0:09

This is the Steelers standard on

0:11

Steelers Nation Radio and podcast

0:14

on Steelers dot Com.

0:17

Today is a minor important

0:19

day in the NFL offseason. The

0:22

official start of the

0:25

Phase one of workout periods today,

0:28

right, I think it was yesterday, but today the Steelers

0:30

are operating.

0:32

Twenty twenty four season. Is

0:34

that or is that

0:37

like back when we signed Russ

0:39

And I don't know.

0:40

I was talking the last earlier today though, and he

0:42

was saying, like, you know, this is like

0:44

you just go to the facility, you can lift, you

0:47

can meet with people. Like if you touch

0:49

a football and throw a football, I'm pretty sure you can get in

0:51

some trouble here. Like it's not it's not

0:53

like you do some drills or anything.

0:55

You touch a football at the facility, you.

0:57

Go out to go out in the parking lot.

1:00

Cam can play football, like.

1:02

Right down the street at the south side, and

1:04

you get to the American Eagle

1:07

Head headquarters the end of the sound good.

1:09

Then you can start throwing footballs around. If you're Russell Wilson,

1:11

then the league doesn't take away an ota workout

1:14

for you or not. Steelers

1:16

on Twitter this morning and I'm sure on Instagram as

1:18

well, posted uh Russell

1:21

Wilson walking into the facility for Day one

1:24

just gives you a little bit of a buzz and some excitement

1:27

in such a dead period as

1:29

we try to crawl our

1:31

way towards the NFL Draft starting

1:34

on Thursday.

1:35

We'll have a mock draft for you later on today.

1:37

We'll talk about Steelers all time third

1:40

round picks as we continue

1:43

our series there. But before we get to any of that, I

1:45

want to go in the wayback machine a little

1:47

bit and look at last year's

1:49

draft, and I think it was

1:51

an absolute home run of a draft class. I

1:54

mean, you look at of the

1:56

seven picks that they made, five

1:59

of them had legitimate contributions

2:02

to the team this year. One of them was

2:04

hurt at the beginning of the season, before

2:06

the first preseason game even happened. And

2:09

then Spencer Anderson, you know, TBD

2:11

got some playing time, says

2:14

eight here on Pro Football Reference, but nothing

2:16

of any major significance.

2:18

Spencer Anderson at the weekend.

2:21

Yeah again, you don't want to get in with your new quarterback,

2:23

of.

2:23

Course, pretty cool. I mean, this isn't just this

2:25

isn't like it's Broderick Jones and

2:27

Big Ike.

2:28

This is I wonder if anybody else is in town,

2:31

and maybe Big Ikes out in Hawaii somewhere

2:34

projects down and Joweljia. I don't know,

2:36

But what can these guys

2:38

do next year to even take that extra

2:41

step forward? And again, having

2:43

five of your seven draft picks contribute as

2:45

a rookie is a home

2:47

run as far as draft class is concerned, even

2:49

if they aren't like potential

2:52

star to superstar level players, just

2:55

having five guys that can contribute to the NFL football

2:57

field right away is remarkable.

3:00

But you also have the top end guys in this with

3:02

Broderick and Joey Porter Junior that have all pro

3:05

potential, and Keanu Benton, you know

3:07

that he's got that little potential as well

3:09

sprinkled on top of him. So

3:11

what can they all do to

3:14

take that step forward next year to really

3:16

blossom in their sophomore year? And starting at the

3:18

top with Proderck Jones, you know,

3:21

I just want to see him kind.

3:23

Of deployed correctly.

3:25

I think there's obviously some things that you'd

3:28

ask a Wolf Flee or Starks about his game

3:30

that he can improve. A pass blocking probably,

3:33

I think I've heard Williamson say he sometimes

3:36

allows or relies a

3:38

little too much on just his overwhelming

3:40

skill set as opposed

3:43

to maybe being technically sound in

3:45

every aspect or on every snap.

