Happy Good Friday to all of you and I hope your week was most excellent.
We are now less than two weeks away from the start of the 2017 NFL Draft and that means the Pittsburgh Steelers will be wrapping up their pre-draft visits early next week. We can probably expect Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin to hold their annual pre-draft press conference very soon and while we’re unlikely to learn anything from it, hopefully some creative questions will be asked this year.
Steelers Nation is still busy mourning the loss of chairman Dan Rooney and rightfully so. He did so much for the NFL in addition to the Steelers and it’s great to see the outpouring of support league-wide on social media. While he will be missed, he will never be forgotten.
By the time you read this I will likely be at the Nevada DMV attempting to my vehicles registered in addition to my wife and I both getting new drivers licenses. The paperwork involved in the state of Nevada is quite different than it was in Florida. Wish me luck as this is my final hurdle related to me getting myself rooted here in Las Vegas.
Little Finley Pearl is doing just fine after getting fixed and chipped last Saturday. She still, however, has to wear the cone of shame for five more days until having her stitches removed. She’s finally adjusted to the cone and has been a little trooper.
Finally, I will turn 49 on Sunday and hope to spend the day doing a little math at a table inside a Vegas casino. I don’t get out much by my own choice, but am looking forward to getting away for a few hours to think about absolutely nothing while drinking large amounts of free coffee. Hopefully other humans sitting at that table leave me alone.
As usual, I have five questions for all of you to answer in the comments below and hope several of you can participate. I also want to take time to personally thank all of you for visiting the site this week and I can’t wait to help the others cover this years draft for you.
Have a great Easter and I wish you all much peace and love.
1 – The league recently released the names of the 22 prospects who are scheduled to attend the 2017 NFL Draft in person and you can see that list below. Name the players on this list that you believe will still be on the board come time for the Steelers first round selection.
2 – With the recent passing of Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, I want you to give me one word that best describes him.
3 – With only a handful of pre-draft visits remaining, the Steelers have only brought in one running back so far and it was James Conner, who doesn’t count against the 30 allotted number due to him being a local product. Will the team bring at least one more running back in and if so, name that potential visitor.
4 – Which is more likely to happen with the Steelers first two selections, a defensive back followed by an edge-rusher or an edge-rusher followed by a defensive back?
5 – Of the prospects who have had pre-draft visits so far, which one is most likely to be signed by the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent once his rookie contract with the another team who winds up selecting him expires?
Recap from last week’s questions:
Question 1 – Responses ranged from 2-5 cornerbacks being picked before the Steelers 30th overall selection. Most believe that this is a thin draft for cornerbacks and the consensus is 3 being picked. If that happens, would the Steelers pick the 4th best cornerback in the first round or wait?
Question 2 – As a group, we leaned slightly in the NO column on whether the Steelers would select an inside linebacker in the first three rounds. The vote was 19-11; some thinking the compensatory pick might be used. Most felt that there were greater needs and that Vince Williams was good to go as the starter.
Question 3 – Davis Webb edged out Joshua Dobbs 13-10 with Brad Kaaya trailing with 7 votes. The Webb supporters felt he was the best quarterback of the three. While the Dobbs supporters felt, he fit the best in the Steelers scheme. The Kaaya group were the realists thinking he would be the only one available when and if the Steelers were ready to pick a quarterback – 4th round?
Question 4 – A clear majority (21-9) did not agree that Derek Rivers, TJ Watt & Carl Lawson would all be selected in the 2nd round. Most felt that at least one of them would be selected in the 1st round, perhaps by the Steelers. Watt got the most mentions considering his pedigree.
Question 5 – The Steelers announced that the Giants, Falcons & Colts would join the Panthers in playing preseason games against the Steelers. All three were mentioned by various respondents but no one got more than one correct. The Eagles and the Bills with 18 votes a piece were the most popular pick with the Redskins the 3rd with 9.
