In the present day I wished to offer information on the Pittsburgh Steelers draft historical past since 2010. The purpose of the article is to level out tendencies by place utilizing draft place and relative athletic scores (RAS) and see what that would imply for this years’ draft. To qualify for a RAS rating, a participant will need to have a complete of six recorded metrics from any of the next: Top, Weight, Forty-yard sprint, Twenty-yard break up, Ten-yard break up, Bench Press, Vertical Bounce, Broad Bounce, Brief Shuttle, and 3-Cone. The participant is then graded on every compared to the positional database since 1987 to get extra of a really feel of their measurement, pace, explosion, agility, and whole worth, giving context to the uncooked numbers.
Let’s begin with offense:
With the gamers coloured by place, we are able to see huge receiver jumps out on the high proper of the graph with six of the ten Steelers above the imply in RAS and picked within the first half of the draft. The best RAS no matter place is 2020 second spherical choose Chase Claypool at 9.98, and 5 out of the 9 gamers with an above 9 RAS had been huge receivers. An attention-grabbing takeaway is the underside proper, with Diontae Johnson and James Washington seemingly beginning a brand new huge receiver pattern since 2018 with Day 1-2 picks having a beneath seven RAS. Within the time interval solely 4 gamers had been drafted within the again half of the draft, with three out of these 4 having a beneath common RAS and curiously every of those picks being 2016 or earlier. De’Marcus Ayers was a seventh spherical choose in 2016 and an outlier to Alex Kozora’s “What The Steelers Look For” thresholds, contributing to the bottom RAS of 0.89, and the second lowest was 2010 sixth spherical choose Antonio Brown at 3.85. No 2022 prospects I’ve studied on the place have a decrease rating than Ayers, and out of curiosity the scores beneath Brown embody: Tulsa’s Josh Johnson, Virginia Tech’s Tre Turner, NC State’s Emeka Emezie, and Clemson’s Justin Ross who has acquired loads of curiosity with Steelers positional coach Frisman Jackson placing him via his professional day work out together with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert in attendance.
As anticipated, offensive lineman land principally beneath the imply in RAS (9/13) and wished to notice that Kevin Dotson didn’t qualify. Two gamers land above the imply in each information factors and the opposite 5 chosen within the first half of the draft had a beneath 5 RAS. Within the again half of the draft, two out of six gamers have a powerful RAS highlighted by 2014 fifth spherical draft choose Wesley Johnson’s place excessive 9.55 RAS, and the opposite 4 having scores beneath 4. The bottom offensive line RAS was 2010 fifth spherical choose Chris Scott at 0.55, and 2011 sixth spherical choose Keith Williams had the second lowest 2.02 RAS. No 2022 prospect I’ve studied have a decrease rating than both participant, and for comparability listed here are the gamers with beneath three scores: Oklahoma’s Tyrese Robinson, BYU’s James Empey, Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele who additionally had Steelers place coach Pat Meyer at his exercise, and Arkansas’ Myron Cunningham.
The one different gamers above the imply in each information factors had been working backs. Two of the 9 gamers on the place had drastically completely different NFL careers, Le’Veon Bell and Dri Archer who tops the place with a 9.14 RAS and was a measurement outlier on the place. Sadly, Najee Harris didn’t qualify, and would doubtless have been telling to see him stack up subsequent to Bell, who was the one different choose within the high two rounds on the place. On the underside proper we see three gamers that every have a beneath 5 RAS, had been drafted within the third and fourth rounds, and curiously since 2017. Three out of 4 gamers drafted within the again half of the draft had an above seven RAS, with the opposite being 2010 sixth spherical choose Jonathan Dwyer at a place low 0.99 RAS. The second lowest was 2019 fourth spherical choose Benny Snell’s 3.48 RAS. No 2022 prospect I’ve studied have a decrease RAS than Dwyer, and solely two males I’ve studied have scores beneath Snell: Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams and Oregon’s CJ Verdell.
Three quarterbacks had been drafted in the timeframe, every within the third and fourth rounds. Joshua Dobbs led the group by far with a 9.6 RAS, with Landry Jones touchdown at 5.31, and Mason Rudolph with a 4.06. The one 2022 prospect I’ve studied with a decrease end result was Western Michigan’s Kaleb Eleby at a a lot decrease 1.68 RAS.
5 tight ends had been drafted since 2010, however Rob Blanchflower and Pat Freiermuth sadly didn’t qualify. The three gamers that did qualify had been chosen within the again half of the draft, with 2015 fifth spherical choose Jesse James having the very best 7.08 RAS. The opposite two had beneath three scores with 2012 seventh spherical choose David Paulson having the bottom 2.4 RAS. Three gamers I’ve studied have a decrease RAS: Kansas State’s Nick Lenners, Texas A&M’s Jalen Wydermyer, and Boston Faculty’s Trae Barry who each had beneath two scores.