3:48

So you know, maybe just tightening of the p's

3:50

and q's, fine

3:53

tuning of the game is really individually

3:55

what Proderck Jones has to do, which is good. That's

3:57

all you would think that he'd

3:59

have to do coming out of Georgia, seeing that immense

4:01

talent and all that skill. It's

4:04

just about using that skill and coaching

4:06

that skill and getting the most out of that skill. But

4:09

to me, the most interesting talking point when it

4:11

comes to Roderick Jones and his sophomore season has

4:13

to do with where he's gonna play, and the left side or the right

4:15

side. I mean, this guy was drafted as a

4:17

left tackle and played

4:20

left tackle at Georgia, and

4:23

you wanted to slow play him into

4:25

the starting lineup this year because no,

4:28

he even though he played on a national championship

4:30

team, he had like fourteen to fifteen starts.

4:32

I think in college he

4:35

needed a little bit.

4:36

More, you know, warming

4:38

up to the league than maybe some other ready

4:40

prospects would have if they've played

4:42

a couple more years at the college levels.

4:45

So you put him behind Chukes, you put him behind Dan Moore.

4:48

Chukes mouths off a little bit too a

4:51

coach a little bit, hasn't been playing

4:53

well anyway.

4:53

Nope, he gets put on the bench.

4:55

Progerick comes in, Progerc does great, Progerick

4:58

keeps that starting job, steels. Run game really

5:01

blossoms after Roderick Jones is inserted

5:03

into that right tackle spot, and

5:07

things are all happy

5:09

except for when you look at the left side of the line and

5:11

you realize that, yes, Broderick

5:13

Jones has brought something nice to

5:15

the table on the right side, but

5:17

our left side is still weak. Dan Moore is still

5:19

being graded out, whether you buy into those grades or not,

5:22

is maybe one of the worst tackles in football, and

5:25

that's a more valuable position, especially when you have

5:27

quarterbacks last year that were righties, quarterbacks this year

5:29

that are righty's.

5:30

That's the blind side, that's the money

5:32

spot.

5:33

That's the guy that's going to get paid maybe the

5:35

second third most on your team is

5:37

that stud left tackle protecting your franchise

5:39

quarterbacks.

5:40

So that is still a huge

5:42

problem.

5:43

They seem to be very comfortable with Dan

5:46

Moore, at least

5:49

in the sense that they don't want

5:51

to move him the right tackle. They

5:53

think he gets his best, they get the best

5:55

out of him when he's at that left tackle spot. But

6:00

it's time to sink or swim now. If you're Dan Moore, if

6:02

you can't play right tackle, then

6:04

you can't be a starter on the team anymore.

6:07

It's come to that point. You know last

6:09

year you want to keep Dan Moore at left

6:11

side, on the left side, whatever.

6:14

But I just.

6:18

I feel like the time has come now to make that

6:20

switch. And if they're super afraid

6:22

of Dan Moore's abilities at right tackle

6:24

or him being just a complete useless

6:28

person at that right tackle spot, then

6:30

it's time to move on from him as either

6:33

one of your tackles in the starting lineup.

6:36

Broderick needs to play on the left side. He

6:38

needs to start developing into that left

6:40

tackle that'll be a staple on this offensive

6:42

line for the next decade to come, and

6:46

kind of sink or swim if you're Dan Moore. In my

6:49

opinion, I don't think the team thinks of it

6:51

that way. I think the team thinks this is Dan Moore's

6:53

spot. We'd like Broderick at the right side.

6:55

Maybe we will take a tackle in

6:57

that first round. But he's going to start

6:59

on the bench to start the season, and maybe

7:01

he works himself into the lineup, but

7:03

I guarantee it's going to be harder for that new

7:05

tackle to work himself into Dan more spot than

7:08

it was for Jones to work himself into Chewkes his last

7:10

year.

7:11

Yeah, I just not what

7:13

you wanted to see from the combination

7:16

of Cheus and Dan Moore last year, which is

7:18

why there's such an emphasis on

7:21

reattacking that tackle position. It's

7:23

not like last year

7:25

you went out and you drafted Roderick Jones and

7:27

he was so good that alone

7:30

he can make up for whatever combination

7:33

of output you got from Chuukes

7:35

and Dan Moore. Unfortunately, or

7:38

rather fortunately, Broderick

7:41

Jones was worth the first round draft pick because,

7:43

like you said, as soon as he was inserted

7:45

into the lineup, that running game completely

7:47

became a elevated

7:49

to a different level. However,

7:52

it was still hindered and the pass protection

7:54

was still hindered by whenever Chukes

7:56

were still out there or Dan Moore is

7:58

out there. For the second half of this season when Chukes

8:00

was.

8:01

How bad was it being the six guy too?

