Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin held their annual pre-draft press conference Monday afternoon and the former started things off by giving a position-by-position look at this year’s draft class as it relates to quality and depth.
“I think the running backs, it’s a nice group,” said Colbert. “I think there’s good quality, there’s good depth. Quarterbacks isn’t as deep as it has been. Wide receivers, last year’s group was really dynamic. This year’s group is deep, there’s big ones, there’s small ones, but its not quite as dynamic, I don’t think, as last year’s.
“Tight end, some positions are really a reflection of what’s going on in college football and there’s just not a lot of tight ends to pick from, quite honestly, coming out of the college ranks because of the prolifacation of all the spread offenses. So really, that’s not a terribly deep group. Same with the interior offensive line. The tackles, I think its a nice group. It’s probably as good of group as I’ve seen in recent years.”
The Steelers will undoubtedly be in the market early this year for a cornerback and an outside linebacker and Colbert appears to like what’s available in the upcoming draft.
“Secondary, I think there are more corners than there are safeties,” said Colbert. “I think the corner group is good. The outside linebacker-types for us, which was a 4-3 defensive ends for some 4-3 team, this is probably as good at that position as I’ve seen in probably 10 or 15 years. It’s really an exceptional group. a lot of impact-type guys. Inside linebackers not so much.”
The Steelers hold the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft that will get underway Thursday night in Chicago and according to Tomlin, “it’s business as usual” for the organization. Colbert did say that the rest of the time ahead of the draft will be used to finish up medical and character evaluations on several players.
