Steelers Lounge 2011 NFL Draft Discussion Thread, Day 2

Posted on April 29, 2011 by ryan

Use this thread to talk about and keep up with  – you guessed it — the 2011 NFL Draft. If you missed it, read through the first-round discussion thread here, and be sure to check out the first-round live chat while you’re at it…

By all accounts, the first round couldn’t have played out any better. Fleeting thoughts of Prince in Pittsburgh aside, the Steelers wound up sitting tight and having Cam Heyward fall in their laps with the 31st pick. So that settles any concerns about depth along the defensive line.

Now we turn our attention to cornerback, offensive line and BPA depth. We talked about it early this morning on the podcast, but the consensus seems to be that Pittsburgh should target a cornerback in Round 2, hopefully without selling the farm in any trade-up scenarios.

Wex was on the radio Friday morning and pointed out that Gosselin thinks Brandon Harris could be around when the Steelers go on the clock. Even if he’s not — and even if there’s an early second-round-run on CBs — that should mean a few quality offensive line options at 2.63.

While we wait for the festivities to start, you might as well get caught up. You’re welcome:

Links you should click:

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Steelers Right to Take Heyward, Must Go CB Next
Steelers Lounge Podcast: Cam Heyward Edition
Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 6
Steelers’ 7-Round 2011 Draft Value Board
Yahoo’s Doug Farrar Talks NFL Draft
Steelers Pre-Draft Player Visits
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Extra credit…

Other links you should click:

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Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 5
Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 4
Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 3
Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 2
Steelers Lounge Steelers Mock Draft, Version 1
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Related posts:

  1. Steelers Lounge 2011 NFL Draft Discussion Thread
  2. Steelers Lounge Podcast #44.1: 1st-Round Recap — Frank Pollard
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers’ 7-Round 2011 Draft Value Board
  4. 2011 Steelers Final Mock Draft: Versions 6a-d
  5. 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers Mock Draft, Version 5
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  • David

    I don’t know…I’d still feel better if we traded up and got him. I mean, there’s always a team that can pull a NY Jets and draft our CB right before us.

    • http://www.google.com/profiles/100857546184516732260 Dr Obvious

      Yeah, the Jets. They draft right before us, and they lurve CBs, since they play NE twice a year

  • David

    BTW, I can’t help thinking that the Locker pick was safer than the Newton one.

  • David

    BTW II, Don Banks has Williams, Dowling, Harris, and Patrick going before we pick.

    And he has us picking up O-lineman Franklin.

  • Anonymous

    I put this in the other thread, but with this one open it belongs here. In round 2 this is who I want.

    Aaron WIlliams
    Brandon Harris
    Ras-I Dowling
    Curtis Brown
    Benjamin Ijalana
    Rahim Moore
    Kyle Rudolph
    Steven Paea
    Davon House
    Chimdi Chekwa
    Marcus Gilchrist
    Akeem Ayers
    Orlando Franklin

    In round three obviously if any of those are available still you grab them unless their positions conflict, so not Ijalana in 2 then Franklin in 3 for example. I’m willing to take 2 CBs but lower the value a bit of the third round CBs if they get one in round 2. After the above add:

    Brandon Burton
    Curtis Marsh
    Lance Kendricks
    Mikel LeShoure
    Marcus Gilbert
    Jason Pinkston
    Torrey Smith
    Lee Ziemba
    Will Rackley
    Sam Acho

  • Anonymous

    Is one of those CoveritLive things going up?

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    Intropy,

    No CoveritLive tonight.

    Meanwhile, the Pats get Ras-I Dowling at 2.33. If he can stay healthy, that’s quite a secondary with Devin McCourty. That said, Dowling’s injury history makes me glad the Steelers didn’t reach for him.

    • Anonymous

      I’m glad the Steelers didn’t reach either, but I would have liked him at the end of round 2.

      Meanwhile Dowling and Williams gone. That is not good. These guys need to cool it with the DBs.

  • ROb D

    Dowling, Williams gone in the first 2 picks.
    I think we arent’ getting a corner folks.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    And Aaron Williams goes to the Bills with the next pick. Fine with that, too. The only problem is that we don’t need an early-round run on CBs.

  • ROb D

    Should have added:
    signed
    The Panicky Guy

  • ROb D

    Bengals grab Dalton. He looks like Opie from Andy Griffith…lol

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    I’ll go out on a limb and predict Dalton’s NFL career mirrors that of Charlie Frye. If Carson Palmer struggled against the Steelers, Dalton doesn’t stand a chance in hell.

