2019 Rookie draft

[TREFF]

@Stomp great write up. very good assessments. but ur assessment of steelers backfield is just wrong. samuels never in college or pros had a 20 carry game until one game this year. hes not a feature back. connor excelled when health n the steelers love him. they also havent done rbbc since i think 2010. its not tomlins MO. this is conners backfield

I can find plenty of things I disagree with in Stomps' analysis. Conner's tenuous hold on lead back duties in Pitt ain't one of em. In fact, outside of JuJu being their best WR, and Ben is still the QB..I would say everything is tenuous, as the entire dynamic is gonna shift around with no AB. Could be a game of musical chairs, who is gonna be standing without a chair when the music stops?? Conner had 5 really good games, and was pretty "meh" or below in the rest...and his ypc?? Friggin more than half a yard less than Gus.

However, current makeup of the roster still heavily favors Conners over the rest, easily

 

[Trudem]

I can find plenty of things I disagree with in Stomps' analysis. Conner's tenuous hold on lead back duties in Pitt ain't one of em. In fact, outside of JuJu being their best WR, and Ben is still the QB..I would say everything is tenuous, as the entire dynamic is gonna shift around with no AB. Could be a game of musical chairs, who is gonna be standing without a chair when the music stops?? Conner had 5 really good games, and was pretty "meh" or below in the rest...and his ypc?? Friggin more than half a yard less than Gus.

However, current makeup of the roster still heavily favors Conners over the rest, easily

This is why I spent my only draft pick on Snell. He and Conner were drafted in pretty much the same spot. Samuels will be behind both of them IMO. I think Snell is one injury away from making an impact.

 

[TREFF]

This is why I spent my only draft pick on Snell. He and Conner were drafted in pretty much the same spot. Samuels will be behind both of them IMO. I think Snell is one injury away from making an impact.

Probably true. I just see Snell as a guy who peaked on college. He didn't really "grow". Got more yards as he got more and more carries, but those carries became less and less productive. As a soph, I had high hopes for him, then he just sort of plateued

 

[Trudem]

Probably true. I just see Snell as a guy who peaked on college. He didn't really "grow". Got more yards as he got more and more carries, but those carries became less and less productive. As a soph, I had high hopes for him, then he just sort of plateued

I got him 38th overall. I think its worth the investment lol

 

[Trudem]

@TREFF I do not expect him to be a world beater though. However neither did anyone expect Conner to have been as successful as he has been.

 

[TREFF]

I got him 38th overall. I think its worth the investment lol

Oh yea, I had Gaskins, him, then pray for ran right ahead of you, luckily for you, no one took Gaskins .

And while I sure don't expect much from Gaskins, at least all he's got ahead of him are equally underwhelming options

 

[Trudem]

Oh yea, I had Gaskins, him, then pray for ran right ahead of you, luckily for you, no one took Gaskins .

And while I sure don't expect much from Gaskins, at least all he's got ahead of him are equally underwhelming options

Gaskins was also on my short list.

 

[SteelersPride]

@FaCe-LeE-uS u wanna weigh in on our backfield here

 

[TREFF]

The only thing further I'll say about the Steelers backfield, is that I was truly shocked to see Conner go mid first round of the A suicide draft.
For a entire team situation often described as a dumpster fire by years end, that's a lot of faith, imho, even though I'm fully on board that the job is %100 Conner's to lose

 

[averagejoe]

Had the opinion that Conner seemed less effective as the season went on. Didn't he miss time late in the year?

Hats off to him for what he did, but just didn't seem like he was "the answer."

On the flipside, Gurley and Gordon struggled their first season too.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

James Conner... From a fantasy perspective, there's 2 things that concern me with him. And those concerns would push him into the 2nd round for me.

1) Injuries

2) The Steelers OC's relationship with Ben. The OC was Ben's QB coach for the better part of a decade before taking over OC responsibilities last season. He has a propensity to let Ben call the shots, which resulted in a very pass-heavy attack down the stretch last year, but he did admit in pressers that he wanted to get back to running the ball more. Which resulted in him having the appearance of being a less effective FF RB.

But here's a few things that are being overlooked in regards to their RB production...

