Steelers RB Depth Chart - Todman signed by Indy

[JackLambert58]

Other than Bryant, this is the best offseason EVER

This!

[JackLambert58]

With all due respect. . . Why give a grade mid - test?

So far it's undetermined, but there has been some excess baggage that has been cut loose. Too many players to evaluate before even attempting a grade.

Having said that, everybody complains about blake and mcclendon and beachum, and how they are JAGS. Other teams seem to think they were worth paying more money to with a good chance to start.

I just repeating to myself that the steelers value loyalty and hard work, talent and athleticism notwithstanding.

Call it a midterm. A lot of people are trumpeting the moves so far. I'm a little less excited. Lumping those three players together is really a disservice to the players not named Blake. The Steelers would have been thrilled to retain Beachum and McClendon. Price tag was too high because . . . they are good players.

Beachum on 2014 was. We have no idea what the Beachum of 2016 will be after his injury. Also, Villa didn't make too many miss Beachum. On McClendon, you may be right, but I have faith McCullers fills the breach and Colbert/Tomlin picks a good one in a draft deep with DT's.

[bradshaw2ben]

Here's the thing: I see holes, but I don't see anything that can't be fixed in the remainder of off-season acquisition and draft/UDFA... with the possible exception of SS and edge rusher who are ready to play and be better than Golden Jarvis at some point in 2015. I think they can acquire players that can be eventual upgrades but they have to hit on the right guys and be willing to play them to achieve that viability in 2016.

NTs who can eat up space in the run game are not going to be hard to find in this draft. It would be ideal to find one who can be DE or 4-3 DT help, also, but not mandatory.

SS is a bit more of a concern, unless you believe Golden can be a playmaker as a full-time guy. I only see one or two guys in this draft who can be great right out of the gate. Will they last to our 2nd round pick?

[Steelafan77]

Sunday at the NFL's annual meeting at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said a deep defensive draft has affected the way the team has approached free agency.
“The philosophy this offseason was, we tried to address whatever offensive needs we had through free agency because it still looks like it's a defensive draft,” Colbert said. http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/101 ... lers-draft

Confirms the consensus here.

More FA/Draft discussion... http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/ ... deedac5eba

[steelmann58]

The only outside Fa spot I can see them adding is on the DL

[Jobu]

The only outside Fa spot I can see them adding is on the DL

I'd like to see a safety too...but we'll see.

[Legacy User]

I've always like Todman, but the Daryl Richardson signing may be slipped under the, similar NFL experience for pennies.

[StillMadAtSlobber]

Sorry the secondary has. Not been upgraded

I'd agree with. This. In my mind it. Has not been upgraded.

Some might argue it has with the loss of Blake, the probable loss of Shamarko and the resigning of Golden.
Blake not taking snaps is an improvement by itself. Add in the end of the Shamarko Thomas experiment and the further development of Golden and the addition of Golson and Grant (2 college ballhawks) and even without Boykin its a noted improvement.

[lifelongsteel]

I agree with the sentiment that we aren't done and we can't really judge the offseason until we see the pieces come together. And I understand why that my position is different than most. I think there are two main reasons for this.

1. I don't place that much value on TE as a position, and I don't expect a move from Heath to Green moves the needle on the number of points we score per drive.

2. FA departures, unless they get backfilled pre-draft, become draft needs. I can now see us taking a Billings in R1 and an ILB in the top 4 rounds because of the McClendon and Spence departures. So, we may end up with actually better players in those spots, but we'll miss an opportunity to upgrade pass rush and another more pressing position like safety or cb.

3. I don't think Sammie Coates is close to Martavis Bryant.

[bradshaw2ben]

I agree with the sentiment that we aren't done and we can't really judge the offseason until we see the pieces come together. And I understand why that my position is different than most. I think there are two main reasons for this.

1. I don't place that much value on TE as a position, and I don't expect a move from Heath to Green moves the needle on the number of points we score per drive.

2. FA departures, unless they get backfilled pre-draft, become draft needs. I can now see us taking a Billings in R1 and an ILB in the top 4 rounds because of the McClendon and Spence departures. So, we may end up with actually better players in those spots, but we'll miss an opportunity to upgrade pass rush and another more pressing position like safety or cb.

