The journey toward Super Bowl LII ended far too prematurely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending them into offseason mode before we were ready for it. But we are in it now, and are ready to move on, through the Combine, through free agency, through the draft, into OTAs, and beyond.
We have asked and answered a lot of questions over the years and will continue to do so, and at the moment, there seem to be a ton of questions that need answering. A surprise early exit in the postseason will do that to you though, especially when it happens in the way it did.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring developments all throughout the offseason process, all the way down to Latrobe. Pending free agents, possible veteran roster cuts, contract extensions, pre-draft visits, pro days, all of it will have its place when the time arises.
Question: Which player likely to be available in the first round would you want the Steelers to avoid?
Scouting NFL talent is not an exact science by any means and I don’t think I need to go into too much detail about that. There are players that were unanimously regarded as a sure thing that flamed out and even more players nobody even considered who ended up being excellent.
And so we have our yearly tradition of hearing the opinions of all the experts, self-named or otherwise, telling why such and such player is not nearly as good as is being widely discussed, and why he should be avoided. These are usually anonymous scouts and coaches talking about players; very rarely do they put their names on the takes.
When talking specifically about the Steelers and their first-round draft pick this year, taking into consideration the players who are reasonably likely to be available at that spot, who would you really like to see the Steelers avoid?
I would like to get the most popular answers out of the way quickly. Obviously a lot of people are going to be in the camp that no quarterback should be taken, and it’s reasonable to believe that prospects such as Mason Rudolph and Lamar Jackson could be available for them late in the first round.
Another obvious answer would be the running back spot, and the name connected to them throughout the offseason has been Derrius Guice out of LSU. He’s been mocked to them pretty consistently and even had dinner with them. But many are of the belief that the position should not be touched in 2018 because it adds little benefit to their ability to win the Super Bowl this season.
So aside from the obvious answers, who are the guys that you want them to avoid specifically in the first round? Do you think Jessie Bates would be too much of a reach, for example? Maybe you don’t believe Rashaan Evans is an every-down player?
