Who should Steelers draft in 1st?
If not a linebacker, who would the Steelers draft in the first round?
You无毛视频檝e probably heard of Heathers, the movie about popular girls in high school.
Well, opening in NFL cities next month is the sequel, Devins, a flick about the most popular linebackers in the NFL draft.
We无毛视频檝e seen clues that the Steelers want a Devin. They reportedly had a deal in place that would无毛视频檝e moved them up to the ninth pick of the first round 无毛视频� until the movie无毛视频檚 villain, Antonio Brown, abruptly ended the talks.
But the clue remains vital because there isn无毛视频檛 another position of need that involves Top 9 picks other than linebacker. The only plausible explanation for such a trade would be for the Steelers to grab themselves one of the Devins.
Top Steelers brass showed up at the Michigan pro day two weeks ago, and that night I received this DM from a reporter on site: 无毛视频溛廾悠郸 the Steelers appear to really love Devin Bush.无毛视频�
The coach and the GM then traveled to LSU a week later, and photos were plastered all over the internet of Mike Tomlin settling in to watch his linebackers coach, Jerry Olsavsky, run Devin White through his positional drills 无毛视频� which, by all accounts showed that White was worthy of a Top 10 pick.
Oh, to have a chance at a Devin.
But what if they don无毛视频檛 get that chance?
What if the Steelers can无毛视频檛 draft a Devin?
My guess, according to Steelers needs and the array of available draft talent, is they would select a wide receiver first. And for reasons I无毛视频檒l explain, the receiver I无毛视频檓 going with is Hakeem Butler.
This has to be a surprise to readers who pay close attention to my work, because in a March 2 story about elite WRs at the NFL Combine, I ruled Butler out because of too many drops, as well as N无毛视频橩eal Harry for a perceived lack of separation against top cornerbacks.
But today, they无毛视频檙e the two receivers I contemplated for a pick that无毛视频檚 personal to the Steelers for two reasons: One, they need a splash receiver, and, two, said splash receiver would replace the aforementioned villain.
In my March 11 mock, I had already begun to waver on Butler as I contemplated the big man for the second round. Most media boards still have him as a late first or early second-rounder, but I无毛视频檝e kept him in mind as a big target for Ben Roethlisberger, who thrives with big receivers, as we recall during his 15-1 season with Plaxico Burress.
Burress was a big part of Roethlisberger无毛视频檚 incredible rookie year, and then he was gone in free agency. He came back as an old man. And Martavis Bryant later tried to replace him. So did Justin Hunter. But no one has been able to replace the 2004 version of Burress as a big-bodied deep threat for Roethlisberger.
So wouldn无毛视频檛 Butler be a nice gift for a quarterback who无毛视频檚 been slimed by the villain these past couple of months?
Here无毛视频檚 the physical comparison:
n Burress 无毛视频� 6-5 3/8, 231, 33 3/4 arms, 4.59 40, 33 vertical, 9-7 broad jump.
n Butler 无毛视频� 6-5 3/8, 227, 35 1/4 arms, 4.48 40, 36 vertical, 10-8 broad jump.
The comparison is enticing. But then someone at our message board back at SteelCityInsider.net made the point that Butler very well could be Jonathan Baldwin.
And, yikes, I have to admit I liked Baldwin, who was drafted 26th out of Pitt in 2011, but washed out after three seasons.
n Baldwin 无毛视频� 6-4 3/8, 228, 34 arms, 4.49 40, 42 vertical, 10-9 broad jump.
Pretty darn close to the others.
So, the important question is whether Butler无毛视频檚 more like Burress or Baldwin.
Butler has dropped some easy passes. It无毛视频檚 possible his massive 10 3/4-inch hands might actually be too big for that little pill of a football. Butler also appears to lose focus at times. Are the Big 12 defenses boring him?
Statistically, though, Butler无毛视频檚 actually pretty good with contested catches. He might not be Gary Jennings. The WVU receiver led draft-eligibles with a 54 percent catch rate of contested passes. But Butler checked in at a respectable 45.2 percent catch rate of such balls.
It did come out Tuesday after his pro day that Butler无毛视频檚 hard at work on his flaws. He catches 无毛视频渉undreds of balls a day,无毛视频� and he无毛视频檚 also working to get off jams, on his breaks at the tops of his routes, and other fine points of big-man receiving with the great Calvin Johnson.
When I read that story in the Des Moines Register, I thought to myself, 无毛视频淗mmm, Jim, you know Megatron is the son-in-law of a Steelers scout.无毛视频�
And so I wondered if he, Bruce 无毛视频淐hilly无毛视频� McNorton, had set up this new mentorship. It would certainly give the Steelers insight into Butler无毛视频檚 skills AND work ethic.
Hmmmm, indeed.
I pondered this while also wondering whether the Steelers would actually draft someone in the first round without Tomlin having attended his pro day. That seems to be the trend for the Steelers anymore at draft time.
But, 无毛视频淗ey,无毛视频� I thought, 无毛视频淭omlin无毛视频檚 at the NFL Owners Meetings and that adage can无毛视频檛 always hold up.无毛视频�
Hey, indeed.
As I thought about Butler and Megatron, and Tomlin not being there, I turned on an NFL Network recap of the Iowa State pro day. And who walks behind analyst James Palmer during his report?
Chilly.
A.k.a. McNorton.
A.k.a. Megatron无毛视频檚 father-in-law.
A.k.a. Butler无毛视频檚 in with the Steelers.
Some scouts aren无毛视频檛 fazed by the young receiver无毛视频檚 drops. In fact, some call Hakeem Butler the best receiver in the draft. And what better way to kill off the villain at the end of a good movie than drafting a terrific, king-sized replacement for your side?
Yep, just draft the monster who无毛视频檒l give the guy who hasn无毛视频檛 responded to six weeks of smearing his just due in the end.
It无毛视频檚 the least the Steelers could do for Roethlisberger after allowing his other king-sized receiver to leave 15 years ago.