A wrap-up of the Pittsburgh Steelers' draft.
Best move: The Steelers’ first three picks come with question marks, but could also provide serious payoff, so choosing the best is a difficult exercise. Let’s go with Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates in the third round because of the upside and the situation he enters. Coates can refine his skill set without too many workload demands early on. Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and Markus Wheaton can handle that for a while. But once Coates grasps his enormous potential, he could be lethal. There’s first-round ability with Coates, who’s not a complete route runner yet and has shown a penchant for dropped passes. In this offense, he can be a go-route specialist. Expect many 40-plus-yard gains. For where the Steelers got him, Coates is the best pick.
Riskiest move: There’s a lot to like about outside linebacker Bud Dupree, who embodies the "freak" label overused in football circles. When a 6-foot-4, 269-pounder runs a 4.56-second 40 and jumps 42 inches high, he should be a first-round pick. But the Steelers are betting on themselves as much as Dupree here – he must go from good to great with their coaching and development. Dupree didn’t come to Kentucky as a natural pass-rusher, which makes him a bit raw. He recorded 7.5 sacks last year and could have showed more against elite competition. The Steelers and Dupree must grow into the outside linebacker position together. This pick is trending upward – Dupree is a high-character player who wants to figure it out and wants to maximize his ability. Instincts for pass-rushing will be a concern until proved otherwise.
Most surprising move: A team with a pressing need for coverage help taking a 5-foot-9 corner in the second round is a bit jarring at first. The Steelers passed on freak UConn corner Byron Jones at No. 22 and selected Ole Miss’ Senquez Golson at No. 56 overall. The pick makes more sense when you consider two things -- (1) Golson is a serious playmaker (10 interceptions last year), one of the best pure zone-coverage corners in the draft; (2) The Steelers run a lot of zone, or at least they used to under Dick LeBeau. Because corners with better size were available in the first round or via trade higher in the second round, the Steelers must use their scheme to mask Golson's size, creating vision lanes where his reaction shows up.
File it away: At this time next year, Pittsburgh will be taking another hard look at offensive linemen for the first two days of the draft. The Steelers have taken one lineman in the past three drafts – fifth-round tackle Wesley Johnson, who’s no longer with the team. The Steelers have good reasons for this. David DeCastro (first round, 2012), Mike Adams (second round, 2012), Marcus Gilbert (second round, 2011) and Maurkice Pouncey (first round, 2010) have all been productive. Pittsburgh has nearly $17 million tied to its offensive line in 2015. But depth always bubbles to the surface at any position, and with Adams facing free agency after 2015, the Steelers would be wise to comb the tackle/guard market next year.
My take: A stand-up double of a draft on the surface, with the chance for a homer if Dupree becomes the franchise’s next great edge rusher. The Steelers picked two playmaking corners (Ohio State’s Doran Grant is quality value in the fourth) and spent Day 3 making picks that make you say, "Oh, that’s so Steelers," taking blue-collar guys who play with instincts. Coates walks into Pittsburgh with big-play potential. Thumbs up.