8:03

Do you remember how many penalties there were for like, oh yeah,

8:06

like.

8:10

Covering up the ball.

8:10

But anyways, you now, even

8:13

though broder Jones worked out for you,

8:15

you still got such inferior

8:18

or or unsupportive

8:21

play from Dan Moore and

8:24

Chucks that you now have to go

8:26

back to back years potentially attacking

8:29

or using your first round draft pick on

8:31

a tackle position, which isn't

8:34

bad. Like, okay, bolster up your

8:36

offensive line. We were

8:38

talking about that. You know, whether it's the

8:40

tackle or the center. You want this

8:42

offensive line to be bolstered up.

8:44

You want this to be filled

8:46

with guys, four of which you're very

8:49

comfortable with, which could be broader Jones,

8:51

the new rookie, Big Ike,

8:53

and James Daniels.

8:58

I just don't see how with

9:01

the play you got out of those two guys between

9:03

Chukes and Dan Wore Junior, how you could say

9:06

to yourself, oh, well, Chukes is gone,

9:08

but let's just continue to move forward

9:10

with Dan Moore Junior. I don't mind continuing

9:14

to upholster

9:16

the offensive line in the first round

9:19

with first round caliber talent. It's

9:21

just annoying that even

9:24

though guys like Broderick Jones and Big

9:26

Ike are so so good,

9:28

it's still not enough to make up for the lacklusser

9:31

play of Dan Wore Junior.

9:33

Yeah, I mean no, I mean it's just

9:35

been so bad

9:37

and with flashes

9:39

of good moments, I think, you know, there's

9:42

that weird Miles Garrett thing that he has going on

9:44

for him, where he seems to play well against him, and

9:47

he's had I guess a couple of games elsewhere

9:49

too, where he's been solid,

9:52

But it's just very consistent that people point him

9:54

out and highlight him to being one of them, not just the weakest

9:57

links on the Steelers offensive line, but one

9:59

of the weaker offen of lineman in the NFL

10:01

for sure. Joey Porter Junior and

10:04

that weird pick number thirty two that's technically

10:06

a second round pick but was really the last

10:08

first round pick. Another

10:11

guy that played seventeen games for the Steelers last

10:14

year, came on strong about

10:17

midway through the season. That Tennessee Titans game

10:19

was really that first crack that he had at

10:22

following a team's premier wide receiver when he took

10:24

DeAndre Hopkins on and got the better

10:26

of him, and then that worked

10:28

itself into Joey Porter Junior

10:31

seeing the likes of Jamar Chase's drawing

10:34

that one on one matchup between a

10:37

team's number one wide receiver and himself,

10:40

and he did an incredible job at it.

10:43

I think that he should

10:45

have been in a little bit more consideration for the Rookie

10:47

of the Year. But I also

10:49

wonder if he was able to play a little

10:51

bit earlier in the season, maybe he

10:54

would have eventually won that Rookie of the Year

10:56

Again. He played in all seventeen games, but didn't

10:58

start as a starter until

11:01

about midway through the Sam wonder if they had

11:03

just rolled him out Week one, shut

11:06

down guy, you're on Ayuk, You're on Deebo

11:08

Samuel in that game against the Niners,

11:10

see what you can do against them.

11:12

I wonder if then.

11:14

That would have fueled enough of

11:16

a Rookie of the Year campaign for him. But even

11:20

though you kind of wanted to see

11:22

that and good in the time machine the DeLorean

11:24

and go back and change that, I

11:27

can really make an argument that what the Steelers did

11:30

was correct because he came in.

11:32

It wasn't too big of a moment for him.

11:35

His feet were already wet in the NFL. He

11:37

did a great job against DeAndre Hopkins

11:40

all pro talent.

11:41

That he had to go up against in his first.

11:43

Really every wide

11:45

receiver one he had the face.

11:47

He played really well, So you

11:49

know, sure that makes you go, oh,

11:51

well, why didn't you just start in week one? Then well maybe he

11:53

doesn't play that well if he does start week one,

11:55

maybe those weeks not on the bench

11:58

because he did play, but those weeks in a less her

12:00

role helped Joey build

12:02

himself up to where he by

12:05

week seven week eight was able to play

12:08

every down and follow guys like DeAndre

12:10

Hopkins and Jamar Chase.

12:11

So I just I'm

12:14

not going.

