Over the course of the next month, you can count on a lot of lists from the major media sites as the dead period in the NFL is now in full swing with a month to go before the start of training camps.
Some of the lists are creative while others not so much. In the case of Pete Prisco of CBS Sports, his latest lists of overrated and underrated players of every team falls somewhere in the middle, but at least it inspires some good debates.
Prisco’s overrated player selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers is tight end Heath Miller and he writes:
It’s hard to find an overrated player on this team with so much turnover of the roster. Miller is still a solid player, and he had some decent numbers in 2014, but he isn’t the same player he was two years ago. Age is catching up to him some.
While it’s true that Father Time has slowly chipped away at some of Miller’s best qualities, we’re still talking about a player who caught 66 passes in 2014. Additionally, Miller still has a career reception percentage of 71.5% and I dare you to find a tight end with a better one who has been targeted at least 160 times since 2005.
At 32, Miller is still one of the most durable tight ends in the league as he’s only missed 7 career games since he came into the league.
Personally, I’m surprised Prisco didn’t go Maurkice Pouncey here now that safety Troy Polamalu is no longer around for him to kick around.
As far as the Steelers most underrated player, Prisco has selected tackle Kelvin Beachum and he writes:
He has made himself into a top-10 left tackle. The Steelers had a bunch of problems at times at that spot over the years, but he has put those fears to rest.
I think Prisco nailed this one and I believe I would say the same thing had he chosen cornerback William Gay. Despite turning in a very solid 2014 season, some yinzers still don’t believe that Beachum can play left tackle in the league. That same group of people want him moved to left guard, which is a position that really doesn’t best-suit his strengths.
Did Prisco nail these Steelers selections in your opinion?