  • Bitts

    So, just when you get concerned about the Browns due to number of picks… they start making choices and put you at ease.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    I was just thinking that the Browns traded way down in the first round of the 2009 Draft, when the Jets moved up 12 spots to get Mark Sanchez at No. 5, and they completely blew that draft too. Cleveland’s selections in ’09 (they traded down again in Round 1 with Philly):

    1.21: Alex Mack
    2.36: Brian Robiskie
    2.50: Mohamed Massaquoi
    2.52: David Veikune
    4.104: Kaluka Maiava
    6.177: Don Carey
    6.191: Coye Francies
    6.195: James Davis

    Four picks in the first two rounds and Mack is the only player I’d say is above average. Even the Mendoza Line is embarrassed.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    Eddie B. says the Steelers are trying to trade up in the second round.

    • Ted

      Based on the TVC, our 2nd and 3rd will get us No. 50 overall. Not a huge fan of Brandon Harris, but considering our need and what is left on the board at CB, I would do it in a second.

  • Ted

    FYI Everybody, around pick 61, I will post a projection on the main page, looking at the most likely possibilities for the Steelers’ pick, who we should pick (listing top choices in order), who we should not pick, and a guess of who we will pick. I will be doing this a couple of spots before the Steelers pick in each round, so be sure to reload the main page a few minutes before.

  • Anonymous

    Boo. Rahim Moore was a real option for the Steelers in my opinion.

    • Anonymous

      Jagoff Broncos taking a CB and an OT.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    Moore and Aaron Williams are different sides of the same coin: One’s a FS who might be better at CB, the other’s a CB who might be better at FS. I guess if the Steelers got both then they’d be set.

    • Ted

      Moore ran a 4.62 at the combine. Afterward, no one was really saying he could play corner any more.

      • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

        Except Mayock and Doug Farrar.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    And there goes Franklin to the Broncos.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    Colts trade up to get Ijalana. They took Castonzo in the first round.

  • Anonymous

    Ijalana to the Colts. I think Harris and Brown are really the only good picks left for the Steelers in round 2.

  • Ted

    Damn, Gilchrist was No. 3 or 4 on my wishlist for this round still on the board. He is a player

  • Denny

    a quick 20 second highlight reel of these celebrity players would be cool

  • Ted

    Worried about several teams trying to jump us for Harris. Might be worth a fourth or fifth to move up now. Do not press your luck Colbert. Would love for him to fall to 63 without needing to give up anything, but that is risky.

    • Anonymous

      I’m worried about the Lions doing that right now. It’s also possible that the Steelers think they have identified a sleeper they think is better that any of the names people expect.

      • Ted

        Sweet, dodged a bullet there. Mayock just said there is a big drop-off after Harris at CB. ESPN has Harris at No. 42 overall and then does not have another corner until Patrick at 65. We are playing a dangerous game here unless we like another player better. May just get lucky, but it is a risk.

        • Anonymous

          Agreed. Browns, Chargers, Redskins… what do they Need? Pats picked up a corner earlier, they are unpredictable though.

          • Anonymous

            The Texans need a corner that trade is scary.

  • Denny

    Getting close Ryan, who do you like?

  • Ted

    Houston just jumped us probably to take Harris. Damn!

    • Aaron

      Damnit

  • Ted

    Ray CHarles could see that trade-up coming. Just posted possiblities and projection: http://www.steelerslounge.com/2011/04/clock-steelers-secondround-projection/

  • Ted

    Mayock just said he now has a 2-round drop-off between Harris and every other corner on his board. I guess we can run a 4-5-2 next year with the two being safeties. Good God. What a disastrous situation our CB rotation is if Ike leaves and just as bad as last year if he returns.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    I LOVE Mayock but wouldn’t take his draft advice over Colbert’s. So if Colbert & Tomlin like, say, Curtis Brown, I’m down with that.

    • Ted

      For our second pick in the draft, I would take his advice over Colbert’s any day. Colbert does not recognize needs in round 2 after wisely going BPA in round one. We win the Super Bowl last year with better CB play and do not need an OT at all this year if we we draft Jared Veldheer in round 2 last year instead of taking an OLB projected to go 3rd-4th round by most who will likely not start for us until his fourth year or so and was so good last year that he didn’t even dress when healthy for the Super Bowl.

      Colbert is great at the first round, but he would not be universally viewed as a top 5 GM if he did not get when Roethlsiberger fell to 11 and then exactly 99% of Steelers’ fans would have made the same pick.