12:15

To play that what if

12:17

game too much because I think you can

12:19

play the other direction to where

12:21

what if what the Steelers did was actually perfect

12:24

and was the exact way

12:26

to break him into the fold to get the most

12:28

out of him. And there's a

12:30

lot of proof in that pudding if you want to make that argument

12:32

right now, because he was phenomenal

12:35

starting once he started, and

12:39

like I said, just didn't look like anything.

12:41

The moment was too big for him at all.

12:43

No, certainly not. And honestly

12:46

kudos Sam too, because he could

12:48

have had an ego. I mean, you remember

12:50

the footage of NFL films released.

12:53

When he went Day one without being

12:56

drafted, his dad, Joey Porter Sr.

12:58

Said, you know, now you got something

13:00

to approve. Now you got that chip on your shoulder.

13:02

Every single team, including the team that we wanted

13:04

you to go to, the Pittsburgh Steelers, they all pass

13:07

on you, like now you gotta show them

13:09

why they made a mistake. And

13:13

I have all the love in the world

13:15

for Joey Porter Senior, one of my favorite players

13:17

watched to watch growing up. But

13:19

there's no doubt on my mind he

13:22

could have lit a fire on to her son and

13:24

said, you're gonna wait all this time

13:26

to draft me and then wait all this time

13:28

to play me. That's not right. Like

13:31

Joey Porter Junior easily could have had somewhat

13:34

of an ego coming into his rookie

13:36

year and say this isn't okay, this is

13:38

I'm I know what I am. I

13:40

don't think it's fair for me to start by

13:43

or to be benched behind

13:45

guys like Levi Wallace and a

13:48

very old Patrick Peterson. But

13:51

credit to him, he kept us cool

13:53

and there was nothing They didn't even keep us cool.

13:55

It's not like we saw potential

13:58

like spats like we saw out of

14:00

Antonio Brown or George Pickens.

14:02

Even this past year, there was no signs

14:05

of Joey Porter Junior being

14:07

any one of a drama any kind of a drama

14:10

queen, as we've seen a lot of

14:12

d backs and a lot of wide receivers act

14:15

in like in this league before. So

14:18

credit to him for keeping cool this entire

14:20

time, or keeping a level head and staying

14:23

humble this entire season. And

14:26

even though it was a long way to go about

14:28

it, he truly earned CB

14:31

one and he

14:34

there is no question about it. He is

14:36

going to be the CB one for the Steelers moving

14:38

forward for the next however many years, and.

14:40

Then next step forward is all Pro for him.

14:42

I mean, that's that's the lace.

14:44

The Pro Bowl this year, if

14:46

he would have it would have been like as one of those defensive replacements.

14:49

He did not make the Probom.

14:50

But still we know what a Pro Bowl designation commis

14:53

fifth and Defensive Rookie of the Year voting compared

14:55

to all Pro designations.

14:58

And yes, yes it's want to get to

15:00

go to the Pro Bowl and have

15:03

that honor, but the real honor

15:05

is that apl protein no question,

15:08

Keny Benton the second second round pick

15:10

for the Steelers, pick number forty nine.

15:12

Their original pick, Joey Porter Junior,

15:14

was the pick they got with the trade of

15:16

Chase Claypool to the Bears. Now,

15:19

the guy who played all seventeen games, I

15:21

think a guy that you wanted to see play more,

15:23

even And it's not

15:25

like I'm doing the hindsight hindsight

15:28

thing with Joey Porter Junior or I'm being hypocritical,

15:30

because you saw Benton from really

15:32

week one onto week seventeen, and he

15:35

had moments where he had to increase snap counts. Sometimes

15:37

he had moments where his snap count and games were

15:39

decreased, but he always seemed effective.

15:42

And maybe again

15:44

it's the same argument where he was effective

15:46

because the Steelers were using him just enough. But

15:48

I think his effectiveness warranted a look of

15:51

at least more time, of more

15:53

snapcounts, and if his production

15:55

falls off, if he's not ready for that workload yet, so

15:57

be it.

15:58

You scale him back a little bit.

