In the latest mock draft that Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com released this week, he has the Pittsburgh Steelers once again selecting Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin with the 15th overall selection. Benjamin of course is one of the taller wide receivers in this year’s draft class and according to one Steelers beat writer, the team intends on drafting a tall one early on.
In his Wednesday online chat, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the Steelers have already indicated to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that the plan right now is to draft a tall receiver early in the draft. Also, to nobody’s surprise, he also believes this to be an indication that soon-to-be unrestricted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be allowed to sign elsewhere during the free agent signing period.
So how tall is tall? Taller than Sanders and Antonio Brown, both of whom measured in at the 2010 scouting combine at under 5’11”? Or are we talking about tall like Plaxico Burress, who is somewhere in the 6’6″ range?
Benjamin is listed at 6’5″ by several websites, while Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans is expected to measure in at roughly the same height at the combine. Vanderbilt wide receiver Jordan Matthews measured in at just under 6’3″ at the Senior Bowl last month, while Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson should come in at right around that same height.
Dulac’s report is pretty specific in that Roethlisberger knows the Steelers intent. However, we all know that intentions don’t mean guarantees when it comes to the draft.
Interpret this report however you wish.
