The Steelers stayed true to form as they selected an all-too-familiar position (linebacker) in the first round, by taking inside linebacker Ryan Shazier from Ohio State at 15th overall. Don’t get me wrong, Shazier is a very good, speedy linebacker (4.4 speed) who can run sideline to sideline and has a nose for the ball and is a first round talent, but here, at this spot, with their multitude of needs, I’m not so sure. As GM Kevin Colbert and HC Mike Tomlin stated that Shazier was a very productive football player at Ohio St., improved every year he was there, and is a freakish athlete that was hard to pass up. He has tremendous explosion and fills a need. He will most likely play alongside ILB Lawrence Timmons at weakside linebacker. Shazier isn’t big enough to play outside linebacker at this point of his NFL career. There are still plenty of good, talented cornerbacks, defensive lineman (both tackle and end), and wide receivers available for the Steelers in rounds two and three and still have eight picks remaining overall. The question is ‘Will they throw another curveball?” or “Will they trade-up or down to get what they want.”
Here is a highlight video of Mr. Shazier, which has received over 100,000 hits on you tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmT5sX7G3xk
The defensive line and cornerback prospects stand out the most with prospects like Minnesota's DT Ra'Shede Hageman, Notre Dame’s DT Louis Nix III and DE Stephon Tuitt, Lindenwood’s CB Pierre Desir, and Rice’s CB Phillip Gaines standing out. Hageman, Nix, and Tuitt will most likely not last beyond the second round and a good possibility that they may not be there for the Steelers 46th pick unless teams start to get over-anxious by plucking quarterbacks off the board.
I see the cornerback position as being deeper than the D-line in this draft so they may be able to wait until the third round to get a quality guy at that position. The window of opportunity to snag a top-flight cornerback was in the first round when Darqueze Dennard and Jason Verrett were available. There is a bit of a drop off with the next group of cornerbacks. The same can be said about the defensive lineman. Grab one of these defensive lineman mentioned above in the second round. I am a true believer that a healthy, steady pass rush will compensate for poor play in the secondary. This component of the Steelers defense has tailed off in recent years.
Read:Draft Day Tidbits And Cornerback Analysis for excellent 3rd round stats and analysis
Here is my list of the ‘best available’ players by position for the Steelers in the 2nd and 3rd rounds (in no particular order – grouped together because of comparable projections):
Defensive Line/Defensive End
DT Ra'Shede Hageman (Minnesota)
DT/DE Stephon Tuitt (Notre Dame)
DT Louis Nix III (Notre Dame)
DT DaQuan Jones (Penn State)
Cornerbacks
Phillip Gaines (Rice)
Pierre Desir (Lindenwood)
Staney Jean-Baptiste (Nebraska)
Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State)
Keith McGill (Utah)
Bashaun Breeland (Clemson)
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson (Penn State)
Cody Latimer (Indiana)
Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss)
Davante Adams (Fresno State)
Marqise Lee (USC)