16:00

But I think we were all kind of craving

16:02

a little bit more from Benton by the end of the season,

16:04

and I bet this year you're gonna get a lot more. So, you know,

16:07

the goal for him is to really be on the field

16:09

for those first two snaps as many

16:11

snaps as possible. Kind of I

16:13

don't want to say to be the guy because of Cam's

16:15

still there and he'll probably have a good

16:17

shot to be in front of you on the depth chart and

16:19

probably deserve to be in front of you on the depth chart if he can

16:21

recapture some of his form. But I

16:24

mean, you have a chance to be no worse than

16:26

the second person behind Cam who's gonna

16:28

play a ton of snaps.

16:31

A ton of snaps. I

16:34

mean this is I don't want to say that

16:38

I want to group Keanu Benton in

16:40

with Joey Porter Junior and Broader

16:42

Jones as of now, but I

16:45

feel like there's the potential in

16:48

hopefully as soon as next year, but if

16:50

not two to three years down the line.

16:53

We're talking about Keanu Benton in the same

16:55

way we're talking about Joey Porter Junior and Broderick Jones

16:57

in and the frustration

17:00

of why did it take so long to bring

17:02

this guy along? Why did they wait

17:05

so long when you saw the potential

17:07

so early? On again,

17:10

Joey Porter Junior, broder Jones'

17:13

first round talent right, those

17:15

guys were always associated with that round.

17:17

Joey Porter Junior thirty second overall

17:20

pick, technically taken in the second round, but still

17:22

a first round caliber kind of guy. Broderick

17:24

Jones obviously was taking what pick fifteen

17:27

overall. Broderick

17:29

Jones, I'm not trying to say that he deserved to

17:31

be taking in the first round, but

17:34

every team now and again hits

17:36

in the later rounds, and Keanu Bennen,

17:38

I feel like, is one of those guys, especially

17:41

when you look at the aging Cam

17:43

Hayward and the lack of death around

17:45

Cam Hayward on that defensive line. Why

17:48

would the Steelers delay the

17:52

every day, every down usage

17:55

seventeen games per season usage

17:57

out of Keanu Benton. That's where I

17:59

feel like, That's what I feel like the potential

18:02

could be for him. Where we're saying, this is our guy,

18:04

this is our new anchor on the defensive

18:07

line. Why did it take so long for

18:09

us to really introduce him into that role?

18:12

Now with expectations, we

18:16

predict and we hope for all pro

18:18

designations for broder Jones

18:21

and Joey Porter Junior. For

18:23

Kean and Benton, harder

18:25

to do. I would say definitely more of a chip

18:27

on the shoulder or something we were just talking about with Joey Porter

18:30

Junior. But still, this is a

18:32

guy that I think, maybe not league

18:34

wide, but certainly in the city of Pittsburgh,

18:36

people are gonna be saying Keanu

18:38

Bennon is probably the more underrated,

18:41

one of the more underrated members of the Steelers

18:43

defense. With so many key guys, big

18:45

names like Tjy, Alex Heighsmith,

18:48

Joey Porter Junior, MGA Fitzpatrick,

18:50

Patrick Queen, and you can

18:52

also include Keanu

18:55

Bennan into that list. I would that's

18:57

my hope. I mean, sure, I would love

18:59

to see him make an pro team, but realistically,

19:02

with so many guys anchoring

19:05

defensive lines around the league, so many edge

19:07

rushers as well, and then so

19:09

many guys on this Sealers defense alone,

19:11

it's gonna be hard to really be that breakout

19:14

guy. But I hope for maybe like a Kiana

19:16

Bend kind of like a an Aaron Smith kind

19:18

of role where league wide, not really

19:20

known, not really appreciated, but in Pittsburgh,

19:23

he is certainly one of your

19:25

best defenders.

19:27

Dan Washington, the se

19:31

a third round pick of the draft. You

19:33

know, back then kind of viewed as a luxury pick.

19:36

Sure, sure was a luxury pick back then, but I think

19:38

one that we were excited about because this guy just

19:40

dropped so much potential. Used

19:43

primarily as a blocker, in the

19:45

seventeen games that he played last year, he had

19:47

about six catches, I think it was. I

19:51

don't know if he ever ends up becoming

19:53

more of a pass catcher. I don't

19:55

know if that's kind of kind of what his

20:00

future entails, but I do know he's

20:02

a hell of a blocking

20:04

tight end and somebody

20:07

that can be utilized by smart offensive

20:09

coordinator in a run heavy offense, which

20:11

is what the Steelers have right now. So I

20:14

know, you know, you go out and you get Mcole Pruitt,

20:16

who is a a Arthur Smith guy.

