Mel Kiper's 4 round mock

by syrsteelerfan on Apr 10, 2009 5:15 PM EDT Comment 20 comments

Interesting...

32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Eric Wood, C, Louisville

Wood has been a player on the rise of late, and with his size and skills he could find himself a Steeler for a very long time.

64. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jairus Byrd, CB, Oregon

96. Pittsburgh: Quinten Lawrence, WR, McNeese St.

132. Pittsburgh: Sen'Derrick Marks, DL, Auburn

I'm no Kiper fan, but I'd give this draft a B+.

1) The Steelers analysts I trust most pick Wood as our guy at 1.32. Big, strong, incredible intangibles, can excel at G and then move to C.

2) Jairus Byrd has been someone i've been thinking about in the 2nd round for a while. He's big, physical, the knock is that he's not quite fast or quick enough to play a ton of man coverage and is a better fit for a zone system. Luckily we are primarily a zone system, and he'll come up and play the run - one of the main things we look for in a corner.

3) Don't know much about Lawrence other than this but he sounds like the fast return specialist / slot receiver we need; other options may be better here.

4) Not wild about Sen'Derrick Marks. It sounds like he has a lot of potential but is more of a project, and I'm not sure he has the length to play the 5 technique in our system.

What do you all think?

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The only guy I would agree with

Would be Byrd. Otherwise I think Kiper might be a little if not way off.

It's true what they say...Even the NFL's Big Wigs hate the Steelers. On the plus side, I can now tell my future grand kids about Hines Ward and how the NFL made rules because of him. Roger Goodell, you make me sick.

by HighSchoolSteeler on Apr 10, 2009 6:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Kiper's got good ideas

And the right positions, just the wrong players. A lot of his picks on ESPN I disagree with. Except for the 1st 5 picks.

When we hit you, you don't get up. When you hit us, we get up laughing.

by air holmes on Apr 10, 2009 7:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

who would you take instead?

by syrsteelerfan on Apr 11, 2009 7:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

is wood BPA?

I’d like to see him in black and gold. — I just question whether he is the BPA @ 1.32.

also….the steelers should draft an OT in rounds 1-3 IMO

by Steely McSmash on Apr 11, 2009 4:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well,

I didn’t look through Kiper’s whole draft, so i can’t say for sure, but Wood is worth the 32nd pick in the draft. He’s the best center in the draft with the most potential as a guard, and his durability and intangibles (read up on his film study habits) make him well worth picking at that point. He might not make it to 1.32 (Eagles have shown major interest and had a private workout) and definitely won’t make it through the top 10 picks of the 2nd round.

by syrsteelerfan on Apr 11, 2009 7:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe I'm watching different games

Our corners play nothing but man coverage. If Ike Taylor was told he could play zone coverage he might soil his pants, either out of joy or surprise because he’s never played a down of zone coverage as a Steeler CB. If this Byrd guy can’t play man, he’s not a Steelers CB.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Apr 11, 2009 9:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Corner zone

CB play a deep zone most of the time but do move to cover a man once they get past a certain point. Or they play a drop zone about 5-10 yards out and then let the receiver run by them, assuming safety help is present.

by Mechem on Apr 11, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right

But do the Steelers play the drop zone often? I could be wrong, but I don’t recall them doing so, at least under LeBeau.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Apr 11, 2009 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope we get Byrd. He would make this defense even more potent.

by SoCalSteelerFan on Apr 11, 2009 10:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

2nd round value

Wood and Byrd are both 2nd rounders. Steelers would rather trade down than “over draft” a guy since their only real needs are OL and DL. They want another CB and WR/KR and will take BAP for value at 1/32 if somebody drops …. whether it’s Mack, OT, or top 3 CB or WR that they love.

by Watty4ever on Apr 12, 2009 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Wood is a late first rounder, just like Mack

Mayock ranks him over Mack.

And that’s just looking at them at C. I think Wood is a better Guard.

by syrsteelerfan on Apr 12, 2009 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's important to look at how Mayock values picks

I like Mayock a lot. A lot more than Kiper generally, but I think his rankings don’t work for us for when it comes to center. Let’s take a look:

Centers
1 Max Unger Oregon 4-position OL, will struggle with speed
2 Eric Wood Louisville Tough guy/finishes well, struggles to redirect feet
3 Alex Mack California Intelligent/great technique, on ground too much

“We didn’t get to see Mack, who I really wanted to see a little bit. Wood from Louisville, he’s not a fast guy. I didn’t expect him to be a fast guy. I think I know what he is. I think Wood and Unger, to me, are the two top centers in the draft.”

He hasn’t seen Mack play but I’m not sure it matters. It is curious that he ranks both of the guys that he has seen higher. After watching the senior bowl and the way BJ Raji absolutely dominated Max Unger I don’t want to touch that guy with a ten foot pole. I think Mayock ranks him high because of his position flexibility and solid technique and downranks Mack because he is more of a true center and less flexible. The problem is Unger isn’t physical enough to deal with what he will see in our division. He’s the second coming of Hartwig except without the experience.

