Welcome to Brian Batko’s Steelers mailbag. You’re more than welcome to email him at bbatko@post-gazette.com, tweet him @BrianBatko or slide into his DMs to inquire about the Steelers, NFL or anything out of bounds.
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Mike from DC: Last I checked odds are +700 the Steelers take a WR round one.. think those are good chances? I have a feeling both Georgia DTs may be taken
Brian: Oh, so you’re just going to come right out and ask me for my pick? OK, I guess I can do that. Everyone else is, right?
The more I think about it, the Steelers probably should take a wideout because that’s their best chance to find an immediate starter. But I don’t believe they will. That’s not what their pre-draft scouting process was about. They also hired an assistant quarterbacks coach — probably not a huge point of emphasis if you’re going to take one in the seventh round — and put themselves in a position to have starter-caliber players at every position. The Terrell Edmunds signing was the last piece of that puzzle, according to Kevin Colbert, and now they can afford to overlook the safety position if they want to take a big swing in Round 1.
So, regardless of what I would do, what I predict they will do is take a quarterback.
It’s certainly difficult to pin down where and when the quarterbacks are going to go tonight. My gut feeling is Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett are off the board at No. 20 (to some combination of Carolina/Atlanta/Seattle/New Orleans) and the Steelers opt to not trade up. Jordan Davis and Jameson Williams are gone, too, to Baltimore and Philadelphia. I’d take Devonte Wyatt. But the Steelers stand pat and pick Matt Corral, giving themselves an M&M&M quarterback room. May the best man for Matt Canada’s offense win.
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Jim from Utah: Doesn’t Tomlin and Colbert’s history give us a pretty good idea who they will take in the first round? All fourteen first rounders came from a Power 5 school, were at most 23 years old and usually younger, and both Tomlin and Colbert attended their Pro day. Based on that history, and who might be available, we can eliminate Wyatt, Penning, Raiman, Lloyd, Willis, Ridder and all the top WRs. Pickett fits but I think signing Trubisky means they are not taking a QB in the first round. That brings us down to Dax Hill from Michigan and Andrew Booth from Clemson. Hill is listed as a corner on some sites and a safety on others but runs a sub 4.4 and can play anywhere in the secondary. We know Tomlin loves position flexibility, the Big 10, and Michigan in particular. Hill is the pick and if he’s gone by 20 it’s Booth assuming Davis or Stingley don’t slip. What do you think?
Brian: Hill seems like a stretch now that they’ve re-signed Edmunds, although he could supplant Arthur Maulet at slot corner. Same with Booth, given their moves to bring back Ahkello Witherspoon and add Levi Wallace at cornerback. They’d have to be confident that Booth can be a true No. 1 corner to spend their first-round pick on him.
You’re spot-on in your analysis of their drafting trends, though, and I’d be remiss to ignore that. The Mitch Trubisky signing is doing a lot of work in your take, considering all the other factors you outline match best with the top quarterbacks in this class the Steelers have rigorously scouted. You also left out Corral, who’s 23 and played in the best conference in college football.
Part of me does wonder if we’re putting too much stock into what the Steelers have traditionally done over the years. They’re really going to rule out a guy like Malik Willis or Desmond Ridder because they didn’t play in the Power Five? Not sure I’m buying that. But we will see.
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Beth G: Any chance the Steelers take a flyer on Kaepernick? I think even though they brought in Trubisky, he might be worth a look on a one or two year deal. If he’s that intent on getting back in the NFL, a year on a team with a good defense and a running game may be the best way for him to see if he can stand up to the rigors of a full season. He is probably still mobile enough to run Canada’s offense.
Brian: Colin Kaepernick was back in the news Wednesday, with Raiders owner Mark Davis saying, “I believe in Colin Kaepernick. He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League. I still stand by it. If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in or want him to be the quarterback on this team, I would welcome him with open arms.”
Of course, I agree with Davis that Kaepernick deserves a chance. But it’s naïve to not consider the circumstances. First of all, he would bring a distraction. That’s not necessarily his fault, and I’m not saying he would be an issue himself. but the spotlight that would follow him would be as bright as any in the league. Secondly, and more significant, he hasn’t played competitive football in six years. Again, I wouldn’t argue with anyone who says that’s no fault of his own. But he’s 34 now and 2016 was a long time ago, a season in which his numbers were decent but he went 1-11 as a starter (to be fair, the 49ers had the worst scoring defense in the league).
As far as I know, a player making an NFL comeback after that much time away is unprecedented. Is he more intriguing than the available veteran options such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mike Glennon, A.J. McCarron and Josh Rosen? Sure. But is he still mobile, can he still play and would he accept a backup role? I have no idea, and NFL teams aren’t fond of that much uncertainty.
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Scott in PA: How tired are you of answering THE SAME draft questions over, and over, and over again?
Brian: Somewhat tired, but I also really enjoy the draft, so it’s been fun, too. As a means to address any and all of the same questions, why don’t I just go ahead and guess at what the Steelers will do with their other six picks, too?
Round 2, No. 52 — Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati. Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert were at the Bearcats pro day to watch Ridder, but it also gave them exposure to the other prospects there. Pierce has the kind of athletic profile the Steelers like, running a 4.41 40 and jumping 40½ inches at 6-3, 211 pounds. He’s potentially too similar to Chase Claypool, but let’s give him a shot to start in the slot.
Round 3, No. 84 — Luke Goedeke, OL, Central Michigan. MAC! In honor of Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the Steelers must draft a MAC player, right? Ray Fittipaldo and I picked Goedeke in the sixth round of our mock draft podcast, but in case he doesn’t last that long in real life, I’ll even do it earlier. Ray likes him, and I trust Ray on offensive line play. If he doesn’t work out at right tackle, we’ll try him at guard. His Twitter handle is @lukethelifter and I definitely want my offensive linemen to lift weights.
Round 4, No. 138 — Eyioma Uwazurike, DL, Iowa State. Not quite the physical specimen Jordan Davis is, but at 6-6, 316 pounds, he may be the closest to it in this class. Perhaps he’s a 3-4 defensive end, perhaps he’s a two-gapping nose tackle, but that’s fine because the Steelers could use either one in the long run.
Round 6, No. 208 — Kyron Johnson, LB, Kansas. Another tweener. Not quite an edge rusher, not quite an inside linebacker at 6-0, 231 pounds, but that’s OK, because the Steelers only kind-of sort-of need to add at both positions. Maybe Johnson will find a fit come training camp (better than Sutton Smith did), but even if not, he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash and could be a beast on special teams.
Round 7, No. 225 — Tre Turner, WR, Virginia Tech. It’d be cool to give Corral one of his college wideouts, two of whom are fringe draft picks and could be available here, but Turner’s skill set is what the Steelers need. He might be able to play the slot, but he’s also the kind of playmaker with the ball in his hands that Ray-Ray McCloud was supposed to be (and he’s 6-1). Virginia Tech used him on jet sweeps. A bonus here: Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert got to see his pro day because before his own in Blacksburg, he went to Liberty’s just to catch passes from Malik Willis. The Steelers raved about it when Najee Harris did something similar last year, driving himself to Tuscaloosa to support his teammates even though he wasn’t working out.
Round 7, No. 241 — Connor Heyward, TE, Michigan State. So many needs filled to this point that the Steelers can’t go wrong keeping it in the family. And he might be able to help, too, either as a third tight end/special teamer or Derek Watt replacement.
Think you have better questions than these? Email bbatko@post-gazette.com or write him on Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: April 28, 2022, 1:24 p.m.