Now for the protection:
Immediately we see a excessive proportion of gamers on the high of the graph highlighting the stronger emphasis of athleticism the Steelers have chosen on this facet of the ball. 13 gamers have an above 9 RAS with a better RAS imply line close to seven for the protection, in comparison with the offense which was just under six.
Edge rusher jumps out on the high proper of the graph, with 5 of the 15 Steelers that landed above the imply in each information factors. The best RAS no matter place on protection is 2017 first spherical choose T.J. Watt at 9.92, with fellow first rounder Bud Dupree in 2015 having the one different above 9 RAS for edge rushers at 9.47. An enormous takeaway is eight out of 9 gamers on the place land above the tread line (diagonal line), highlighting a powerful correlation with RAS to draft place. The one buck on this pattern was Jarvis Jones in 2013, chosen with the very best choose quantity on the place and by far the bottom RAS at 2.58, and 2021 sixth spherical choose Quincy Roche had the second lowest at almost 4 factors greater with a 6.4 RAS! The one 2022 prospect I’ve studied on the place with a decrease rating than Jones was Arkansas’ Tre Williams. Out of curiosity, the 2022 prospects I’ve studied with a decrease rating than Roche embody: South Carolina’s Kingsley Enagbre, Penn State’s Jesse Luketa, Utah’s Mika Tafua, Notre Dame’s Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Fresno State’s Arron Mosby, UCF’s Massive Kat Bryant, and Williams.
Three safeties land above the imply in each information factors, with Terrell Edmunds main the group in draft place and a 9.89 RAS. We additionally see the 4 gamers chosen within the high 150 with an above eight RAS. This place has an identical pattern to the sting rushers, with 5 of the seven gamers above the tread line and all above a six RAS. The opposite two had been within the seventh spherical, with the RAS diving beneath three. The bottom rating was 2015 choose Gerod Holliman within the seventh spherical with a 2.38 RAS. The one 2022 prospect that I’ve studied on the place with a decrease rating is Oregon’s Verone McKinley.
Two linebackers land on the high proper of the graph, the highest two alternatives on both facet of the ball for the Steelers within the interval. Ryan Shazier was drafted in 2014 and tops the place with a 9.88 RAS together with Devin Bush in 2019 with a 9.33 rating. Three out of the 4 gamers chosen within the high 150 on the place had an above 9 RAS, with the exception being an above 4 rating. Within the later rounds, 4 of seven gamers had an above seven RAS. The bottom rating was 2013 sixth spherical choose Vince Williams with a 1.69 RAS, and the second lowest was 2016 seventh rounder Tyler Matakevich at 2.27. No 2022 prospect I’ve studied had a RAS decrease than Williams, and out of curiosity the one two gamers with scores beneath Matakevich had been Idaho’s Tre Walker and Michigan’s Josh Ross. The Steelers have curiosity within the latter contemplating their professional day dinner, plus Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert at his professional day.
The cornerback place has solely seen one first spherical choose since 2010, Artie Burns in 2016 who had a 5 RAS, which was the third worst out of 13 gamers on the place. Additionally, 4 out of seven gamers chosen on the entrance finish of the draft had a beneath the imply RAS, highlighting much less emphasis on athleticism within the earlier rounds than different positions. Eight gamers had an above seven RAS, with solely three within the high 150 picks. All 5 gamers within the again half of the draft additionally had above seven scores, highlighting a powerful late spherical pattern. The bottom rating and outlier to in Kozora’s exercise thresholds is 2015 second rounder Senquez Golson, who has a 4.38 RAS which is the very best ground of any place on offense or protection! The 2022 prospects that I’ve studied with decrease scores are Arkansas’ Montaric Brown, Utah State’s Kyle Mayberry, Virginia Tech’s Jermaine Waller, Boston Faculty’s Brandon Sebastian, Oregon’s Mykael Wright, and Georgia’s Derion Kendrick.
Defensive lineman land at attention-grabbing factors on the visible and sadly the 2 highest alternatives, 2011 first rounder Cameron Heyward and 2014 second rounder Stephon Tuitt didn’t qualify. This left the suitable facet of the chart naked on the place, with solely two gamers qualifying within the 3-4 spherical. 2016 third rounder Javon Hargrave was the one participant on the place above the imply in each information factors. Eight of the ten qualifying gamers had been chosen within the fifth spherical or later, three of which had a powerful RAS highlighted by 2010 seventh spherical choose Doug Worthington’s 9.84 end result. The bottom rating was 2014 seventh rounder Daniel McCullers with a 1.32 RAS, with the second lowest end result a 1.75 from 2018 seventh rounder Joshua Frazier. Of the gamers I’ve studied, three 2022 prospects had a decrease rating on the place than McCullers: Kentucky’s Marquan McCall, Louisiana’s Tayland Humphrey, and LSU’s Neil Farrell Jr.
What are your ideas on the Steelers RAS draft historical past? Thanks for studying and let me know your ideas within the feedback!
