2005 NFL Draft

[ham55]

Clarrett would be a great pick and a steal in the later rounds of the draft. The Steelers need at TE, I'd look for them to take the big brute outta Virgina in the first round...

[fleaflicker]

Heath Miller isn't going to last until the Steelers pick, which comes 30th in the first round. Alex Smith (not to be confused with the Utah QB) is a Stanford product that is projected to go in the second round, and he's a decent blocker and a very good receiver, as far as catching. Matt Jones is a former Arkansas QB that has the size, speed, and skills to be a good receiver, and he is expected to be around when the Steelers pick. At 6-6, he's actually a little taller than Burress, and with a little work, might be just as good, if not a little better. And this just in: At the combine, this guy ran a 4.37 40 yard dash. Wow!

[LionPride]

[quote="fleaflicker";p="89115"]Heath Miller isn't going to last until the Steelers pick, which comes 30th in the first round. Alex Smith (not to be confused with the Utah QB) is a Stanford product that is projected to go in the second round, and he's a decent blocker and a very good receiver, as far as catching. Matt Jones is a former Arkansas QB that has the size, speed, and skills to be a good receiver, and he is expected to be around when the Steelers pick. At 6-6, he's actually a little taller than Burress, and with a little work, might be just as good, if not a little better. And this just in: At the combine, this guy ran a 4.37 40 yard dash. Wow![/quote]

After about the first 4 or 5 picks, trying to figure out what teams are doing this time of year is like trying to pee into the wind.

But it sure is fun to try to match wits with the scouts to see how we do!

Here's my take. Jones is not going to be around at 30 (in fact I predict he goes in the top 20), but if he his, the Steelers use about 10 seconds of their 15 minutes to write his name on the card. Clarrett will not become a Steeler on draft day, or 4-5 years from now when he's a free agent. I don't care if they tucked him into bed at night, just because they attended his workouts does not mean they are drafting him, or even interested in him. Teams are playing psychological warfare right now with each other. Get other teams thinking they are drafting someone, so the other team drafts him if there's an interest, and the player the original team really wants is still there.

Look for the best offensive linemen available at #30 to be a Steeler on draft day. I wouldn't even be real surprised or disappointed if they traded that pick to move down and get more picks.

[fleaflicker]

Matt Jones may not be around when the Steelers pick, but he has a few knocks on him as receiver, mostly his lack of experience. Since there are 5 or so really good wide outs who played the position in college, Matt Jones may be around at number 30. If he is, yeah, the Steelers will more likely than not get him. If not, if they still want a WR with that pick, Roddy White of UAB has good speed, and he's projected around the top of the second round.

[ham55]

They need to trade down and get an early 2nd round pick. Chances are that the guy that they want at 30 would still be available at 34. If this should happen, it would turn out for the best in saving the Steelers some money. Is the draft next weekend?

[fleaflicker]

Perhaps ham, but perhaps not. Say the niners take a QB with their first pick. The next thing they need is a wideout. If the Steelers trade down to 34, figuring Matt Jones will still be there, the niners might take him with the 33rd pick, since they need a wide receiver as well.

[neut78]

My bad fleaflicker I thought they gave up a 1st round pick for a.j feeley. Your right it was second round. Who does everyone think will be the first pick in the draft?

[ham55]

fleaflicker,

I realize the risk/reward in the situation. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If they do make that move and it works out for the best for the black and gold, they look absolutely brilliant. But if it goes the other way, they might have just wasted an opportunity at a potentially useful draft pick. I'm sure they have thought about this and tons of other situations that most of us won't even be able to think of.

[JVfan]

Somewhere in this draft or through free agency the Steelers HAVE to address the offensive line.

With the losses of Vincent and Ross and the chronic knee problems of Hartings, any injury is going to be devastating without quality depth. I'm not sure why they didn't try to hang onto Vincent--maybe a cap casualty--but he's going to be difficult to replace. Even the Kendall Simmons situation is still up in the air. No one knows how his health will hold up over the course of a full year.

I've also heard rumors about drafting a tight end but I agree with LionPride that its a smokescreen. The Steelers always seem to have a glut of tight ends and I saw where they resigned Marco Battaglia a while back and I understand they still think they can develope Kranchick.

Jones would be a great pick up but an athelete like that isn't going to be around at the 30th pick---not in this draft and especially not after New England has shown you can be very successful by switching positions when you have great atheletes.

[LionPride]

Ahhh, the Steeler tight end.......

The most underutilized position in the NFL.