STEELERS 101

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to bring in prospects for next weeks NFL Draft (and potentially the UDFA signing frenzy that will take place thereafter). Today the team brought in two more in Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill and California offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz.

In dissecting these prospects in an attempt to figure out rhyme or reason to the teams though process, it has become quite perplexing. Yes, the once dominating defense is aging, but there is a lot of money already tied up on that side of the ball, especially at the linebacker position where they seem to be focused on with the amount of visitors at that position. Offensive line is definitely understandable, as the team lacks depth and could definitely use an influx of talent across the board especially considering that the prospects all project to right offensive tackle or guard. The next two areas also seem right on par as well, with four wide receivers (two return specialists included) and four defensive linemen (three nose tackles). The other positions running back, cornerback and safety all seem to fall at the bottom end of their needs, but also should be addressed at some point over the draft

As we inch closer to the draft, things should clear up a bit more in the positional approach as the last three visitors are revealed. Even without those prospects listed, a decent guess at how the Steelers draft selections will fall is not that difficult. Come next week a fan should see a positional breakdown something like this over the weekend.

Linebacker (one)– drafted in first through fifth rounds

Offensive linemen (two)-  drafted in first through third rounds and  fifth through seventh rounds

Defensive line (two) – drafted in second through fourth rounds and sixth through seventh rounds

Wide receiver (two) – drafted in second through fifth rounds and  seventh round

Tight end (one) – drafted in third through seventh rounds

Running back (one)- drafted in  second through seventh rounds

Cornerback / safety (one) – drafted in fifth through seventh rounds

Of course, fans would want to see all early picks, but there is some depth in this draft and those late round compensation picks could be huge for the franchise this year. Sure, the team could try to trade back, and honestly, that appears to be a possibility as the team has brought in a large amount of mid-round prospects this season. Usually general manager Kevin Colbert let’s the draft come to him, but this is not the normal Steelers offseason.

 As we have done throughout this process, Steelers101 will continue to profile the pre-draft visitors. To date, we have completed 12 of the 27 that have made their way to Pittsburgh. Below  is a list of visitors with the completed profiles annotated and hyperlinked, feel free to check them out.

Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams(Steelers101 profile 3/30)

Miami (Ohio) offensive guard Brandon Brooks(Steelers101 profile 4/1)

Regina defensive tackle Akiem Hicks

Florida International wide receiver T.Y. Hilton(Steelers101 profile 3/31)

Virginia defensive end / linebacker Cam Johnson

Stanford long snapper Zach Nolan

Cincinnati defensive end Derek Wolfe

Colorado wide receiver Toney Clemons(Steelers101 profile 4/4)

West Virginia cornerback Keith Tandy (Steelers101 profile 4/8)

Alabama linebacker Jerrell Harris

Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead(Steelers101 profile 4/4)

Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobbie Massie(Steelers101 profile 4/9)

California Inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks (Steelers101 profile 4/10)

USC defensive end / linebacker Nick Perry

Missouri tight end Michael Egnew

Miami (Florida) defensive end / linebacker Olivier Vernon (Steelers101 profile 4/16)

Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower

Oregon running back LaMichael James

Oregon tight end David Paulson

Midwestern State offensive guard Amini Silatolu(Steelers101 profile 4/12)

BYU nose tackle Hebron Fangupo(Steelers101 profile 4/14)

Wayne State safety Jeremy Jones (Steelers101 profile 4/15)

Clemson defensive end / outside linebacker Andre Branch

Cincinnati nose tackle John Hughes

Michigan State wide receiver Keshawn Martin

Louisiana-Lafayette tight end Ladarius Green

California offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz

Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill 

Tags: Football, Mitchell Schwartz, NFL, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Steelers, pre-draft visitors, Stephen Hill

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