20:19

You still have Connor Hayward, of course, But I

20:22

look at Darnell Washington in his sophomore season

20:24

here to really I

20:28

don't want to say, take a step forward in the means

20:30

of in the passing game where he's more of a weapon

20:32

in that aspect. Maybe he will, but

20:35

I think he'll be even more

20:37

effective as kind of a pseudo

20:39

sixth offensive lineman in a lot of times

20:42

not saying that they're gonna make him Arry Brown and turn him into

20:44

tackle. But just that

20:46

you know, I think Arthur Smith is

20:48

gonna have a lot of fun

20:51

with how he uses Darnell Washington in his offense

20:53

this year. I think it's a good a good offensive

20:55

coordinator to come in if you're

20:57

Darnell, this guy's this guy's going to

21:00

again maybe not get you the yardage and the touchdowns

21:03

that you wanted, but he's gonna

21:05

get you the playing time and you're gonna have impact

21:08

on this running game for sure.

21:10

Yeah, I'm still

21:12

a little apprehensive on Darnell Washington.

21:15

I think the town is great, right, the

21:17

size is impeccable, But

21:19

just the like you're saying, the fit could be

21:22

great in an Arthur Smith offense. To

21:25

me, Tom, when when I think of

21:27

Arthur Smith and I pair with Darnell

21:29

Washington, I'm thinking, how is this guy

21:31

gonna get involved in the

21:33

run blocking game. I think that's gonna

21:36

be kind of his niche here in

21:38

Pittsburgh with Arthur Smith. Not

21:40

to say I don't think he's worthy of those catches

21:42

or those targets as a receiver. I

21:45

just think that there's so many other options

21:47

on offense to give the ball to, especially

21:49

if they do potentially take

21:52

a wide receiver in the first or second round.

21:55

I don't know. I was

21:57

all aboard the Darnell Washington hype when

22:00

the Steelers took him in the fourth or third round last

22:02

year. But I think of the top four

22:04

I could even say top five picks if you want

22:06

to extend it to her Big, that

22:10

Darnol Washington might have the least

22:12

impact on this team. Yeah, of

22:14

those of those big

22:16

five names. Yeah, I agree with that. I think

22:18

he's actually in fifth place right now. Yeah,

22:20

No, I completely agree with

22:22

that.

22:23

So Nick Herbig, the fourth round pick by

22:25

the Steelers pick

22:27

number one thirty two overall last year, again played in all

22:29

seventeen games. He had three sacks for the Steelers, had

22:32

an impact as that backup guy. You

22:34

know, her Big is gonna

22:36

be kind of that person that. It's funny,

22:39

this is kind of a theme throughout this conversation.

22:41

We've been having the guy that the fans are

22:43

probably going to start one to clamoring for more of, you

22:45

know, saying, oh.

22:46

He looks pretty good.

22:47

Can you walk up? Can you afford to lose a high smith?

22:49

Maybe let him what can you do this that, Like

22:51

we got her Big, he's pretty good. Herbig's

22:53

exactly where he needs to be.

22:54

I think, I think.

22:55

Great, good to great.

22:57

Number three. I don't think he would be very good.

23:00

And if you had him to play every down. He's small, he's

23:02

an undersized player. Look at him next to high

23:04

Smith, look at him next to Watt. It's it's it's

23:06

a joke, honestly. So Herbig

23:08

is exactly where he needs to be. He

23:10

can carve a very nice career out

23:13

for himself as that number three role. He'll get starts.

23:15

He'll get starts from time to time because the player's

23:17

going down. He can have four or five

23:19

sacks a year coming off the bench. He

23:22

They have been trying to find that number three

23:25

and they've been doing it through the free agency

23:27

of veterans. Yep, they got it through the draft.

23:30

Yeah, that's incredible. That's

23:32

a great point by you. Again, you

23:34

didn't find this guy in the fourth round where he trends

23:37

to be a defensive player of the Year someday or even a

23:39

seventeen game starter at that position. But

23:41

what you did find in the fourth round was was somebody

23:44

that I think is going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler

23:46

for a pretty damn long time and

23:48

a very solid contributing

23:50

depth piece to this team.

