced to start him sooner than planned if they want to switch to man press coverage? How long do you think it takes for the other DB's to adjust to playing man press coverage? If it would be a fast transition then they can bring him slowly of course but I have no idea.

I hope it's Sutton, but I expect it to be Ju-Ju.

Colin Holba, gonna start every game this season

In all honesty, I think James Conner. We need a good #2 RB to keep Bell fresh, and the FO is aware of that. I expect him to get a higher workload than previous #2 RB's have had in our system. Especially if he does well.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

BlackAndGold wrote:

Sutton, or JuJu.

I for one believe Sutton will start as the slot CB day 1.

JuJu will be sharing PT with Rogers, Coates. I believe he'll be ahead of those guys, but they'll get their snaps. (Lets hope Coates fingers are healed)

I know you really like Sutton, but its always tough for rookies to walk in right away.  I think they will start with Gay there and Sutton will challenge, but he will earn his reps and is going to replace Gay at some point.  either way, Sutton is going to be a long term Steeler DB, barring injury IMO.  I think I see it taking approx. half a season until Sutton really finds his way in the NFL.

Coates was not a natural catcher of the football and doesn't track the ball well deep.  I hope he steps up his game, but I honestly think that Rogers is the starter in the slot and Bryant will start on the outside and JuJu will take some reps from him.  When Bryant gets suspended again, then Schuster will be the #2 on the outside.

I'm not sure Gay makes the team, if he does I can't see him getting much PT, by season end he was probably the worse DB playing in the secondary. The team also signed Coty Sensabaugh to give more competition for the inside corner spot. Also, last year they placed Sean Davis in the slot early in camp, and played there for 2-3 games(can't exactly remember) until the coaches finally figured out he was a better safety. So Sutton being thrown in the fire wouldn't be shocking.

That's what worries me about Coates, wasn't a good catcher of the ball before the injury, now his fingers are worse(Couldn't find the word, but heard they looked bad).

BlackAndGold wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

BlackAndGold wrote:

Sutton, or JuJu.

I for one believe Sutton will start as the slot CB day 1.

JuJu will be sharing PT with Rogers, Coates. I believe he'll be ahead of those guys, but they'll get their snaps. (Lets hope Coates fingers are healed)

I know you really like Sutton, but its always tough for rookies to walk in right away.  I think they will start with Gay there and Sutton will challenge, but he will earn his reps and is going to replace Gay at some point.  either way, Sutton is going to be a long term Steeler DB, barring injury IMO.  I think I see it taking approx. half a season until Sutton really finds his way in the NFL.

Coates was not a natural catcher of the football and doesn't track the ball well deep.  I hope he steps up his game, but I honestly think that Rogers is the starter in the slot and Bryant will start on the outside and JuJu will take some reps from him.  When Bryant gets suspended again, then Schuster will be the #2 on the outside.

I'm not sure Gay makes the team, if he does I can't see him getting much PT, by season end he was probably the worse DB playing in the secondary. The team also signed Coty Sensabaugh to give more competition for the inside corner spot. Also, last year they placed Sean Davis in the slot early in camp, and played there for 2-3 games(can't exactly remember) until the coaches finally figured out he was a better safety. So Sutton being thrown in the fire wouldn't be shocking.

That's what worries me about Coates, wasn't a good catcher of the ball before the injury, now his fingers are worse(Couldn't find the word, but heard they looked bad).

They just signed Gay last year to a 3 year extension and he is only 32. I guess they could save some cap $ by cutting him this season, but I honestly don't think they go into the season with just Cockrell and Burns as the only experienced guys at CB. Sensabaugh is an option, but I really don't know if he makes the 53. He was cut by both the Rams and Giants last season.

looking more and more like 1974 draft.

I say Ju Ju what I've read he's the most NFL ready out of all the draft picks by mid-season I can see Watt Sutton and Conner getting more playing time.

I think a lot of folks are not thinking that Sutton could be the primary punt returner. While JuJu will get WR reps I think, Sutton could be a gunner and Punt Returner in addition to competing for nickel or dime CB time.

