Steelers might be looking for a nose tackle
Associated Press
Washington defensive lineman Vita Vea runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on March 4. Vea will likely not be available when the Pittsburgh Steelers pick 28th in the NFL Draft.
Associated Press
Alabama defensive lineman Da无毛视频橰on Payne runs a drill during the NFL scouting combine on March 4, in Indianapolis.
(This is the next installment of a 10-part series on the NFL Draft. Today无毛视频檚 story highlights the defensive line.)
In today无毛视频檚 Draft Spotlight, esteemed colleague Jon Ledyard wrote that there无毛视频檚 little room for an addition to the Steelers无毛视频� interior front, and in regard to Javon Hargrave, relegated to the seldom-used nose tackle position, Ledyard wrote 无毛视频淧ittsburgh needs to find a way to get him on the field more.无毛视频�
Well, Jacksonville found a way to get Hargrave on the field more. And once they used him up and spit him out, they did the same with L.T. Walton.
Those nose tackles combined to play an exceedingly high 50-of-61 snaps and were bludgeoned by the Jaguars. Hargrave couldn无毛视频檛 get the job done and that may have been due to back problems which forced him out of practices that week. Walton, a converted 5-tech, wasn无毛视频檛 any better as the Jaguars piled up 164 rushing yards at 4.7 per carry.
Re-watch the game and you might rule out needs in the back seven and root for Ndamukong Suh or Haloti Ngata to fall the Steelers无毛视频� way in the upcoming draft无毛视频檚 first round.
Those are the two players who came to mind while watching the violent world of Vita Vea, the 347-pound nose tackle from Washington.
Vea is 6-4 and runs a 5.1 40, which 无毛视频� as Penn State so rudely found out this past Fiesta Bowl 无毛视频� is fast enough to cover punts.
Of course, Vea shouldn无毛视频檛 last until pick 28. And the other top defensive tackles 无毛视频� Maurice Hurst, Taven Bryan and Nathan Shepherd 无毛视频� aren无毛视频檛 scheme fits.
The Steelers, in Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and reserve Tyson Alualu, have all the talent they need to rush the QB from the tackle spots. What they need is more of a true nose tackle, particularly after team president Art Rooney II said after the season he wants to improve the run defense.
The Steelers allowed 4.397 yards per carry last season, their worst yield per carry in 63 years. And that number was 5.1 in the final six games without linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Sure there isn无毛视频檛 anyone left in the first round?
Well, a Steelers source laughed when asked if he expected Da无毛视频橰on Payne of Alabama to last until pick 28.
The Steelers think highly of the 6-2陆, 311-pounder with long 33-inch arms. He reps 500 pounds on the bench and 650 in the squat rack and won无毛视频檛 turn 21 until May 27. He无毛视频檚 a man-child who was not only coached the last two years by Karl Dunbar, the Steelers无毛视频� new DL coach, but Payne developed into a big-game playmaker by the end of his third season in 2017. He was the co-MVP of both the Sugar Bowl and National Championship Game.
But Payne无毛视频檚 not a true nose tackle. He无毛视频檚 young enough and strong enough 无毛视频� (and Dunbar knows whether he无毛视频檚 coachable enough) 无毛视频� and has played up and down the Alabama front, so even as he develops into a run-stuffing nose he could provide athletic flexibility for the Steelers无毛视频� ever-changing fronts.
Payne is a possibility if he falls to them, but the Steelers appear to instead be focusing on true nose tackles. They brought in two the other day: Greg Gilmore (6-3录, 305), of LSU, and Bilal Nichols (6-3戮, 306), of Delaware.
The latter is the better athlete. Nichols无毛视频� 4.95 40 tied Payne and UCLA OT Kolton Miller for fastest time among 300-pounders at the NFL Combine. Nichols played full-time nose for the first time last season, and his relentless motor led to 56 tackles, 5陆 sacks, an interception, four pass break-ups and a blocked kick.
Earlier in the visit season, the Steelers brought in another athletic nose tackle, B.J. Hill (6-3录, 311), who has long arms (33), big hands (10 5/8), ran a 4.99 40 and pushed the bar up 35 times. His 7.28 3-cone drill, which tests lateral agility, tied another defensive tackle, Stanford无毛视频檚 Harrison Phillips, for the top Combine time among 300-pounders.
Hill hails from Oakboro, N.C., some 45 miles north of Hargrave无毛视频檚 hometown of Salisbury, just east of Charlotte.
Phillips, who topped everyone at the Combine with 42 reps, could turn into one of those mid-round values, but there are even better run-stuffers expected to be available in the middle of this draft.
Nose tackle types expected to be available in the third and fourth rounds are Foley Fatukasi (6-3戮, 318), of UConn, Kendrick Norton (6-3, 314), of Miami, Derrick Nnadi (6-1, 317), of Florida State, and Deadrin Senat (6-0, 314), of South Florida.
Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin visited the Virginia Tech pro day and presumably watched Tim Settle (6-2戮, 329), but Tomlin无毛视频檚 never been a fan of players that heavy 无毛视频� unless they can move like Vea.
The Steelers also met with Alabama nose tackle Joshua Frazier (6-3, 321), who was mainly a backup for four years and, of course, played under Dunbar.
Penn State defensive tackle Curtis Cothran (6-5, 283) was the first draft visitor to the South Side.
A personal favorite is Oklahoma nose tackle Du无毛视频橵onta Lampkin (6-4, 345), who missed six games with a suspension in 2016, two games for academics in 2017, rotated with an inferior player this past season, but dominated play at times. Lampkin just turned 21 and abruptly left Oklahoma as a redshirt sophomore. He surprised fans and media with the move, and could surprise the NFL if he puts his game together.
MY TAKE
Two years ago I was raving about nose tackle 无毛视频� what was his name again? 无毛视频� oh, yes, Andrew Billings as a first-round prospect. I was way off as Billings fell to the fourth round. That无毛视频檚 about where I expect a solid run-stuffer such as B.J. Hill to end up, so that无毛视频檚 about where the Steelers should be looking. They无毛视频檝e also been looking at several late-rounders, but if they want to erase the memory of their playoff loss, the Steelers shouldn无毛视频檛 disregard someone like Vita Vea if he falls to the bottom of the first round. They could certainly use a Haloti Ngata-like presence against teams who might be feeling that the Steelers无毛视频� 3-4 base defense was exposed by Jacksonville and its use of tight ends, fullback and power runner.
VALUE BOARD
First Round 无毛视频� Vita Vea, Washington; Da无毛视频橰on Payne, Alabama.
Fourth Round 无毛视频� B.J. Hill, North Carolina State; Bilal Nichols, Delaware.
Fifth Round 无毛视频� Tim Settle, Virginia Tech.
Sixth Round 无毛视频� Joshua Frazier, Alabama.
Seventh Round 无毛视频� Du无毛视频橵onta Lampkin, Oklahoma; Greg Gilmore, LSU.