3. I don't think Sammie Coates is close to Martavis Bryant.

1. that's because you're a steelers fan, maybe. A great TE can really make a difference in situational football. Gates. Whitten. A young Heath. Big Time.
2. we are not drafting ILB in first four rounds. Probably not before 7th round if at all. I will bet my avatar on it. VW is terrific backing up TImmons and we'll find depth, either from within, without or UDFA at ILB... you want to talk about a position not to put that much value on, the backup's backup 3-4 ILB would be it.
3. Coates isn't as good as Bryant-- but he's about 5x the player Markus Wheaton is.

[Stosh-67]

I've always like Todman, but the Daryl Richardson signing may be slipped under the, similar NFL experience for pennies.

I think Richardson has not had an NFL carry since 2013.
Probably just a camp body........
Lot of FA RB's still out there.

But the #3 back probably comes from Fitz, late round draft pick or UDFA.

[lifelongsteel]

I agree with the sentiment that we aren't done and we can't really judge the offseason until we see the pieces come together. And I understand why that my position is different than most. I think there are two main reasons for this.

1. I don't place that much value on TE as a position, and I don't expect a move from Heath to Green moves the needle on the number of points we score per drive.

2. FA departures, unless they get backfilled pre-draft, become draft needs. I can now see us taking a Billings in R1 and an ILB in the top 4 rounds because of the McClendon and Spence departures. So, we may end up with actually better players in those spots, but we'll miss an opportunity to upgrade pass rush and another more pressing position like safety or cb.

3. I don't think Sammie Coates is close to Martavis Bryant.

1. that's because you're a steelers fan, maybe. A great TE can really make a difference in situational football. Gates. Whitten. A young Heath. Big Time.
2. we are not drafting ILB in first four rounds. Probably not before 7th round if at all. I will bet my avatar on it. VW is terrific backing up TImmons and we'll find depth, either from within, without or UDFA at ILB... you want to talk about a position not to put that much value on, the backup's backup 3-4 ILB would be it.
3. Coates isn't as good as Bryant-- but he's about 5x the player Markus Wheaton is.

1. A great player makes a big difference anywhere. You on board that Lartavius is a great player?
2. I hope you are right. But we are forced to draft DL in the first 4 rounds and maybe 2 if we don't sign one. that's the bigger issue
3. I think you are making my point for me

[bradshaw2ben]

1. A great player makes a big difference anywhere. You on board that Lartavius is a great player?
2. I hope you are right. But we are forced to draft DL in the first 4 rounds and maybe 2 if we don't sign one. that's the bigger issue
3. I think you are making my point for me

1. I am in total agreement that a great player makes the most difference. I am not on board that "Lartavius" is a great player. Based on that contract, I don't even think the Steelers think he is a great player. He is a different sort of cat than we've had and I'm guessing Ben will elevate him into a big threat. I am 100% onboard the Rico Gathers Home Run train from round 4 onward... because if you even have a lottery ticket at a great player, even at a position you might feel is covered or you might feel is not so important... you still take that chance at the right price. Besides, You put James in the Spaeth role, I think ultimately that's a big upgrade at the #2 TE. Green is your move guy. Gathers is the #3 who, like Bettis when FWP was the starter, comes in on goal to go and short yardage. Even if he simply becomes a bigger and more athletic Joseph Fauria-- he of the 18 catches for 207 yds and 7 TDs in one season-- that's yuuge for this offense's issues.

2. barring a couple of FA signings or unseen development of LT Walton/Cashaud Lyons, we were going to need to draft that, anyway. If McClendon and Cam Thomas had stayed, they still would have been looking for a guy who can play the nose, rotate in at interior DL on nickel, and maybe take some relief snaps for Tuitt/Heyward. Not much has changed in that regard. Just a guess: McCullers looks better as the starter, getting starter practice reps, than he did as a backup. Good enough to share the position with a young stud.