I still think it takes a few weeks and maybe Sutton gets more exposure to Dime sub packages early on, but I think he will be the biggest special teams contributor of the rookie class.

Hey, I don't know if I'm off here, but it seems like the Steelers scouts have a thing for players that do well in the 3-cone drill.

Allen was #2 and Sutton was #6 in the drill this year. And I remember Le'Veon Bell had one of the best 3-cone drill times out of all RB's in his class, despite having a slow 40 time.

I don't think I can disagree with any point made and actually the comments about Connor make sense. Sutton will be an impact on STs and maybe I should have been more specific as far as impact.

My case for Ju Ju is this. He already is a good blocker and we can see he fights for the ball. He's a lot bigger than Rogers and I think he'll have more yards after the catch but the blocking is something we have missed. We haven't had a WR who can take out a LBer since Hines and I think this will be huge for AB and Bryant after they catch the ball. Maybe not so much AB because he can make moves but Bryant will benefit by him being on the field as well as Bell getting extra blocks in the running game.

We'll see as the season starts but I believe in the long run this guy will be special. Especially if Bryant screws up again.
Man I can't wait for the season to start.

I hope It's the DB's...if it is we win the SB

I think we can all agree that this is a pretty good crop of picks this year. At least as far as potential. Time will tell.

Shuster not just on the field. But off it. Heard very good things about him.

I think it will be Sutton. Smart kid and I know it's only football in shorts but reports are he is playing fast and aggressive on the ball. I also think that Allen will surprise a lot of folks in camp and make Gay expendable. Secondly, I think JuJu. I would love to say Watt or Conner but I just think they will get enough reps during games unless there is an injury.

Just not Dobbs!

My opinion? It's Conner. I think he's going to be a good number 2 behind Bell, and I think that he's going to learn a lot from Bell just like DeAngelo Williams did, despite being a more experienced player.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

My opinion? It's Conner. I think he's going to be a good number 2 behind Bell, and I think that he's going to learn a lot from Bell just like DeAngelo Williams did, despite being a more experienced player.

I hope they get him involved early and often. Would not hurt to see Conner take maybe 7+ carries a game to ease the load on Bell and keep him off the injury report.

Good group of football players with the top 4 picks that should all make contributions. Plus, a new starting long snapper. That is why you just pick good football players and let them compete, rather than just pegging in needs in the draft IMO.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

My opinion? It's Conner. I think he's going to be a good number 2 behind Bell, and I think that he's going to learn a lot from Bell just like DeAngelo Williams did, despite being a more experienced player.

I hope they get him involved early and often.  Would not hurt to see Conner take maybe 7+ carries a game to ease the load on Bell and keep him off the injury report.

Good group of football players with the top 4 picks that should all make contributions.  Plus, a new starting long snapper.     That is why you just pick good football players and let them compete, rather than just pegging in needs in the draft IMO.

Couldn't agree more. I'm very happy with our draft this year. Cannot wait for the start of the season! Though I've got my Penguins to keep me entertained for a little while longer!

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

My opinion? It's Conner. I think he's going to be a good number 2 behind Bell, and I think that he's going to learn a lot from Bell just like DeAngelo Williams did, despite being a more experienced player.

I hope they get him involved early and often.  Would not hurt to see Conner take maybe 7+ carries a game to ease the load on Bell and keep him off the injury report.

Good group of football players with the top 4 picks that should all make contributions.  Plus, a new starting long snapper.     That is why you just pick good football players and let them compete, rather than just pegging in needs in the draft IMO.

Couldn't agree more. I'm very happy with our draft this year. Cannot wait for the start of the season! Though I've got my Penguins to keep me entertained for a little while longer!

Tough last night for the Pens, but for fun have a look at Mike Emerick and Pierre LeBrun at Primanti's giving play by play on making a sandwich.
http://www.pensburgh.com/2017/5/31/15722324/doc-emrick-pierre-mcguire-nbc-sports-penguins-primanti-brothers