Half way thru Pro Days, Steelers mock draft 3/14/13

Tomlin and company have been busy.  Just today he took Sims and Bell out to dinner.  The one thing Ive noticed is Tomlin seems to have shown his hand regarding whichever RB we draft.  They must be over 5'10 and over 220 pounds.  Both Michael and Bell are just that.  RBs that are familiar with the zone blocking scheme is also showing itself, which only makes sense as thats what Bicknell Jr generally coaches, as well as what OC Haley is most comfortable with.  So that said I looked at a recent mock I have been toying with and tweaked it to see how Bell would fit.  Sure enough, spot on.

17 Elam, S(DB) Florida- since my last Mock Tomlin and Colbert attended the Florida pro day.  Elam was the focus.  The Jags HC and GM also showed up hoping to see Floyd work but was injured.  Nevertheless, Elam now only needs to be brought in for the private invitational workout to be 100% our pick at 17.  Right now?  Im 95% sure its him.  He's a defender, junior, position flexible, fast, a Florida Gator,  and from the SEC- all Tomlin requirements.  His recent grade of 34 overall fits our 2010 draft.  Yes, that was MP53's pick.

47 Williams, DT Missouri Southern State- while he did have a minor hammy pull he still completed his pro day with Tomlin and company in attendance.  This kid was a force at the Senior Bowl.  Those of you who know me know that I am a huge fan of another Williams.  Jesse from Bama.  Jesse played the  tech last year and the 0 tech this year, winning the national championship each time.Funny thing about Brandon.  While he doesnt play in the SEC, he did however move thru the dline playing both the 5 tech in his early years and the 0 tech the last 2.  There is always a small school player taken early, and Brandon may be him.  I also think Hampton may sign a 1 year tender to spell time with this kid, as it appears he is having trouble finding a job, and McLendon hasnt signed his RFA tender yet (greedy?).  His recent grade of 74 overall also fits our 2010 draft.  That was Worilds.  We'll seehow he does this year.

79 Bell, RB Michigan State- I watched more tape of this kid recently but also heard some interviews on Sirius during the Combine.  He seems very well put together above the shoulders, and below kicked ass in the Combine so much that he knew to focus on his pass catching and route running during his pro day.  Watching tape I see a combination of a leaner Bettis or a heavier Steven Jackson.  Not sure which, and I dont really care.  If I recall he had over 700 yards AFTER FIRST CONTACT last year.  Holt shit.  While he doesnt have blazing speed, and I would think an inside zone scheme would be his best fit, he does have the abilty- and force- to just plow over people in his way.  Can he run a stretch play?  Yes?  Will he outrun a fast OLB or SS?  Maybe.  Probably not.  But I bet you he can knock them on their ass and keep going without losing a step.  Or just jump over them (see Boise State game).  His recent grade of 126 overall fits our 4th round pick of our 2011 draft.  Yes, that was the Cortez Allen pick.

111 (estd) Winters, OL Kent State- He sold me during his Senior Bowl play, but almost lost me when he benched 9 times at the Combine.  Turns out he pulled a pec.  He is working on benching soon and will make a tape, sending to all teams.  Nevertheless, Bicknell was at his pro day.  And he worked him out at OG (his best fit), at OT (he started at LT and RT at Kent St) and also at OC.  Hmmm.  The recent resigning of Foster (yeah!!!) lets Winters learn for a year or 2 then have Foster be the backup.  He can also possibly be the backup center, though my UDFA could grab that spot day 1.  If youre not aware, the Golden Flashes football team runs a zone blocking scheme.  Oh, and his recent grade of  118 overall fits our 2012 draft.  The jury is still out on Spence.

143 (estd) Maponga, DE/OLB TCU- Its about time we went to TCU.  Coach Butler attended the pro day and worked out Maponga personally.  Yes, we also went to Auburns pro day and worked out Lemonier but he was said to show as a better 43DE while Maponga had fluid hips when dropping to cover.  The reason for this is because TCU ran a base 425 defense, and not only allowed Maponga to rotate from the left to right side, he also had the "DE"s hand in the dirt on true running plays and stood them up on passing ones.  He is also the same size as Woodley, and that doesnt hurt.  His recent grade of 232 overall fits our 2010 draft.  Yes, that was when we had 3 5th round picks, and none of them turned out.  Sylvester wasnt given an RFA tender this year.  Actually, if you look at our 5th round picks the last 3 years, your stomach will turn.  Its been horrible.  Its time for a change.

175 (estd) Fuller, WR Virginia Tech- Here is a typical Tomlin pick.  A late round WR with speed.  This one happens to also have bloodlines in the NFL as well as being over 6 foot, AND a former track athlete.  Size and speed.  Its a win/win.  Fuller played 2nd fiddle at VA Tech, but averaged over 18 YPC and 85% of his catches were on 3rd down, most of the time with him going over the middle.  His recent grade of 173 overall fits our 2011 draft.  Yes, that was the Keith Williams pick.  This pick is generally volatile with us trading it or incredibly reaching (2010 Antonio Brown).  Here we get an inside slot or outside deep threat with size and speed.

207 (estd) Stafford, S Nebraska- Coach Lake attended this pro day and worked out both of the Safeties.  The other one, Smith, is more of a UDFA, while Stafford has a read an react that stop watches cant even keep up with.  He is a very bright kid and while he can and has played both safety spots, he isnt one to line up in the nickel.  Does this sound like Ryan Clark to you too?  Clark covering the top of the umbrella with Polamalu "roaming" underneath.  Stafford doing the same for Elam in the next few years?  Hmmm.  His recent grade of 207 overall fits our 2012 draft.  Yes, that was the Beachum pick, and that seems to have worked out very well.

227 (estd) Lutzenkirchen, TE Auburn- Ive been a fan of his for years.  Hell, Cam loved the man.  He was Cam's primary target in the redzone more often than not.  Lutz can play inline TE or more of an HBack role. While we were at the Auburn pro day, I dont know if Lutz was a target, but finding another backup TE to mold for a year or 2 behind Miller certainly wouldnt hurt (drafting a sure thing TE next year in top 3 rounds would be best).  He is similar to Paulson in size and in that he was more of a passing threat, however benching 21 times shows hes no wuss.  His recent grade of 427 overall fits our 2011 draft.  That was the Batch pick.  If we dont bring in another 3rd down RB/Kick returner, this is Batch's time to shine.

UDFAs:

Turnley, OL Pitt- Typical Tomlin.  A local kid.  See the Legursky UDFA pick a few years ago, add height, weight, strength and more oline flexibility and you have Turnley.

Burdette, LB UAB- Tomlin seems to be interested in making our ILBs smaller.  Shorter actually.  We attended the UAB pro day and worked him out.  This kid looks like Ray Rice playing LB.  He hits everything around him, and according to his coaches he feels he should be making every tackle.  He's also another OLB convert to ILB.  Tomlin loves to do that.

Amos, WR Middle Tennessee State- Ahhh the Senior Bowl.  This kid did nothing but make the QBs look good both in practice and especially in the game.  He came back for the ball on at least 2 or 3 occasions making catches that some pros would just let fly outta reach.  Not to mention his route running.  Very crisp.  Hes another small school, small build, but fast, WR that Tomlin has a tendency to find.