We are just a few days away from April and a few days closer to the Steelers perhaps drafting another linebacker in the 2011 NFL draft and maybe even two. Now of course there is no guarantee that they draft one, but since Kevin Colbert became the Director of Football Operations with the Steelers in 2000, the Steelers have drafted at least one linebacker in all but two of the Steelers drafts he has overseen and four times in that span, the Steelers have drafted more than one linebacker. A quick rewind back to last April and you will remember the Steelers actually drafted three linebackers in Read more [...]

Utah State cornerback Curtis Marsh reportedly will make a pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh to visit the Steelers some time next week according to Draft Countdown. Marsh measured in at 6 and a half feet at the NFL combine and ran an unofficial 4.46 40 time. Marsh reportedly also has visits scheduled with the Eagles and Dolphins as well. Marsh played just two seasons at corner for the Aggies after he switched from running back to cornerback during spring of 2009. In 2010 he started all 12 games at cornerback and earned second-team all-WAC honors. He ranked second in the WAC and sixth in FBS in passes Read more [...]

Two offensive lineman who played their college ball in the state of Florida will reportedly make pre-draft visits to Pittsburgh as Florida tackle Marcus Gilbert and Florida State guard Rodney Hudson reportedly have visits scheduled to the South Side. Gilbert played both tackle positions for the University of Florida this past season and made 30 career starts for the Gators, including all 13 games in 2010. Hudson was a four-year starter for the Seminoles at guard and projects as a guard/center type at the next level. Gilbert is projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick while Hudson is projected to be Read more [...]

WHSV Sports Director Damon Dillman, reported via Twitter that Bridgewater wide receiver Tyler Beiler says he has been contacted by by both the Steelers and the Broncos about a possible workout next week. Beiler worked out for a pro scout from the Eagles on Monday morning at Jopson Field and you can watch the video below. Bridgewater is an NCAA Division III school located in Bridgewater, Virginia. I would not read too much into this until it happens and it may only being a scout in the neighborhood going and working him out. I doubt the Steelers would use 1 of their 30 pre-draft visits on a small Read more [...]

Although Brian Billick is a few years removed from being the head coach of the Ravens, he still does quite a bit of analyst work. He is currently doing short video segments team draft needs for Fox Sports and recently he addressed the Steelers draft needs. He pretty much thinks along the same lines as I do in my latest Steelers Mock Draft 2.0 and pretty much hits on the offensive line, the cornerback position and perhaps an inside linebacker as needs for the Steelers heading into the draft. Although he says the interior part of the line might need to be addressed, I think unless the Steelers trade Read more [...]

It has been about a month since I released my 2011 Steelers Mock Draft 1.0 and it is now time for version 2 of the mock draft after some of the pro days have been completed and I have had more time to look at the draft hopefuls more in depth. A few of the names have changed, while my overall number one pick of Derek Sherrod has not. Also a carry over from my first mock is Notre Dame nose tackle Ian Williams and Richmond cornerback Justin Rogers. Onward we go. I will likely do a few more of these as more of the pre-draft visits take place. Round 1: T Derek Sherrod (Mississippi State) - Depending Read more [...]

Baylor nose tackle Phil Taylor is expected to make a pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh to visit the Steelers according to several sources. Taylor conducted three private workouts this past week and is also expected to make pre-draft visits to see the Jets, Browns, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, 49ers and Saints, according to a league source. Taylor had a great Senior Bowl and also showed well at the NFL Combine in late February. He transferred from Penn State to Baylor after being suspended by the Nittany Lions for a fight during a fraternity function. Taylor is regarded as the top 3-4 nose tackle in this Read more [...]

The NFL handed out 32 compensatory draft picks for the 2011 NFL Draft that are awarded to teams that suffered a net loss of certain quality unrestricted free agents last offseason. The Steelers as expected did not receive any after receiving 3 last year. The compensatory draft picks will supplement the 221 regular picks in the regular seven rounds of the draft this April, with picks positioned within the 3rd through the 7th rounds based on the value of the free agent lost. Below are the compensatory draft picks awarded by round with overall selection in parentheses: 3 (97) Carolina Panthers 4 Read more [...]

University of Tennessee-Chattanooga cornerback Buster Skrine is expected to make a pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh to visit with the Steelers prior to the NFL draft according to The National Football Post. Skrine conducted a private workout for the Ravens today, just one day after his Wednesday Pro Day work-out. In addition to the Steelers, Skrine also has visits scheduled with the Patriots, Browns and the Bengals. So far the Steelers have only had the draft eligible local Pittsburgh players over to the South Side for a visit and visits are expected to pick up starting next week. Skrine is a bit Read more [...]

Adam Caplan of Fox Sports reports this morning that University of Texas cornerback Curtis Brown is expected to have a pre draft visit with the Steelers within the next two weeks. Brown is regarded as a top 10 cornerback in this years draft class and projected currently as a second round draft pick. He is a physical corner with great leaping ability and good hands. Scouts say he can fit both man-to-man and zone schemed defenses. HGT WGT ARMS HANDS 40 TIME 225 REPS VERT JUMP 20 S 60 S 3 CONE 5115 185 32 1/4 9 1/2 4.53 10 39.5 10'8" 4.00 11.00 6.59 [flv:http://ll.video.nfl.com/films/s2011/nflcom/offseason/110310_event_combine_curtis_brown_700k.mp4 Read more [...]