23:52

I am completely with you, and I love that

23:55

you pointed out that like

23:57

many positions, you know, look at cornerback,

24:00

look at the offensive line, look at inside

24:02

linebacker, look at edge rusher, they

24:05

were trying to find the right guy

24:07

at that position via veterans

24:10

or via free agency, and

24:13

it just never panned out. And

24:15

they finally use a draft

24:17

pick that was high enough that

24:19

they could develop a guy who had

24:22

signs to be a good

24:24

number three. You weren't trying to bring up

24:26

like an Isaiah Loudermilk or

24:28

a Demarvin Leal, two names that

24:31

aren't working out in Pittsburgh that

24:33

you were betting on could just magically

24:36

become starters on your roster.

24:38

Nick Herbig is exactly where he should be

24:40

on this team, and I don't

24:43

think he has any problem with it either. We're

24:45

talking about egos, we're talking about being

24:47

humble. I think Nick Herbig loves

24:49

to be where he is. I mean, you're

24:52

talking about a guy that gets to go to work every day

24:54

and be in meetings with t J. Watt

24:56

and Alex Heismith. I mean, it's

24:59

you can't get really two better

25:01

peers to learn from than

25:03

those two guys.

25:05

The two seventh round picks Corey Trice

25:07

first, then ten picks later was Spencer Anderson.

25:10

Saw Spencer Anderson an eight games last year. Didn't

25:12

see Corey Trice, not because they

25:14

didn't want him to be on the team, because he got injured in training

25:16

camp. But you did sort of like all seven

25:18

of those guys were gonna play, or all

25:20

seven of those picks were gonna play probably

25:22

special teams at least with Corey Truce.

25:24

Well, how about this This draft class

25:27

was supposed to It was on track to

25:29

becoming the first those draft class. Maybe

25:31

ever, I don't, you'd have to ask Labs.

25:34

It was either ever or within decades

25:36

of all every single

25:38

pick making the final fifty

25:40

three man roster at the end of training

25:42

camp. But it didn't happen because.

25:44

It only injury for Corey Trice.

25:47

But it isn't never. It just goes to show how good

25:49

this draft class was. And we don't know

25:51

what Corey Trice would have been, but the

25:53

fact that he was on pace to make that

25:56

roster shows just how confident

25:58

this team was. In individual draft

26:01

class.

26:02

With Trice and Anderson, you know they're

26:04

not going to become starters, but they

26:07

have a chance to contribute.

26:08

For sure.

26:08

I think Trice has a shot.

26:10

No, I don't think.

26:11

You don't think.

26:12

I get little worry

26:14

of Calvin Austin potential out of Yeah, people

26:16

are going to maybe really value

26:18

him because of the what if of last year.

26:21

But then again, like also think of like Calvin

26:23

Tos was a third round Calvin as was a third

26:25

round pick.

26:26

This guy's a.

26:26

Seventh n I'm really trying to manage

26:29

expectations with Trice because

26:31

you got all the hype he could be.

26:33

A fine number three or four in the in the NFL

26:35

when he reaches his full ceiling. That's a good pick

26:37

in the seventh round. That's a guy who's gonna play a lot

26:40

special teams too. Then Anderson,

26:42

I think there's a chance to be that guy that comes

26:44

in for the first guard that goes down, for the first

26:46

interior linement that goes down. I'm not

26:48

saying that he'll beat her big out, but I'm

26:50

saying that he has a chance. So I mean, those two guys

26:54

they can make the roster for sure. Again for a second

26:56

straight year, and they can earn

26:58

some playing time this year too.

27:01

But those those are the goals for those two.

27:02

I would say, yeah, yeah,

27:05

I mean Anderson probably has a

27:07

good shot too, just because if

27:10

Dan Moore Junior is still there, you can

27:12

maybe compete with him

27:14

just as as not necessarily

27:16

by position tackle versus guard, but

27:19

just being that sixth or seventh

27:21

man ahead of him on the depth chart.

27:25

Let's do our mock draft two point zero when we come

27:27

back.

27:27

We're gonna go seven rounds here pick

27:30

for the Steelers, and we're gonna deliver

27:32

what we hope is a major improvement

27:35

to our mock draft one point zero, which I barely even remember.

27:37

Oh my god, it was well, it wasn't bad.

27:39

We just got I just don't even remember.

27:41

He just got unlucky.

27:43

Well. Mock drafts next on the Steeler Standard