I think Mayock downgrades Mack too severely for a couple of reasons here. I’ve seen him say multiple times that he’s on the ground too often, something I agree with. About half the time he’s on the ground though it’s because he is cut blocking and taking out multiple defenders, it’s actually a part of his repertoire. I don’t think that can be in his MO in the NFL, he will have to learn to stay on his feet. The other half of the time I see him falling from over pursuing his man, over commiting to a block, and losing his balance. I think that can be coached out of him, but the reason he’s on his ass isn’t because he’s getting handled, it’s because he’s over doing it. I’d rather have a guy with too much motor, rather than someone who isn’t physical enough to make that mistake in the first place. Either way I agree it happens too often but it’s not as big of a detriment when I look at it in that light. Mayock instead I think hasn’t seen enough of Mack but does see a possible huge flaw here and is wondering if this guy will go wonky in the NFL. Remember it is almost more important for someone in his position to miss the best player rather than pick the dud, and he has to go through a ton of players every off season. I rack this one up to not enough research.

Almost every other draft analyst has Mack as the best Center in the draft. I think he’s actually one of the best O-line available.

by BallsofSteel on Apr 13, 2009 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Excellent analysis there ballsofsteel. It was nice of Mayock to admit he “didn’t get to see Mack” before making a public evaluation of him as the third-ranked center. At least he’s not trying to b.s. anyone.

Mack has acknowledged he is on the ground too much and I agree it’s partly a result of extra effort. He will willingly lay himself out, often unnecessarily, to try to get a piece of a lineman or linebacker. He also says it’s a byproduct of the teaching technique of his high school coach, who for some reason discouraged his O-lineman from using their hands rather than teaching them proper hand technique. It’s either worrisome that he hasn’t yet learned better technique, or simply an indication that he is still on a learning curve. He is a smart guy though and he has all the tools to become an outstanding center in the NFL and probably good enough to start at guard as a rookie unless a true guard like Duke Robinson, Andy Levitre, Herman Johnson, Louis Vasquez or Tyronne Lee also ends up with a Steeler uniform on draft day. They are all good enough to challenge Stapleton for a starting job immediately.

by steeler.lifer on Apr 13, 2009 2:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

BallsofSteel

That was excellent! I can’t believe I missed this before. I am in total agreement with you, Mack is the man for the Steelers this year. I think he is the best interior lineman in the draft, and as you pointed out, i’d rather have a character guy with a motor than a guy with potential.

by imike29 on Apr 22, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

1.32 has to be Mack....

Some quotes:

“At 6-foot-3, 311-pounds, the two-time Morris Trophy winner for being the top lineman in the Pac-10 figures to be one of the first interior linemen selected. Since he took over the starting center duties as redshirt sophomore in 2006, Mack has been one of the best centers in the country and was named first-team all-conference for three consecutive years.”

“Mack won the Draddy Award as college football’s top scholar-athlete and won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10’s best offensive lineman – as voted by the league’s defensive linemen – in both 2007 and 2008.”

And what is the Morris Award you might be wondering?

“The Morris Trophy is a unique award given to the outstanding offensive and defensive linemen in the Pacific-10 Conference. What makes the award unique is the selection procedure, which has the starting offensive linemen in the Conference voting for the defensive winner and vice versa. It is truly a players’ award.”

“Mack, a 6-foot-5, 316-pound senior from Santa Barbara, Calif., was named a first-team All-Pac-10 performer for the third straight year in voting by the Pac-10 head coaches and also has been selected the second-team All-America center by the Walter Camp Foundation. In addition, Mack became the first Pac-10 player to be awarded the prestigious Draddy Trophy by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. He has started all 37 games at center for the Golden Bears the last three seasons. In addition to his prowess on the field, Mack was named a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection by virtue of a 3.60 grade-point average in Graduate Studies.”

The only way Alex Mack isn’t selected by the Steelers is someone picks him before us. If he is on the board at 1.32 he is about as sure fire as you can get.

Oh, in his last two years at Cal, over 800 snaps, only 2 penalties called against him.

by imike29 on Apr 13, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i like that penalty statistic. Perhaps he can even out Colon.

by Chicago Steeler on Apr 13, 2009 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nooo

I doubt it. Willie Colon NEVER gets penalized. He’s just always over-excited and jumps the gun in order to protect our dear BB.

This is Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu getting knocked around by the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii yesterday...
Minutes later, Troy caught the ocean going over the middle and smacked it right in the mouth. The ocean fumbled, Troy recovered and ran it into the endzone. The ocean never messed with Troy again.

by paulamalu on Apr 14, 2009 3:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right!

And lets not forget he also clenches his fists on opposing jerseys out of pure excitement, and cant help but hold on to something lest he faint.

by Mechem on Apr 22, 2009 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

draft

in my opinion we need to draft a de that can get to the qb. i think gilbert from san jose st would be a great pick if he is still there. its my opinion that we can get a center maybe even woods later in the draft. we need some one on the line who can get pressure. we do also need more help in the secondary and more recievers

by number1okiesteelerfan on Apr 14, 2009 9:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

draft

I feel we should take the best Offensive lineman available at 32, whoever the Steelers have highest on their board, trade up in the second and select Jarron Gilbert who can rotate with the D-line this year and eventually become a starter and look for a corner and WR in the later rounds. This scenario hits all of the Steelers major draft needs.

by AK1376 on Apr 24, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs