Steelers Draft priority: find a starting runningback

[PhantomJB93]

I'm not a Pitt fan but I've seen quite a lot of Graham over the last few years and I like him enough to say, even with his atrocious combine 40 he would be a better option in the later rounds (should we fail to get Lacy or Lattimore) than a lot of the guys available from rounds 3-5.

[wwhickok]

Im at the point where, if theyre available I would be surprised not to see Dion Jordan or Mingo drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round and if we have our pick, it'll likely be Jordan.

[Steeldude]

Originally Posted by harrison'samonster

fixing the running game is the biggest challenge the offense is facing in my opinion. We'll miss what Wallace can do, but we need a RB big time. I was hoping and still am hoping we get a shot at keeping Mendenhall, but if the Steelers find somebody they like better in the draft, I'm fine with that.

What is it with people being so high on Mendenhall? He's soft with a fragile ego.

Miss what Wallace can do? I won't miss the drops, poor fundamentals and poor effort.

RB is down on the draft priority list. No O-line means no running. I have yet to see the O-line put together any consistency in the run department.

[harrison'samonster]

Originally Posted by Steeldude

What is it with people being so high on Mendenhall? He's soft with a fragile ego.

Miss what Wallace can do? I won't miss the drops, poor fundamentals and poor effort.

RB is down on the draft priority list. No O-line means no running. I have yet to see the O-line put together any consistency in the run department.

Mendenhall is a talent at the RB position. I'm not sold on Dwyer and Redman. Whatever the Steelers decide to do I'll be happy with, but Mendenhall really wasn't suppose to be on the field this past season.

As for Wallace, he was our #1 reciever. Sure you won't miss his few drops and poor effort, but he also had a lot of talent and the ability to spread the field. I think the team will eventually be better without him, but there will be growing pains.

[TheVet]

This team needs players with leadership and positive attitudes. On that basis alone, Mendenhall and Wallace both need to go.

In my opinion, both Redman and Dwyer contribute more on the field than Mendenahall anyway - despite much less natural talent. I can't wait to move on without Mendenhall. Watching unfulfilled potential is frustrating.

[harrison'samonster]

Originally Posted by TheVet

This team needs players with leadership and positive attitudes. On that basis alone, Mendenhall and Wallace both need to go.

In my opinion, both Redman and Dwyer contribute more on the field than Mendenahall anyway - despite much less natural talent. I can't wait to move on without Mendenhall. Watching unfulfilled potential is frustrating.

Redman and Dwyer contributed more this past season, but Mendenhall was coming off the injury.

A few weeks ago before the big media shit storm I was more for keeping these two, but now I tend to agree that we need to move on. Dwyer needs to be better conditioned, especially his heart and lungs. I've never seen a player tap their helmet to come off the field nearly as much as Dwyer.

Again, a lot hinges on the play (read healthy play) of the OL. It is just my opinion that if we head into the season counting on Redman and Dwyer we might be disappointed. I hope to be wrong!

[TheVet]

I think that Redman does the best job of all our backs when there's little or nothing available, and Dwyer can be really explosive at times. I agree with you about Dwyer's strange conditioning problem, it's very worrisome. We definitely need additional backs from somewhere, because Batch hasn't shown much at all. But I've got no problem with the level of play from either of these two. As you say, we need to have a competent OL (and good offensive schemes). These backs are quite serviceable NFL backs who would do well in any reasonable system. We need to have a healthy system with healthy players.

As for Mendenhall, I just don't see the value - at least not on the kind of teams the Steelers have fielded during his time here. Even in the seasons prior to his injury, Redman regularly outperformed Mendenhall when given the chance. There's really no category where Mendy does best - he doesn't fight for the extra yards, he hesitates and doesn't hit the rare holes, he's lax about ball security, and he often doesn't show up to play. His attitude drags down the team. He looks great running in the open field when nobody's near him, but that's not an area of need, really, for any team.

I can't wait to lose this bust of a #1 pick, unfortunately the lead bust from a completely busted draft season.

[FrancoLambert]

I'm still with the "let's give Mendenhall one more shot" camp.

He's our best starting RB. He's proven that.
Speed and power. He has it. Dwyer and Redman not both.

All he needs is a good O-line and a brain transplant.

[TheVet]

Originally Posted by FrancoLambert

I'm still with the "let's give Mendenhall one more shot" camp.

He's our best starting RB. He's proven that.
Speed and power. He has it. Dwyer and Redman not both.

All he needs is a good O-line and a brain transplant.

He hasn't proven that, not in my opinion! Even before the injury, I felt that Redman had demonstrated that he could out-produce Mendy at every opportunity - but #1 picks receive many extra chances.

But it's all rendered moot by his negative attributes in the areas of character, work ethic, and good team-member. This isn't a football team that can carry problem children right now - hopefully Tomlin understands how badly we need to rebuild the locker room.

[Justp94]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the Steelers will let their former first round pick Mendenhall just test free agency without having contract talks? I know the last 2 years and his character are in question, but I know that those two 1,000+ yard seasons weren't fluke years, especially when our line sucked back then even worse. So I expect the Steelers to bring Mendenhall back for 2-3 years at a moderate price because that's all he's worth.