It remains to be seen whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive lineman Daniel McCullers will show enough during the offseason to warrant making the final 53 man roster out of training camp, but defensive end Cameron Heyward has weighed in with his thoughts on the 6-6, 352 pound Tennessee product.
“He’s huge,” said Heyward of McCullers on Wednesday, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “He’s like Paul Bunyan.”
According to Brown, McCullers said after Wednesday’s practice that he has been playing exclusively at nose tackle so far during the OTA practices.
The Steelers drafted McCullers with their second of two sixth-round draft picks with the hopes that he either serve as an understudy to starter Steve McLendon or perhaps convert to defensive end.
McCullers’ height, however, will be one of his biggest obstacles as he will have to learn to come off the ball much lower than he did in college.
McCullers reportedly carries his weight well for a man of his size, but defensive line coach John Mitchell said last month that they would like him to drop a little more weight when asked if he is too big.
“I wouldn’t say too big, probably not quick enough to be outside right now,” said Mitchell immediately following the selection of McCullers. “Not too big. This guy is 6’6’’ which we like. You get a 6’6’’ guy you probably want him 315-325 pounds at the max.
“You don’t want a guy were he can’t get up field and were he can’t get off blockers. He’s a big guy, but those types of guys are hard to find. I’d rather work with a guy that is too big than one that you can’t see him when he goes down in a stance. I’m excited about that.”
Paul Bunyan McCullers and the rest of the Steelers will wrap up their second week of OTA practices on Thursday.