1) the Steelers "top 10" D has gotten considerably more talented. I say top 10 in quotes knowing full-well that their secondary was still garbage. The acquisition of Steve Nelson & Devin Bush will hopefully shore up those 3rd-down woes. Which should aid their offense in controlling the ball more and not needing to ramp up their passing attack so early.

2) the loss of AB means the receiving corps will get the ball spread around A LOT more. Meaning the RBs will likely get more of a share in the passing game. Fichtner deployed a ton of pitch-draws & screens late last season. In his words, "these plays are blocked the same" from a running scheme standpoint. So he views those receptions as running the ball essentially.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I'm not at all concerned about Samuels or Snell eating into his share just yet. Tomlin loves his work-horses. But if Conner starts to deal with nagging injuries, then we may very well see more of a RBBC to keep him fresh.

 

[SteelersPride]

I'm not at all concerned about Samuels or Snell eating into his share just yet. Tomlin loves his work-horses. But if Conner starts to deal with nagging injuries, then we may very well see more of a RBBC to keep him fresh.

agree 100%

 

[TREFF]

but when's the last time Tomlin didn't have a bonafied thoroghbread? When Mendenhall blew his knee/fell off the rails? And he had no problems putting Mendy in his pkace when that all started going south.
Before that it was Willie Parker, handed from Cohwer, after that, was Bell..hard to say what he'll do if Conner has a start similar to weeks 2-4, or 9-13. I would say the grace period for learning curve/growing pains is likely spent.

Again, his job to lose, no doubts, I just feel its a real possibility he can lose it

 

[SteelersPride]

but when's the last time Tomlin didn't have a bonafied thoroghbread? When Mendenhall blew his knee/fell off the rails? And he had no problems putting Mendy in his pkace when that all started going south.
Before that it was Willie Parker, handed from Cohwer, after that, was Bell..hard to say what he'll do if Conner has a start similar to weeks 2-4, or 9-13. I would say the grace period for learning curve/growing pains is likely spent.

Again, his job to lose, no doubts, I just feel its a real possibility he can lose it

but until injury, he produced.......hes a tomlin guy, tomlin drafted him higher, tomlin followed him at pitt, he practiced with them, theres more to the tomlin conner bond than meets the eye. Tomline also has a real thing for his "guys" he doesnt let them go. even when they suck

 

[TREFF]

all true..but he's also on of the best coaches in the league, and I wouldn't put it past him to make any personnel change, at any position, including Ben, if he felt it gave him a better chance to win games

 

[SteelersPride]

all true..but he's also on of the best coaches in the league, and I wouldn't put it past him to make any personnel change, at any position, including Ben, if he felt it gave him a better chance to win games

no disrespect, have u seen him make personnel moves? @FaCe-LeE-uS can attest to this. Just because you think hes great, doesnt mean he doesnt have faults. This is one of his. He holds guys, forces them into action, all because their "his" guy. im sure on this one. Perhaps he does switch conner out, but perhaps they switch barkley out if he sucks. This job is 100% conners, and he is the workhorse

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

no disrespect, have u seen him make personnel moves? @FaCe-LeE-uS can attest to this. Just because you think hes great, doesnt mean he doesnt have faults. This is one of his. He holds guys, forces them into action, all because their "his" guy. im sure on this one. Perhaps he does switch conner out, but perhaps they switch barkley out if he sucks. This job is 100% conners, and he is the workhorse

Yep. Tomlin rarely benches his players. And Conner most certainly is a "Tomlin guy". That said I think Tomlin still worries about keeping Conner healthy.

The only way I see Conner losing the job is if he gets injured, or if they move towards a RBBC if Snell gets a part time roll and he flourishes. For now Conner isn't in any danger of losing any snaps.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

But keep a close eye on training camp this offseason. If Conner deals with any injuries then the door will swing wide open for either Snell or Samuels to prove their worth sooner than later.

 

[SteelersPride]

But keep a close eye on training camp this offseason. If Conner deals with any injuries then the door will swing wide open for either Snell or Samuels to prove their worth sooner than later.

right. but the only thing is injuries. hes not losing it if hes healthy. But u can say the same thing about almost any RB