3. I think we're going to draft a Hines Ward lite or Manny Sanders lite this year. That guy will compete with Eli Rogers for snaps. We'll go back to pounding Lev Bell and then splitting him out wide on short yardage 3rd downs... the downgrade from Bryant to Coates may be somewhat mitigated and, if they're smart, 2 WR/2TE sets will become more a part of the O, and they will feature AB, Coates, Green, & James... that's not worse for Ben than AB-Wheaton/DHB-2015 Miller-Speath, which we all hated.

[COR-TEN]

How confident can you be that Coates isn't anywhere near Bryant? Other than 3 inches in height and a cunt hair in speed, what exactly makes them so far apart in talent? Coates has a bigger frame, more powerful, bigger hands, longer reach, almost as fast. What makes him inferior?

I just don't get how one can see such a huge drop off. Coates got a better grade coming out of the combine. AND he probably has his head on straight, and will probably be more dependable and versatile on the field.

I think he's going to surprise people next season.

[lifelongsteel]

How confident can you be that Coates isn't anywhere near Bryant? Other than 3 inches in height and a c*nt hair in speed, what exactly makes them so far apart in talent? Coates has a bigger frame, more powerful, bigger hands, longer reach, almost as fast. What makes him inferior?

I just don't get how one can see such a huge drop off. Coates got a better grade coming out of the combine. AND he probably has his head on straight, and will probably be more dependable and versatile on the field.

I think he's going to surprise people next season.

I hope you are right. I am skeptical of anything until i see it. Bronco game was a nice start, but Bryant has arguably been the scariest big play receiver in the league the last two years. Hard to project Coates anywhere near that. Shit, is there a single WR in this draft that you would project to match Bryant?

[bradshaw2ben]

How confident can you be that Coates isn't anywhere near Bryant? Other than 3 inches in height and a c*nt hair in speed, what exactly makes them so far apart in talent? Coates has a bigger frame, more powerful, bigger hands, longer reach, almost as fast. What makes him inferior?

I just don't get how one can see such a huge drop off. Coates got a better grade coming out of the combine. AND he probably has his head on straight, and will probably be more dependable and versatile on the field.

I think he's going to surprise people next season.

The biggest difference is Coates' ability to track the deep ball in the air and adjust to it. You'll see him simply give up on balls that Bryant adjusts to effortlessly. It also affects his drops on balls like that. Coates has the size and speed to get deep but you kinda have to drop it in a bucket for him. Coates also has great make-em-miss with the ball in his hand, but it's more effective at speed, whereas Bryant can make a guy lose his jockstrap from a dead stop.

My .02

[COR-TEN]

I dunno. I personally haven't seen Coates enough to make those determinations. I've also seen Bryant miss some over the shoulder/ "tracking the ball" catches. I've seen them both run past defenders.

Bryant got a lot of hoopla because of and only as a result of the bomb, when he was an unknown. He got some nice blocks, and reversed the field like he's coached, but I don't remember seeing the kind of quickness or lateral movement Brown or Bell have.

Look, I think Bryant has talent. I just don't think there's that much separating them, and that can be overcome by consistency and versatility.

[bradshaw2ben]

I dunno. I personally haven't seen Coates enough to make those determinations. I've also seen Bryant miss some over the shoulder/ "tracking the ball" catches. I've seen them both run past defenders.

Bryant got a lot of hoopla because of and only as a result of the bomb, when he was an unknown. He got some nice blocks, and reversed the field like he's coached, but I don't remember seeing the kind of quickness or lateral movement Brown or Bell have.

Look, I think Bryant has talent. I just don't think there's that much separating them, and that can be overcome by consistency and versatility.

Bryant mostly demonstrates his alien COD with the ball in his hands. Hasn't progressed yet to using it in his route-running.

If you can find Coates in preseason last year, you will see multiple examples of exactly what I'm talking about. This trait of his was talked about in the draft process and in preseason and camp-- one of the reasons given for why he wasn't cracking the gameday roster.

[lifelongsteel]

it's a math problem. there are only so many aliens walking the earth. Bryant is one of them. The odds against Coates being another is staggering.

but hey, it sure would be something if he were.