AFC North draft grades

[plenewken]

Nolan Nawrocki,
ProFootballWeekly.com Apr 25, 7:14 pm EDT

Gave the Steelers a B- for their picks, mostly because of the loss of Santonio Holmes for a 5th round pick.
Ravens got an A, Bengals an C and Browns a C+

Here is his write-up on the Steelers' picks


The Steelers long have been a need-driven drafting team under the direction of Kevin Colbert, and they focused on a great need with their first pick, selecting one of the best centers (Maurkice Pouncey(notes)) to exit college football in a long time. Despite seeming to be drafted highly for a center, he was a very safe selection. Jason Worilds(notes) and Thaddeus Gibson(notes) are both raw, developmental rush LB projects with speed to be groomed. Emmanuel Sanders(notes) could compete for a job in the slot. Crezdon Butler(notes) has press cover ability. The final two rounds addressed some niche roles, as Stevenson Sylvester(notes) could provide help on special-teams coverage, Jonathan Dwyer(notes) could help as a short-yardage runner, Antonio Brown could factor into the return game and Doug Worthington(notes) could develop as a five-technique. Losing a first-round talent in Santonio Holmes for only a fifth-rounder weakens the class, even if the deal needed to be done for bigger reasons. The Steelers did very well addressing needs, and could come away with three starters if one of their project linebacker hits, but losing Holmes for such a low price lessens the impact.

Grade: B-minus

[Cmdurand21]

He failed to mention that we got McFadden back for the Holmes pick which kinda softens the blow. I always liked McFadden, I though he was going to be a star when we drafted him, and I feel much more secure now if Troy gets hurt again then I did last year. Taylor, Gay, Carter, and Clark is a far worse secondary then Taylor, McFadden, Allen, and Clark. Fans were losing their cool after day 2 when we hadn't selected a CB, but in retrospect, it isn't a big need after we signed McFadden and still have 2 development CBs and a great nickleback with Gay.. I'm far more concerned about out offense then defense obviously.

[Killer]

For what it's worth

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kiper's draft grade: B

Analysis: Kiper doesn't believe the Steelers drafted any huge impact players. But he liked the solid acquisitions, which resulted in a solid grade. I haven't seen anyone so far who doesn't like the choice of first-round pick Maurkice Pouncey. The former Florida center seems like a perfect fit in Pittsburgh's interior offensive line and should bring toughness to that unit. Linebackers Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson were risky in terms of need, but Kiper believes they can help for now on special teams. Kiper highlighted running back Jonathan Dwyer as a possible sleeper.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth

[RoethlisBURGHer]

How can you downgrade someone's draft because beforehand the traded a player who could have gone for a second rounder for a fifth rounder?

This guy sounds like a jackass to me. Isn't grading a draft based on the moves made with the draft picks you have once the draft starts?

[kirklandrules]

Originally Posted by RoethlisBURGHer

How can you downgrade someone's draft because beforehand the traded a player who could have gone for a second rounder for a fifth rounder?

This guy sounds like a jackass to me. Isn't grading a draft based on the moves made with the draft picks you have once the draft starts?

Totally agree. He should give the trade a low score, but the trade wasn't done during the draft and he should grade who the Steelers chose when grading the draft. Obviously he's a d-bag.

[kirklandrules]

Originally Posted by Killer

I haven't seen anyone so far who doesn't like the choice of first-round pick Maurkice Pouncey.

You must not have been reading the postings from the fans on this site!

[SteelGhost]

Originally Posted by kirklandrules

You must not have been reading the postings from the fans on this site!

Yep, some people would have liked drafting Bulaga instead

[Pi Kapp Steeler]

Originally Posted by plenewken

Nolan Nawrocki,
ProFootballWeekly.com Apr 25, 7:14 pm EDT

Gave the Steelers a B- for their picks, mostly because of the loss of Santonio Holmes for a 5th round pick.
Losing a first-round talent in Santonio Holmes for only a fifth-rounder weakens the class, but losing Holmes for such a low price lessens the impact.

Grade: B-minus

Mike Wallace .... Coming Soon to a Pro Bowl near you!!!

[RoethlisBURGHer]

I would give our draft grade a B+

Pouncey was a need. He's going to start at right guard this year. Probably next year he will take over as our starting center, if he doesn't take that over at some point this year for some reason (poor play, injury). This isn't the end of Urbik, he may be the starting RG next season when Pouncey takes over at center. Remember, Dawson started his rookie year at guard before becoming one of the best centers to play the game. It gives him time to learn the offense, learn the schemes, learn the protection calls.

Worilds, while not a need, is a very good pick. He might end up being a beast. He will also help on ST, which needs the help.

Sanders is a speedy WR, much like Holmes was. He didn't get much pub being tucked away at SMU, which is still best known for receiving the NCAA death penalty a long time ago. He could end up being the future slot receiver. He gets to learn under Ward, Wallace, Randle El, and Battle.

Thad Gibson could end up being better than Worilds. He's wasn't simply a rush the QB type of DE. He went into coverage too. He should make the transition to OLB quickly, kind of like Woodley did. He could very wekk become the replacement to Harrison.

Chris Scott, another offensive lineman. Depth pick.

Butler is more depth in the defensive backfield.

Sylvester, from what I have read, is going to transition to ILB in our defense. If this is true, we get some more depth at ILB, some young depth at that. He gets to learn behind Farrior, Timmons, Foote, and Fox. Good group to learn the demands of ILB in the Steelers 3-4 defense.

Dwyer is an excellent pick. He's a power back who will fit in well with out RB rotation. He will probably take short yardage/goal line carries from Mendenhall.

Brown is another WR. I don't really know what we're going to do with him, I did hear maybe transition to safety. No matter, some more depth at WR which can't hurt.

Worthington is an excellent pick. He's going to be a DE in our defense. He can very well end up starting on our line in the next few years along with Ziggy Hood.

Also, for the fifth round pick we got for Holmes, we traded it to the Cardinals for Bryant McFadden. So there's your starting-caliber CB so many people wanted.

I don't see why so many people are complaining about our draft. Last year the fans wants offensive line galore. So many people wanted Alex Mack, a center. We take a center in the first round this year and people complain. People wanted a CB. We traded for McFadden who fits out scheme very well and we know what we have with him here.

This draft also fixes our special teams. They should be much improved.

[Killer]

I haven't seen anyone so far who doesn't like the choice of first-round pick Maurkice Pouncey.

Originally Posted by kirklandrules

You must not have been reading the postings from the fans on this site!

I didn't say that - Kiper did, but he's pretty much right