Happy Friday to yinz and I hope this weekly post finds everyone healthy and in great spirits. On March 27, 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the drug Viagra, an oral medication that treats impotence. We can celebrate that anniversary tonight, ladies and gentlemen.
Well, the 2020 NFL free agent signing period has already slowed to crawl. That’s not overly surprising, however. The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a few signings to date and even acquired another player via a trade. They also have signed five former XFL players to date. In light of that, I wouldn’t count on too much more activity from the team between now and the 2020 NFL Draft.
I hate to leave the house in normal circumstances and especially during this self-quarantine time. Even so, I had to go chase down food and drug staples three different times this past week. I hated to have to do it, but I finally was able to get stocked up on ground beef and turkey and a few other items without getting sick. Wifey is going stir-crazy, however, so we might get out and just drive down the Las Vegas strip later Friday night with the puppy just to do something different.
As usual, I have five questions for yinz to answer on this Friday night and I look forward to reading all responses. Have a great and safe weekend and thank you to all that visited the site this past week. It’s greatly appreciated.
Peace and love, peace and love!
1 – Between now and the end of the 2020 NFL Draft, will the Steelers sign a free agent player with a first-year salary cap charge greater than $1 million?
2 – Based on where the Steelers roster is today, list the team’s top four positional needs in the 2020 NFL Draft from greatest to least.
3 – Over/under 35.5 receptions for new Steelers tight end Eric Ebron in 2020?
4 – True or false: Ebron will still be on the Steelers roster one year from today.
5 – Yes or no: All-white Steelers uniforms need to return for at least one game a season.
Recap of New 2020 League Year Friday Night 5 Questions from David Orochena:
Question 1: Steelers Depot respondents liked the Steelers adding Eric Ebron over Derek Watt by a slight margin. Respondents gave the edge to Ebron with 44.8% of the vote compared to 37.9% for Watt. Stefen Wisniewski received the balance of the vote. It came down to who we perceived filled the bigger hole. Do we need a tight end to strengthen a weak position group or a fullback to open holes for the running attack and be a special teams ace where we’ve lost Dirty Red Matakevich? Surprisingly Stefen Wisniewski finished a distant third despite the need to make-up for the loss of Ramon Foster to retirement and B.J. Finney leaving in free agency.
Question 2: Once I collated all the rankings of Tyson Alualu, Isaiah Buggs, and Chris Wormley on which player would play the most defensive snaps, all three had a median score of second. The average ranking for each was Alualu (1.72), Wormley (2.07), and Buggs (2.17) giving a slight edge to Alualu. But those are so close it appears that all three are in a statistical tie for second place to me. I’m not a statistician – my mathematicians out there? It will be interesting to see if all three ends up on the 53-man roster this season and how many snaps this group plays on defense. In 2019 Alualu played 40% of the Steelers defensive snaps with Stephon Tuitt injured. Buggs played just 7%. Of course, Alualu and Buggs are on opposite sides of their career arcs. Wormley played 46% of the Ravens defensive snaps last season.
Question 3: We overwhelmingly believe Matt Feiler (77.8%) will be the Steelers starting left guard in Week One. Stefen Wisniewski was the only other Steelers player named although one respondent voted themselves as the starting guard. Maybe Feiler is visiting the Steelers Depot using a pseudonym.
Question 4: 72.4% of respondents believe the Steelers will bypass the tight end position altogether in the draft. A combination of the Steelers signing Ebron plus the perceived weak tight end class in this year’s draft was mentioned. Another factor is that there are just too many other positions with a greater need now that Ebron signed.
Question 5: Two free agents already signed by other teams emerged as who we wish the Steelers had gotten. Defensive lineman Andrew Billings was one. The former Cincinnati Bengal fourth round draft pick signed a one-year contract worth a report $3.5 million with the Cleveland Browns on March 16. It will be interesting to compare his contributions to Chris Wormley who the Steelers picked up from the Baltimore Ravens. The other free agent that led our hearts was Javon Hargrave. Despite his $13 million salary the Philadelphia Eagles are paying him, we wish that the Steelers had figured out a way to re-sign their own free agent. Sounds reasonable to me.
