Pre-Steelers Mock

[OchoCincos]

Re-sign:
Michael Johnson, Andre Smith, Adam Jones, Wallace Gilberry, Pat Sims, Terrence Newman, Dan Skuta, Kevin Huber, Clark Harris, Andrew Hawkins, Josh Brown/Mike Nugent

Extensions:
Geno Atkins, Jermaine Gresham

FA:
Domenik Hixon, WR NYG- We may have the funds to go for a better WR2 in FA, but based on previous trends, I doubt we go for a Bowe or Wallace level. Our funds will be tied up with re-signing our own players and hopefully extending Atkins and Gresham.
Hixon has produced well for the Giants when filling in due to injury. He will be hoping to go to a team where he can play more snaps. He has the size and speed to be a solid WR2, and would battle Sanu for the spot.

Draft:
1) Alec Ogletree, LB Georgia- He has the flexibility to play MLB or WLB. Him and Burfict can both be assessed in TC, and see who fits better at each spot. Either way, Ogletree improves this defense tremendously. We have had great luck the past few years with Georgia prospects.

2) Phillip Thomas, S Fresno St- An outstanding safety that has played in a weaker conference. But his production is great (http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-f...phillip01.html). He would pair well with Nelson, as he is both a playmaker and physical. However, he does not play with too much aggression to get dumb personal fouls for stupid hits (lookin at you Elam and Reid).

2) Anthony Barr, OLB Cal or Chase Thomas, OLB Stanford- Either of these OLBs to become our starting SAM. Both are great at rushing and have played OLB in college (not a converted DE). They are both better in pass coverage than we currently have on the roster for SAM. Might have to take one of these two with 2A if one of them is gone by our 2A pick. Phillip Thomas should be there at 2B if we "need" to take either Barr or Chase Thomas at 2A due to availability.

3) Tank Carradine, DE Florida St or Scott Crichton, DE Oregon St- Prefer Tank if he recovers well from his injury, as he was doing very well prior to the injury (Early second-round pick). However, if not, Crichton would be a good DE to land at this spot. He had 9 sacks this past year in the PAC 12. Either would fit well into our rotational scheme.

4) Kenjon Barner, RB Oregon- Barner was on fire this year. He is the epitome of the COP home-run threat that we all desire. Some of us want a more direct 3-down back to fully replace BJGE, but I think the coaches will stick with BJGE and look to find that COP back to pair with him. Barner fits the mold perfectly.

5) Marc Anthony, CB Cal- A good CB for depth that is great is both pass coverage and run defense. He needs to develop better hands though, as he has not had many INTs. He has had 20+ defended passes in his college career though.

6) Michael Williams, TE Alabama- A great blocking TE to replace Roland for such duties. He would be great as our third TE behind Gresham and Charles.

6) Kerwynn Williams, RB/KR Utah St- A true scat back. He can be our KR, as he did some returning throughout his college career (26.3 yds per KR, 12.3 yds per PR). Very shifty, fast, and has good pass catching skills.

Depth Chart:
Offense(24)
QB(2): Dalton, Z. Robinson
FB(1): Pressley/Conner
RB(4): BJGE, Barner, Peerman, K. Williams(KR)
WR(6): Green, Hixon, Sanu, Hawkins, Jones, Whalen
TE(3): Gresham, Charles, M. Williams
OT(3): Whitworth, Smith, Collins
OG(3): Zeitler, Boling, Wharton
C(2): Cook, T. Robinson

Defense(26)
DT(5): Atkins, Peko, Sims, Still, Thompson
DE(4): MJ, Dunlap, Carradine/Crichton, Gilberry
SLB(2): Barr/C. Thomas, Moch
MLB(2): Burfict/Ogletree, Skuta
WLB(2): Ogletree/Burfict, Lamur
S(5): Nelson, P. Thomas, Mays, Iloka, Sands
CB(6): Hall, Kirkpatrick, Jones (PR), best three out of Anthony/Allen/Ghee/Newman

ST(3)
LS(1): Harris
P(1): Huber
K(1): Brown/Nugent

[ibengals]

Mike Wallace did more damage than anything this season. He's had a pretty decent season, but the amount of drops he's had is crazy. He has 800 yards, but he should have 1200.

Also, if we draft a safety early, I hope it's someone who can start right away. Not sure Thomas can be that guy.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by ibengals

Mike Wallace did more damage than anything this season. He's had a pretty decent season, but the amount of drops he's had is crazy. He has 800 yards, but he should have 1200.

Also, if we draft a safety early, I hope it's someone who can start right away. Not sure Thomas can be that guy.

Wallace did do damage, but that doesn't mean he won't be still demanding WR1 $. There are plenty of other teams that would give him more than we would. Heck, he may end up a Patriot next year with Welker, Edelman, and Branch all entering FA.

