Steelers Show Interest in Dolphins' Hadnot

Bumped from the diaries. steeler lifer's batting average has been remarkably high on previous potential free agent signings and personnel decisions. Here's to hoping there's some magic left in his bat. Get it done Steelers! Photo and caption added by myself.

-Blitz-

Here's some background on the latest FA to visit the Steelers, former Dolphin G-C Rex Hadnot. I mentioned him briefly yesterday in the discussion about the Moore signing and lo and behold he is in Pittsburgh today.

Hadnot is 26, 6-2 and 325. Just finished his fourth year with the Dolphins. Parcells actually wants him back but probably only as a backup G-C since the signing of Justin Smiley. He apparently wants too much money and there was even speculation in Miami the Dolphins would franchise him, but clearly Parcells was looking in another direction. I don't think the oft-injured and inconsistent Smiley is a big improvement, if any.

Hadnot has actually had a decent 4-year stretch in Miami as a 6th-round pick in 04. He was drafted as a center but played the position only in his senior year at Houston. In Miami, he started a few games at guard his rookie year and several at guard in 05 before replacing injured Seth McKinney at center late in the season. Started all of 06 at center but then moved back to RG in 07 after the Dolphins drafted Samson Satele in the second round.

Hadnot shows the leverage and sheer strength against Ethan Kelly that was
rarely on disaplay from Simmons and Mahan last year

Overall, he's been one of the Dolphins better O-lineman in his three years of steady work. Some people might say that doesn't mean much, but the Dolphins line played well in 05 and actually was pretty decent for the first half of 07. Injuries and head coaching-OC changes have also had an impact. Hadnot had an excellent O-line coach in Hudson Houck for three years (05-07).

He is a big guy (6-2, 325), considered smart, a hard worker, nasty, agile for his size and somewhat of a team leader.  But he's also inconsistent, blows assignments and is not as strong as his size might indicate. I read numerous comments about him being thrown around by Warren Sapp in one memorably awful game, but he isn't the first center to have that happen to him. He seems to have regressed the past year and probably the fact the Dolphins drafted a center in 07 means they weren't happy with his play there in 06.

On the other hand, he might just need a change of scenery. I like his size, attitude and the fact he has played the position with at least adequate skill. He's not a conversion project. He's respected. If you go around the league, you'd swear that 20 teams are unhappy with their center. It's a position that gets very little respect. With the size of interior D-lineman in this era, and rotations throwing fresh bodies, center is an extremely tough position to play.

I've done a lot of research about veteran solutions to the Steelers' problems at center and there are simply no easy outs. Jeff Faine was probably the pick of the litter and he signed with TBay for six years, $37.5 mill including $12 mill in bonuses.

Hadnot is far from a perfect solution but I think there is a  chance he could respond to a new situation that is much more positive and stable than what he has experienced the last four years. He's probably asking for too much money but the longer he goes unsigned, the cheaper he will get.

In many respects Hadnot is similar to Max Starks in that he is a relative big guy for his position whose play has been inconsistent and skill-set is limited. Hadnot has some leadership skills that Starks has not displayed. I think RT is an easier position to fill than center, especially in this draft. I would rather spend $3-$4 mill on a Hadnot than approx. $4 mill on Starks.

Before hearing of Hadnot's visit to Pity, I had thought there was only about a 10 per cent chance of getting him. Now it might be 50-50, as Hadnot has already visited teams without a deal and might want to get something done at a discount.

I'd still expect us to draft a center, maybe targeting Rutgers T Zuttah as a conversion project. But Hadnot provides insurance and the versatility to play guard at probably a higher level than anyone on our current roster. The chances of drafting a good center in the late rounds are very slim. If you go through the last 5-6 years of the draft, it is filled with middle- to late-round centers who don't pan out, and many higher-drafted ones who bust or are turned into utility lineman.

Probably the best chance of improving our center position is to get better play from our guards. If Hadnot stays at guard then perhaps that will result in bettter play from Mahan. More likely, Hadnot is being targeted as a center.

The implications of a Hadnot signing could be dramatic for other guys on the roster. I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of Simmons being traded and the Steelers eating his bonuses as dead money under next year's cap. Simmons would be a bargain for other teams, with four years left at a relatively low base salary. We could proably get a third- or fourth-round draft pick for him.