Daniel McCullers in a rush to prove himself

Daniel McCullers shed some pounds over the past offseason. But that doesn't mean he isn't feeling the weight of pressure applied by his position coach.

The Steelers' big defensive tackle is entering his fourth pro season without any guarantees of a roster spot after largely failing to assert himself since being drafted in 2014.

“Dan McCullers, he's got to grow up,” Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell in a video posted on the team's official website. “It's time to make a move right now. This is going to be his fourth year. And usually in this league, after about four years, you have got to make a move. Or, either, you move somewhere else.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/12435750-74/steelers-dt-daniel-mccullers-in-a-rush-to-prove-himself

I think it comes down to him or Maxey this year.

the steelers have a tendency to waste roster spots waiting for guys to develop. these coaches have been around the game long enough that it shouldn't take them 4 years to evaluate if a player is developing into NFL starter material. the player is either making progress or he is not.
for every late bloomer , james harrison story there's a thousand shamarko thomas stories.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

the steelers have a tendency to waste roster spots waiting for guys to develop. these coaches have been around the game long enough that it shouldn't take them 4 years to evaluate if a player is developing into NFL starter material. the player is either making progress or he is not.
for every late bloomer , james harrison story there's a thousand shamarko thomas stories.

Yeah, but McCullers was a late round pick they thought they could polish up and make into a reserve or rotational guy. Considering he is a 6th round guy and they have cut other higher drafted positions like Fred Gibson, Dri Archer, Shaq Richardson, I don't know they have stuck with McCullers too long. ITs just they had other areas of greater need they drafted.

Now that Hargrave and Alualu are in the mix, its less important they keep a developmental NT who isn't developing. If he makes the 53, its not likely he gets extended, IMO. Never going to be a starter, so will find another reserve with more upside. Honestly, they keep 6 D linemen and the locks are Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, Alualu. The other 2 spots become a battle between Walton, McCullers, Maxey. I don't know if there is another D lineman that will be in the mix that I can think of.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

the steelers have a tendency to waste roster spots waiting for guys to develop. these coaches have been around the game long enough that it shouldn't take them 4 years to evaluate if a player is developing into NFL starter material. the player is either making progress or he is not.
for every late bloomer , james harrison story there's a thousand shamarko thomas stories.

Yeah, but McCullers was a late round pick they thought they could polish up and make into a reserve or rotational guy.  Considering he is a 6th round guy and they have cut other higher drafted positions like Fred Gibson, Dri Archer, Shaq Richardson, I don't know they have stuck with McCullers too long.  ITs just they had other areas of greater need they drafted.

Now that Hargrave and Alualu are in the mix, its less important they keep a developmental NT who isn't developing.  If he makes the 53, its not likely he gets extended, IMO.  Never going to be a starter, so will find another reserve with more upside.  Honestly, they keep 6 D linemen and the locks are Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, Alualu.  The other 2 spots become a battle between Walton, McCullers, Maxey.  I don't know if there is another D lineman that will be in the mix that I can think of.

my point is, keeping a guy around for years even though he shows very little in way of improvement is eating up a roster spot that someone WITH potential could be filling. who is this guy with potential ? we don't know because he is not on the fucking roster being evaluated.  

remember chukky okobi ? the 5th round pick in 2001 that they kept on the roster to be the heir apparent of jeff hartings ? it was only when it was time for him to step in to the starter roll after hartings retired , that they THEN decided he wasn't starter material and picked up that turd sean mahan ...  ...so after eating up a roster spot from 01 - 06 , they finally realized he sucked ass ..

my argument is , they could have auditioned quite a few centers in that time frame and maybe....just maybe...found someone BETTER than okobi.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

the steelers have a tendency to waste roster spots waiting for guys to develop. these coaches have been around the game long enough that it shouldn't take them 4 years to evaluate if a player is developing into NFL starter material. the player is either making progress or he is not.
for every late bloomer , james harrison story there's a thousand shamarko thomas stories.

Yeah, but McCullers was a late round pick they thought they could polish up and make into a reserve or rotational guy.  Considering he is a 6th round guy and they have cut other higher drafted positions like Fred Gibson, Dri Archer, Shaq Richardson, I don't know they have stuck with McCullers too long.  ITs just they had other areas of greater need they drafted.

Now that Hargrave and Alualu are in the mix, its less important they keep a developmental NT who isn't developing.  If he makes the 53, its not likely he gets extended, IMO.  Never going to be a starter, so will find another reserve with more upside.  Honestly, they keep 6 D linemen and the locks are Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, Alualu.  The other 2 spots become a battle between Walton, McCullers, Maxey.  I don't know if there is another D lineman that will be in the mix that I can think of.

my point is, keeping a guy around for years even though he shows very little in way of improvement is eating up a roster spot that someone WITH potential could be filling. who is this guy with potential ? we don't know because he is not on the fucking roster being evaluated.  

remember chukky okobi ? the 5th round pick in 2001 that they kept on the roster to be the heir apparent of jeff hartings ? it was only when it was time for him to step in to the starter roll after hartings retired , that they THEN decided he wasn't starter material and picked up that turd sean mahan ...  ...so after eating up a roster spot from 01 - 06 , they finally realized he sucked ass ..

my argument is , they could have auditioned quite a few centers in that time frame and maybe....just maybe...found someone BETTER than okobi.

I get it. They liked what they saw in okobi in practices and preseason games, but when it came time to take over he wasn't effective as they needed. I think they keep the backups like that around in the salary cap era on low dollar contracts.

Same thing with McCullers. The knock on him was always "does he really love playing football?" Will he show the effort and intensity to go with the size and athleticism. I was doubtful he would be more than a backup and that is all he is, IMO. If they cut him then they ended up going with who??

They realized in McCullers 2nd year he wasn't going to be the starter in year 3, so they draft and play Hargrave and let McLendon go. Doesn't make sense to let McLendon go, let McCullers go, draft a rookie and then get another rookie to backup. Its a cycle of talent/experience. The Steelers finally have enough talent and depth on the D line that a guy like McCullers might wash out and get replaced by Maxey or somebody else, since Alualu could also play nose. You cant just cut 3rd year guy who isn't panning out to be a starter with another late round pick or UDFA, or you have no experience/depth.

I'm just happy the Steelers have a decent top 4 d linemen and will see who the other 2 are. Honestly, I liked Walton as a high motor guy, but he hasn't played with much good leverage in the time he has gotten. Its a big year for LT IMO.

Not holding my breath over McCullers. He hasn't really impressed me at all, occasionally he'll get in on a play but he seems kind of slow, and somewhat lazy to me. I hope, honestly, that something lit a fire under his ass and we see some side of him we've never seen before, but I don't know that I see that happening. This really is his last chance with the Steelers, if he wants to stick around he needs to show them something.