  • David

    Looks like we’re gonna take Patrick. Hope he’s not Gay II

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    I’m on board: “RT @SteelersDigest: Steelers No. 2 pick — OT Marcus Gilbert from Florida”

    • Anonymous

      Marcus Gilbert seems like a reach. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him taken at 92. Oh well, they usually do alright. Cross your fingers.

      • DJAnyReason

        Recent Steelers 2nd picks:
        2010 – Jason Woirlds
        2009 – Kraig Urbik
        2008 – Limas Sweed
        2007 – LaMarr Woodley
        2006 – Anthony Smith
        2005 – Bryant McFadden

        The Steelers usually do well in the first round. Their 2nd pick in the draft is far more of a mixed bag.

        • Gretz

          Urbik was a third-rounder. They traded out of round 2 in ’09 and took Urbik and Wallace.

          • Ted

            He wrote second picks by the Steelers, not second-round picks.

          • Gretz

            Those are two entirely different things with entirely different values. Your odds of finding a player in the third round are lower than finding a player in the second round. They’re not equal value.

          • Ted

            Not disagreeing. Just clarifying what he wrote. Trading down to get an extra third in the year we got A. Smith and Reid did not work out, but it did in the year we got Wallace, even though the other third-rounders (Urbik and Lewis) were busts.

        • Ted

          Mixed bag is overly nice:

          Worlids was a little bit of a reach at a total non-need position, while ignoring nees at CB and OT.

          Urbik was a major reach who was awful in the Senior Bowl. But we had ignored o-line for so long, we had to do something and then we reach for a guy in one of the worst guard drafts every.

          Can’t blame him for Sweed. He was seen as a solid value pick and filled a need. It was also a deep WR draft or he goes earlier in most years.

          Woodley – Tremendous pick.

          Smith – That third round was about as bad as it gets, especially when you add in the pick of Willie Reid as a WR/return man after we had already addressed that need with Santonio and traded away multiple picks to move up to do so.

          McFadden – Okay value pick. Mediocre production at best.

        • Randy Steele

          Given that line-up, Marcus Gilbert seems like a very safe, sane, solid pick.

          • Randy Steele

            On the other hand, Wex pretty much hates the pick.

  • DJAnyReason

    I seriously hope Colbert didn’t like Harris. Otherwise, the Tomlin/Colbert regime, at some point, needs to figure out how to move up in a draft to get the guy they want. The number of times they’ve been sharked like this is getting frustrating.

    • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

      DJ,

      I was just chatting JJ about this. I fell in love with Prince last night and was promptly dumped, probably because the Steelers had a plan that didn’t involve giving up their 2nd (or 3rd) to move up. They made out fine.

      I was on the Harris bandwagon for a few days so I came into Round 2 thinking that he should be Pittsburgh’s target. Of course, a lot of other teams passed on Harris too, and the ones who needed a CB didn’t think it urgent enough to trade up until late in the round. I’m guessing Pittsburgh didn’t think that highly of Harris. That’s how I’m rationalizing it, anyway.

      • Ted

        How did you rationalize AR passing for 309 yards on us in the Super Bowl, which should have been 500 or so if their WRs don’t keep dropping potential TD passes all game? And if we lose Ike to FA, expect many repeat performances like that this year, with no chance of us going to the SB. Get Ike back and we have a chance, but we once again must hope we do not play NE in the playoffs (we would have never beat them in any of our SB years) or that we somehow do not have to face Rodgers, Brees, or Matt Ryan throwing to White and Jones. The game has changed and everyone recognizes the value of CBs except us.

        Our. No. 4 and No. 5 DL (Hood and Heyward) and No. 5 and No 6 LBs (Foote and Worlids) are considerably better than our current No. 1 and No. 2 CBs (Gay and BMac). That is a problem the magnitude of a 60-ton meteor crashing into Los Angeles. But have trust in Colbert always is your motto. Maybe he’ll draft Drew Caylor for the practice squad next round or begin taking OLBs that no one else has slated to go within two rounds.

        • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

          I had written a long response to your comment but I figured it just made more sense to say: yep, you’re right.

  • Ted

    Really hoping Curtis Brown is still on the board. I know some experts are not super-high on him, but I am, because he can cover. He was better than Aaron Williams last year. Steal Brown in third round and the Gilbert pick looks a whole lot better. BTW, there was no CB I would have taken for sure over Gilbert. But I certainly would have traded up to NE or before when Harris was still on the board, bc everyone knew NE was going to trade that pick and that there was a drop-off on every expert’s board at CB after Harris.