California defensive lineman Cameron Jordan, Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones and Citadel cornerback Cortez Allen are among the players scheduled to visit the Steelers according to Dale Lolley. Last week the Steelers entertained the local University of Pittsburgh draft hopefuls that did not count against their 30 player list of players they can have in for interviews. Jordan is pegged as a lineman who might be able to bounce around inside and outside much like Ziggy Hood has done since he was drafted and is currently a mid first round talent. Jones is running back that is projected Read more [...]

Over the last few weeks a few readers have asked me if I could put together a realistic list of players the Steelers most likely will have a shot at drafting should they stay at the #31 spot where they are currently slated to pick. As the players with first round grades are starting to settle in following their combine performances and the early pro days, it is easier now to get a better picture of the first round. I will do later rounds as we go, but there is so much movement going on still with the mid round guys it would be ludicrous to project past round one for at least a little while longer. Read more [...]

I had a feeling that as soon as I mentioned the Danny Watkins name as an example in my Steelers likely to draft the best player available post, I knew it would get a reaction. Steeler Nation is so afraid to see or hear the name Danny Watkins mentioned anywhere as a pick by the Steelers in a mock draft or even mentioned as a possibly first round target. Why you ask? Watkins is closing in on collecting Social Security. In the land of the 2011 draft class, Danny is Methuselah. I will have to check Wikipedia, but I am pretty sure Methuselah is his middle name. I could be wrong though. OK, let's Read more [...]

The Steelers have now started to bring 2011 draft prospects in for pre draft visits as of today. NFL teams are allowed to host 30 non local prospects prior to the draft. Below is a running list of players we have confirmed have been scheduled for visits as of today. We will use this as our official Steelers pre draft visit list much like we did last season with the Steelers 2010 pre draft visits and will update this list as the visits happen or more are announced. Make sure to bookmark this page. First up today were the local Pitt players who do not count against the list of 30. Pittsburgh WR Read more [...]

The days of March are clicking off the calendar and there are only 44 days now until draft day. The Pro Days are also winding down and the Steelers will soon be entertaining draft prospect visitors down at the South Side later this month and into April. In my recent post about 1st round tackles drafted from 1995-2010 I showed how just because you might need a tackle while drafting late in the first round, it might very well not be the best course of action. David Todd and I even elaborated more on this in the latest episode of the Terrible Podcast. Without a doubt, we can pretty well safely Read more [...]

I compile quite a bit of links leading up to the draft and being as the Steelers certainly have the cornerback position as a 2011 draft need, I thought I would share the links I have compiled along the way of the top 11 cornerbacks in the upcoming NFL draft. These links go to various draft player profiles and videos of their combine performance and some highlight videos as well. For easy reference I have also included the combine numbers I have compiled so you will have them all on one page. You can see the rest of the cornerbacks combine results here. I plan on posting a few more of these for Read more [...]

The Mike Tomlin Pro Day tour continues on down in Louisiana, as several reports and photos of Tomlin have surfaced this morning showing Tomlin in attendance at the LSU Pro Day down in Baton Rouge. The Pro Day is being held indoors with cornerback Patrick Peterson being the main attraction. Peterson will do some position drills today according to reports, but will stand on his combine performance in the other drills that took place last month in Indianapolis. Peterson is expected to be drafted early in the first round of the NFL draft, so the Steelers have no shot at him unless they were to trade Read more [...]

I was doing some research on 1st round underclassmen cornerbacks that have been drafted over the years and came across this article a few years back by Pat Kirwan on NFL.com. Kirwan looked at the risk involved by position of the underclassmen drafted in the 1st round going back ten years at the time. I am focusing on cornerbacks here, so went right to his risk grade of 2 of that position. It happens to be the highest risk according to him by the positions that received a grade in his article. I wanted to take a closer look using the Pro Football Reference Approximate Value (AV) method that Read more [...]

It should be no surprise that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is in South Florida today at the University of Miami Pro Day. Tomlin is for sure taking a closer look at cornerback Brandon Harris. Harris had a good showing at the NFL Combine recently and is certainly one of the top 5 corners in this years draft class. Harris most likely would contribute as a nickel corner first for any team that drafts him, with hopes of eventually moving outside. The Steelers most certainly will be in the market for one, if not two corners in the draft depending how free agency shakes out with Ike Taylor and William Read more [...]

In this exercise I wanted to take a hard look at the 1st round tackles drafted since 1995 and the success not only through the first five years, but more specifically in years one through three. This is by no means a fail safe measurement stick, but nearly a look at the 1st round tackles using the Approximate Value attached to each player by Pro Football Reference. Instead of explaining the madness behind the AV number in this post, I suggest you read up on it here. In a quick and dirty summation, the Approximate Value (AV) method is an attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a Read more [...]