As for the safety, I think Thomas could start right away. But I can understand your worries, as he is not from a premiere conference. There are other safeties that should go around the same spot (Vaccaro?) and I'd be fine with any of them as well. I just like Thomas's skill set and think he fits the mold of being that FS/SS hybrid that Zimmer and Lewis seek. Plus he is a disciplined safety, physical hitter, and a true ballhawk as well. He led the NCAA with 8 interceptions (3 returned for TD), and also had 4 PDs and 4 sacks (http://espn.go.com/college-football/...phillip-thomas)

[Jasonew6]

With Kenjon I don't think Kerwynn is necessary.

But other than that I really like it.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by Jasonew6

With Kenjon I don't think Kerwynn is necessary.

But other than that I really like it.

ur annoying. we need a rb and if williams is there in the 6th u clearly grab him, along with barner. great talent great value at a postion that we are decent at, at best. we need to stock pile running backs. BJGE production has only been a product of our great run blocking offensive line play. hes not our answer and although i do think he will be back here next year id like to clean house outside of him. bring in 2 or 3 new rbs on the roster and start from there.

[RIPChrisHenry]

i like ur mock..espeacially when i take a look at the roster down below with it. my only question is i thought ogletree was a second rounder/?/ wouldnt be surprised tho if after the combine he jumps. just curious tho.

[SunsetBengal]

So, you want to replace a tackle with a tight end?? Why not just draft a T? We are already good at TE.

[Jasonew6]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

ur annoying. we need a rb and if williams is there in the 6th u clearly grab him, along with barner. great talent great value at a postion that we are decent at, at best. we need to stock pile running backs. BJGE production has only been a product of our great run blocking offensive line play. hes not our answer and although i do think he will be back here next year id like to clean house outside of him. bring in 2 or 3 new rbs on the roster and start from there.

Exactly. We need A RB. Not 2. All in all, I'm not going to sweat too much over a 6th round pick if he is BPA.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by SunsetBengal

So, you want to replace a tackle with a tight end?? Why not just draft a T? We are already good at TE.

Because NON of our TE's are good at run blocking and Micheal Williams IS.Then we wouldn't have to use ROLAND as that blocker on the occasions that we do. It's a no brainer.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by Jasonew6

Exactly. We need A RB. Not 2. All in all, I'm not going to sweat too much over a 6th round pick if he is BPA.

so we draft 1 and hope hes good??? SMH

[Jasonew6]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

so we draft 1 and hope hes good??? SMH

So are you saying we should always draft 2 of everything?

Really?

That's why you have scouts and watch film.

[OchoCincos]

The reason for drafting both Barner and Williams is because we could be losing two RBs (Scott and Leonard). Barner would be in a more featured role on the offense, sharing time with BJGE. We haven't done that much this year because Scott went down.

Williams would be primarily our KR to replace Tate, and backup for Barner if he gets hurt or whatnot. Plus Williams is very good as a third-down RB, catching 45 receptions for 697 yards and 5 receiving TDs. Peerman would backup the role that BJGE has, which is more between the tackles running and occasionally run to the outside. BJGE is the bruiser, Barner the home run threat, Peerman the all-around runner, and Williams the returner.

We saw the problem this year when Scott went down. We had no RBs that were dynamic enough to consistently be a home run threat. Peerman is the closest we have, as he has great straight speed. However, he isn't as shifty and "quick" as Scott, so he doesn't do as much damage unless he finds a good hole to run through or gets good blocking to get to the outside.

As for Michael Williams and getting a good blocking TE to replace Roland... With Roland in, you KNOW what's coming. He's only used to block, and is not brought in to ever receive a pass. However, with Michael Williams, you have that great blocking when needed, but he can still catch and is a big red zone target, which is what he was used for at Alabama. We also carry three TEs, two primarily used for receiving and one for blocking.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

i like ur mock..espeacially when i take a look at the roster down below with it. my only question is i thought ogletree was a second rounder/?/ wouldnt be surprised tho if after the combine he jumps. just curious tho.

I can see Ogletree jumping higher after the combine, but I mainly like him because of his versatility. We don't know whether Burfict will play as good or better at MLB than he does now at WLB. Ogletree allows us to find out. Mosley may be able to do the same, but I personally think Ogletree is more versatile than Mosley. If we went with Mosley instead of Ogletree, I wouldn't care too much. Both will boost the defense.

[TGISunday]

I really like this mock.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by Jasonew6

So are you saying we should always draft 2 of everything?

Really?

That's why you have scouts and watch film.

Ki jana carter anyone...Kenny irons anyone chris perry anyone...would u like me to keep going anyone...weve had problems at this position, whether it be bust, or injury related its always been an issue here. i say yes to drafting 2 running backs but not 2 of everything becuase not everything is a need like rb is. another need we have is to stop u from talking, just curious on how we do that in the off season. later dude haha bumb.

[pulses]

You're an idiot! Nuff said.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by pulses

You're an idiot! Nuff said.

...who?

[Jasonew6]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

Ki jana carter anyone...Kenny irons anyone chris perry anyone...would u like me to keep going anyone...weve had problems at this position, whether it be bust, or injury related its always been an issue here. i say yes to drafting 2 running backs but not 2 of everything becuase not everything is a need like rb is. another need we have is to stop u from talking, just curious on how we do that in the off season. later dude haha bumb.

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