    • TideSteel

      And you think Belichick would have traded with the Steelers because why?

  • jimmy_the_freak

    How about Chimdi Chekwa for the Steelers in the 3rd? Any thoughts on him?

  • Denny

    ow the pick is already in. hope it is Brown too

  • Ted

    Yeah!!!!! Great pick. Great value pick. I think he really helps within two years and could be a nickleback next year. Stoked! I realize I was higher on this guy than most, but few expected him to last until the end of the third round and he was Mel Kiper’s top player on the board at any position when we selected him.

    • Ted

      Oh yeah, and Brown was a great gunner at Texas, meaning he can dress next year and we can finally say goodbye to Madison. With Brown, Gay, Battle and maybe Lewis, can’t we fill two gunner spots without needing to be one play away from having Anthony Madison in for the entire Super Bowl?

  • Denny

    It is Brown awesome. I was worried they take an ILB. They still need better depth in the secondary. expecially in the nickle/dime packages

  • ROb D

    Eddie B is saying that the Steelers should concentrate on RB and WR ..this was before the Brown pick..lol..he’s drinking some wild coffee beans over there..

  • Denny

    Best Vertical jump -39.9 inch vert- at the combine. 40-Yard Dash4.51

  • Jason F

    This draft is shaping up to have a ton of potential. Then again, I feel that way every year. But honestly, Brown could be a solid corner. If McF can get healthy, it may make a difference. He didn’t get burned as much before he had to come out in every game due to the midsection injury. We might have another solid DL and OL from this year too. I think if we do even fairly well in the late rounds, this draft will grade out very well in the short run.

  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    I had to unfollow Eddie on Twitter. Nice guy, but he really doesn’t add much lately.

  • ROb D

    I know doodley about the OT we took. Anyone care to give me a quick lesson? That doesn’t involve a switch behind the barn? LOL…

    Seems that Brown is a popular pick..cool..I love our first pick a lot..so hopefully we have a great 3rd day and find some depth and maybe a kicker or two. I hate it being spread out over 3 days. I have had little time to watch most of it so I thank all of you for your sometimes spirited discussion.

  • David

    Watch out, EB posts here.

  • EasyLikeSundayMorning

    Monkey wanna peanut? I picked Heyward, an OT and Brown in my first three picks.

    Ted, I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a tool or ungrateful for all the hard work you put into the draft (about 80% of my draft knowledge comes from you). But you did write to me that there was “no chance” that Brown would fall to us in the third. Just a reminder that surprising things happen a fair amount in the draft.

    We now have three offensive linemen from the Florida Gators. The critiques of Gilbert sound a lot like those of Starks at the time he was drafted. Hopefully, Gilbert turn out as good. If so, this could turn out to be a very strong first three picks.

    • Ted

      You are right ELSM. I did not say anyway he fell that far until I saw how far Harris fell. Just a great third-round pick, although I am higher on Brown than most. Ironic, because JJ and I just had a phone conversation and both agreed the scouting report for Gilbert and Stars was almost identical. That said, Gilbert is definitely more of a right tackle prospect. who could potentially play LT down the road. Of course that is exactly what we need. He has bust potential, but I am more optimistic about taking a player like Glibert now that we finally have a great o-line coach on the staff. Russ Grimm was the most over-rated Steelers’ position coach in my life, and the porn addict was even worse. No way we reach the SB last year with our makeshift line if either of those two were still on staff.

      • EasyLikeSundayMorning

        Agree on the upgrade in our OL coaching in 2010. That plus Pouncey’s friendship and leadership may help bring the best out of Gilbert. At the least, it should somewhat reduce the odds of him being a total bust. Do you think Gilbert could play some at RG this year?

  • Anonymous

    Well I had to skip out right after the second round. Color me surprised. I though Brown was a better pick than Gilbert in round 2, while Gilbert would be a reach but that Gilbert would be a decent pick in round 3. Well, I now have zero reason to care which order they were picked, so all is well. I still hope they grab another CB. Cortez Allen late would be a good pick in my opinion. I would be in favor of rolling the dice on Marcus Cannon in the 4th as well. Caveat: I haven’t checked the boards yet to see who’s taken.

  • Randy Steele
  • http://www.steelerslounge.com/ ryan

    ATTENTION PEOPLE OF EARTH: Just a reminder that there’s a new Day 3 discussion thread pinned up top so please post there unless you don’t want anyone to read what you write.

    THANKS, MGMT!