Their No. 1 rival and an old friend conspired to deprive the Steelers of the tight end they thought they were about to draft in the second round Friday night.
With the 58th pick, the Baltimore Ravens were two slots behind the Steelers with both AFC North Division teams coveting 6-4 Maxx Williams of Minnesota, the best tight end in the draft. With the top-tier cornerbacks gone and looking for a future replacement for Heath Miller who turns 33 this year, the Steelers were ready to draft Williams at No. 56.
It was then that Baltimore swung a deal with Arizona, who had the No. 55 pick and are coached by Bruce Arians, who was forced out as Steelers offensive coordinator after the 2011 season. The Ravens swapped places with the Cardinals moving to No. 58. All it cost Baltimore to make the trade was their fifth-round pick.
The Ravens then selected Williams, and the Steelers turned again to their defense to draft 5-9 cornerback Senquez Golson of Mississippi.
They got a receiver in the third round, a wide receiver, Auburn’s Sammie Coates, a 6-1½, 212-pound junior who played against Golson in the SEC. He started most of the past two seasons. He caught 34 passes for 741 yards, an average of 21.8 yards last season. A knee injury in the opener against Arkansas bothered him much of last season.
Golson, the little cornerback, seemed surprised to be taken in the second round. “I had no idea they would pull the trigger on me this early.”
Although small, Golson was inch-for-inch one of the best cornerbacks in the country last season, a great athlete who turned down more than $1 million to sign with the Boston Red Sox after they picked him in the eighth round of the 2011 draft.
He became a full-time starter in 2013 and has everything a team would want in a cornerback but height. He had 10 interceptions last season.
“If he had been two inches taller we probably would not have gotten him, he probably would have gone high in the first round,’’ Steelers secondary coach Carnell Lake said. “He has unusual ball skills and unusual production. ... If he were taller, teams wold have jumped on him right away.”
While his height did not stop him from excelling in the tough SEC, Golson knows the receivers are taller and better in the NFL. “That is something I’m going to have to deal with once I get up there and have to perform,’’ he said.
Golson is not without his own personal red flags — he was charged with disorderly conduct early one morning June of last year, a charge that was eventually dropped. He also was suspended for one game for violating team rules.
“That’s a process that is vetted out in the draft room,’’ said Lake. “We take that very seriously. You have to measure that, see if they have overcome that, learned from that. Is it a chronic issue or a one-time issue?’’
Lake deferred those decisions to general manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin, but it would seem the Steelers determined none of it was chronic.
Lake did acknowledge that Golson will be tested by NFL offenses especially because of his height. “Senquez is going to have to prove he can play in this league, and we believe he can.’’
Golson started 33 of the 49 games he played at Mississippi, where he finished with 16 career interceptions, third most in school history. He was the Rebels’ first unanimous All-American first-teamer since Michael Oher in 2008.
“At this point in the draft, we’re looking for someone with exceptional skills, and Senquez has exceptional ball skills,’’ Lake said.
Golson attributed all those interceptions to “understanding the game — a lot of film watching, a lot of understanding what’s going on out on the field.”
Lake called his new cornerback tough and smart.
“He’s very sharp. He won’t have a problem learning the system. He’ll adapt very quickly to schemes and positions we put him in. He’s very likeable, very personable, very approachable. He speaks well. He’s a very thoughtful young man. He’s tough. He’s not one of the bigger corners, but what I measure DBs on is how tough they are. They have to check that box with me.”
The Steelers have had exceptional success drafting receivers in the third round, from Hines Ward to Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Markus Wheaton. They’d love for Coates to fall into that kind of category.
“I think we got a guy that needs some work, but he’s a great athlete,’’ said Steelers receivers coach Richard Mann. “He’s got good speed ... he can track the ball downfield real well.”
Coates is exceptionally strong, and Mann said he can play flanker or slot. “He can play inside, he has the body to do it,’’ Mann said.
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com and Twitter @ EdBouchette.
First Published: May 2, 2015, 1:11 a.m.
Updated: May 2, 2015, 4:05 a.m.
