Steelers Admit Drafting For Need

Good morning,

Some post-draft stuff:

--- Senquez Golson seems to have everything the Steelers want in a cornerback except the one they say you cannot teach – height. He is 5-8 ½. Another 5-8 cornerback did pretty good for himself in the NFL, Darrell Green. He was listed as an inch shorter than Golson but his bust is every bit the equal to all the others in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We’re not putting Golson in the HOF yet and he’s not as fast as was Green, but he seems to have overcome his shortness in college, maybe he can do it here.

--- Kevin Colbert did a great job during the draft and then after the draft when he virtually said they DO pick according to need. He said they wanted to come out of the draft with six defensive players, including two cornerbacks. He also said there is no sense drafting players they do not think can make their team. They have long followed that need route only to deny it. They were not denying it this time.

--- What Joey Porter said Saturday about wanting to limit James Harrison to 25 snaps a game because of his age – his 37th birthday is today – is all well and good and should be the plan. But plans sometimes go awry because of injuries and poor play and the unexpected rise of others. The plan last year was not to sit down big-bucks Cortez Allen until he played so poorly he forced their hand toward Brice McCain. Nor was it in their plans to sign Lance Moore and have him virtually ignored on the playing field. And it certainly was not in their plans to entice James Harrison out of retirement after three games last season until Jarvis Jones was hurt in the third game. Jones could get hurt again or not play up to their expectations and Harrison could defy all the predetermined notions about what he cannot do at his age and, you know, actually do them.

--- Bud Dupree is built to play on the left or strong side of the defense. It is where the bigger linebackers have played – Jason Worilds, LaMarr Woodley, Jason Gildon, Kevin Greene.

--- Anthony Chickillo is the old-fashioned outside linebacker the Steelers used to draft in the middle rounds, although he is a sixth-round pick. He played defensive end at Miami and is projected as an outside linebacker in the Steelers’ 3-4. He will need time to develop, which means he better be a monster special teams player or they will not give him that time other than on their practice squad.

--- You will not see much of Sammie Coates this year unless one of their top three wide receivers is injured. He is not going to jump ahead of Antonio Brown, Marcus Wheaton or Martavis Bryant as a rookie. He too will need to play well on special teams to earn a game-day roster spot even ahead of Darrius Heyward-Bey, whom they re-signed in part because of his special teams play.

--- Now come the grades from all the experts, which are usually based on how those experts graded the prospects before the draft. It can be a hoot to see the good grades go to the teams with the highest draft picks. Shouldn’t those teams be drafting the best players because they get the first shot at them?

--- One email today, keeping track of the mock drafts and how they did:

--- YOU: Your mock draft correctly predicted 10 players to the correct teams, which finished tied for second best with Todd McShay behind only Dane Bugler (11), and better than all the other mock drafts on:

1. The NFL Network

2. CBS Sports

3. Kiper

ED: Yes, but I missed the most important one. I predicted Kevin Johnson to the Steelers at No. 22 and he went much earlier.

---