Grading the Steelers 2011 draft

**Black@Gold Forever32** · 05-01-2011, 06:57 PM

To early to grade.........But I thought Colbert/Tomlin did a solid job in getting value with their picks overall.....Heyward, Gilbert, Brown all will be starters for this team one day.....Heyward has the potential to be the best 3-4 DE in the NFL one day.......

The Steelers seem to be high on Cortez Allen so I'll just sit back and wait see what happens with him......

I think its clear Chris Carter is really good as rushing the passer.....But can he make the transition to 3-4 OLB?....If so the Steelers will have another potential stud at OLB......

In my opinion Williams and Batch at best will be role players but really that late in the draft its really all you can expect.........

**BlitzburghRockCity** · 05-01-2011, 07:55 PM

Initial indications from just what we know about the players from their college days and how we think they'll fit in, I'd probably give it an A overall. Mainly because there were 3 main needs on this team going in and they addressed all 3 with quality players. If you can do that, and then gain some potential value in the later rounds there's no reason to not give a high score. All 3 of the top draftees will have a chance to make an impact in 2011.

The Steelers stayed the course, resisted the opportunity to trade up and fortunately the players they wanted fell to them. We don't know if they were coveting others that eventually got taken away or not, but in the end it's hard to find fault with any of them.

**LatrobePA** · 05-01-2011, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by coldrolled

lets sign NA or steal the bengals Joseph or ravens Wilson and sign Ike.

keep the new tall CB's Butler 6' Brown 6' Allen almost 6'2'

dump the rest. goto the SB. we are ready for the rematch

That would be money!!

**greennick** · 05-02-2011, 07:08 AM

I am putting a solid B on it. We got what we wanted with the early rounds, with a few players that fell quite a lot. We got some 'character' guys in the later rounds, with a few guys that could turn out (particularly Carter). I don't think Batch or Williams will be great players, hopefully they can at least contribute.

We could have done more (in particular in the later rounds), so this keeps it as a B.

Originally Posted by bensshoes

trade up, PAH! As far as grades lets wait 3 or 4 years and then deal out grades when its more responsible to do so. Liking the draft is fine but grading the draft is dangerous as these players have yet to sign a contract, take a practice snap/rep, or play an NFL down in a game. Lets hold our horses and let things pan out how ever they will.

Well that would be no fun!

**SteelDad** · 05-02-2011, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by LatrobePA

IMO it's like going shipping and coming home with exactly what you needed.

I can't find anything bad to say about it...

That is exactly how I was going to sum it up as well. Nothing flashy, just enough to fill the cupboard which is exactly how we do things.

**K Train** · 05-02-2011, 09:08 AM

First 3 are spectacular picks, allen baffles me but carter was excellent value, keith was a better pick than kraig urbik or cameron stephenson were, and i think batch makes the team over moore...you dont hear much about RBs out of a spread offense like texas tech's, but the dude is talented.

i gave this draft an A before the 3rd day started, thats how successful the first 2 days were

**SteelDad** · 05-02-2011, 10:22 AM

Ktrain, what impresses you about Gilbert? I'm always concerned when I hear guys lack aggressiveness or hear 'they're soft.'

**K Train** · 05-02-2011, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by SteelDad

Ktrain, what impresses you about Gilbert? I'm always concerned when I hear guys lack aggressiveness or hear 'they're soft.'

people that say hes soft are wrong, not the most dominant run blocker in the world but imo thats a footwork problem not a softness issue.

as a tackle he bends his knees, has a good kickout, and does an awesome job of sealing the edge. Great lateral movement, and that teamed with being able to get low from the knees with such a wide base makes him an ideal pass blocker.

and as far as aggressivness he is very aggressive and plays with a mean streak in him, something that starks has always lacked. People say hes soft because he plays a finesse game and by finesse i mean he pass blocks with very sound technique and isnt a mauling run blocker for a 330 pound guy. And hes very strong (30 reps) ive heard people say hes weak too, thats just not true...see what you can find on him he locks on and sustains blocks. the terms soft, weak, or unaggressive dont apply to marcus gilbert. Hes gonna be playing with Starks and Flo who are dominating run blockers so hes gonna get to learn alot in that regard while also honing his skills as a pass blocker.

he is also very smart, he doesnt over compensate when he plays which i guess can make him look unaggressive but he rarely gets caught reaching, getting beat off a bad angle, or getting out-leveraged

i really really have high hopes for him, i wouldnt be pimping him so hard if i didnt. his skillset kind of reminds me of dbrickashaw ferguson's, excellent pass blocker, athletic enough to get to the second level as a tackle, and will likely take some time to become a well rounded tackle and learn how to run block in the steelers offense

**Black@Gold Forever32** · 05-02-2011, 11:39 AM

Max Starks was labeled soft as well when he was going through the draft process........

**K Train** · 05-02-2011, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Black@Gold Forever32

Max Starks was labeled soft as well when he was going through the draft process........

thats because max starks is soft, not soft as in weak, soft as in hes not mean or aggressive and is just a 350 pound teddy bear, even though hes a dominant run blocker thats mostly cause hes huge, he doesnt try to destroy people as much as he should. gilbert is not like that