2021 Offseason/Season... Draft, FA & Staff

[Bridgeburner]

I'll admit that I haven't done a lot of homework yet on these guys... But everything that I have watched so far points to Lance being a top 10 talent in this draft. Kid is an athletic version of Josh Allen, but not nearly as polished in arm talent. Not at all a hindrance though since his arm talent looks more on par with Justin Herbert last year. He has the strength to make any throw & so much more.

If Lance slides... I'm all aboard trading up for him. If Mac Jones slid... and Lance was gone then I'd go OL in a heartbeat.

With a ceiling that high... No chance you pass that up

He really needs work in the accuracy department. He’s like the king of the overthrow. That upside is real though.

I don’t love any of the prospects outside of Wilson and maybe Lawrence but there’s a lot of talent and potential to be had.

What don’t you like about Mac Jones? The lack of big play ability in the run game? Suspicious of him being a product of the Alabama offense? I’m not a huge fan, but after Wilson and Lawrence, IMHO, he’s right there with the rest.

 

[Clayton]

If you're drafting Lance then you're probably getting a Jalen Hurts type of prospect with the idea of developing him. Lance can't really throw downfield yet.

Building around Mac Jones is probably much closer to something like Baker Mayfield where you're asking him to make accurate throws off play action and quick reads against the blitz but other than that he is just a normal QB.

 

[thedddd]

Steelers Website Has Telling Comment On JuJu Smith-Schuster

JuJu Smith-Schuster appears to be on the outs with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And even their website now acknowledges it.

thespun.com

“Smith-Schuster is set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 17. And despite his pronouncements on social media that he wants to continue his career with the Steelers, he’s unlikely to want to accept what the cap-strapped Steelers would be able to pay him on a new contract,” Labriola wrote.

We all assumed this, he will get paid like a #1 but he isn't a number one.
WIth that the Steelers will need Claypoole to mature quickly and Diontae "Dwight Stone" Johnson to learn how to catch.
Also speculation they will draft another speedster WR at some point, shame they probably had that person in that role with Deon Cain but they never used him.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Why? One good season at the fcs... and often not winning majorly with his arm?

It's all about upside really. He's raw, but he's 1st Rd talent. Yea he's got bust potential, but seeing his arm strength & athleticism at his size is tantalizing. Especially considering that fit for the AFCN.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

He really needs work in the accuracy department. He’s like the king of the overthrow. That upside is real though.

I don’t love any of the prospects outside of Wilson and maybe Lawrence but there’s a lot of talent and potential to be had.

What don’t you like about Mac Jones? The lack of big play ability in the run game? Suspicious of him being a product of the Alabama offense? I’m not a huge fan, but after Wilson and Lawrence, IMHO, he’s right there with the rest.

Not a big fan of drafting someone that played "good" with a phenomenal supporting cast. But not only that, the kid has the athleticism of a dairy cow which caps his ceiling. He's got flat feet & slow pocket awareness. If you don't have a good O-line then forget it. His "above the neck" skills are superb though, but I'm not very optimistic about his ceiling.

 

[Bridgeburner]

It's all about upside really. He's raw, but he's 1st Rd talent. Yea he's got bust potential, but seeing his arm strength & athleticism at his size is tantalizing. Especially considering that fit for the AFCN.

Not a big fan of drafting someone that played "good" with a phenomenal supporting cast. But not only that, the kid has the athleticism of a dairy cow which caps his ceiling. He's got flat feet & slow pocket awareness. If you don't have a good O-line then forget it. His "above the neck" skills are superb though, but I'm not very optimistic about his ceiling.

I don't really disagree with anything here to be honest. I think you value elite athleticism more than I do at the quarterback position.

 

[SteelersPride]

It's all about upside really. He's raw, but he's 1st Rd talent. Yea he's got bust potential, but seeing his arm strength & athleticism at his size is tantalizing. Especially considering that fit for the AFCN.

It is. I cant deny that. If he develops great. But whats the success rate with guys that need to “develop”...with a big arm and size. For every singular josh allen, theres 15-20 + kyle bollers, jamarcus russell’s, paxton lynch, christian hackenber, kizer, bortles, ponder, ej manuel and the list goes on. Thats a hard gamble.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't really disagree with anything here to be honest. I think you value elite athleticism more than I do at the quarterback position.

Let's not go overboard here... I'm not a fan of say Lamar Jackson.

Arm talent, size & mobility are big bonuses in the "raw" category. It's the above the neck skills that tie it all together and make a true franchise caliber talent.

But lets think about the context for Pgh specifically... Which means Matt Canada's offense. We are forced to change our way of thinking a little bit here because his offense values athleticism far more.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

It is. I cant deny that. If he develops great. But whats the success rate with guys that need to “develop”...with a big arm and size. For every singular josh allen, theres 15-20 + kyle bollers, jamarcus russell’s, paxton lynch, christian hackenber, kizer, bortles, ponder, ej manuel and the list goes on. Thats a hard gamble.

Lol, I see your point. There's always going to be risk involved with the QB position. It's the most difficult position to draft for, so its inherently risky no matter the prospect. I mean who the hell would have thought Dak Prescott would have panned out better than Goff or Wentz? For all we know Trey Lance or Mac Jones will end up being better than Trevor Lawrence at the pro level. There's just no way of knowing. I know that's a reach, but you get my point.

Kyle Boller... That's a pretty solid comparison for Mac Jones honestly.

 

[SteelersPride]

Lol, I see your point. There's always going to be risk involved with the QB position. It's the most difficult position to draft for, so its inherently risky no matter the prospect. I mean who the hell would have thought Dak Prescott would have panned out better than Goff or Wentz? For all we know Trey Lance or Mac Jones will end up being better than Trevor Lawrence at the pro level. There's just no way of knowing. I know that's a reach, but you get my point.

Kyle Boller... That's a pretty solid comparison for Mac Jones honestly.

Right, but again, thats the one exception to the 7-10 mid to late round qbs drafted over the past 10+ years..... i mean we could draft kenny pickett and he could be the next tom brady.

but even overall i forget what the number was , 43% of first round qb signs a second contract with the team drafting them.

i dunno, if investing a first into a risky bet to begin with, id want my best odds. The daks and josh allens and tom bradys are the you bet your last dime on a longshot and it worked out...i dunno i get it. If we do obv ill be pulling for them. But ill br crzy nervous we wast 4 years hoping something clicks and start over again.

also fwiw i dont see boller in mac jones. Bollers hype was his massive arm strength, and statue. Jones gets more cerebral hype and some nice deep balls, adequate arm strength. Am i recalling wrong?

You know im a HUGE mason believer. I think he has as good if not better chance to succeed as lance

 

[Bridgeburner]

Let's not go overboard here... I'm not a fan of say Lamar Jackson.

Arm talent, size & mobility are big bonuses in the "raw" category. It's the above the neck skills that tie it all together and make a true franchise caliber talent.

But lets think about the context for Pgh specifically... Which means Matt Canada's offense. We are forced to change our way of thinking a little bit here because his offense values athleticism far more.

Yeah I wasn't calling you a Lamar Jackson fan hahahaha. I would never do that to you!

And I'm a big fan of athleticism too. Remember, it was being an alpha-athlete that set Ben apart most of his career. It wasn't the supercomputer between his ears or his undying work ethic lol. That's what I look for in a QB. The legs to avoid the rush and threaten but used to position for downfield passes.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

You know im a HUGE mason believer. I think he has as good if not better chance to succeed as lance

Dem der iz fightin werdz...

 

[SteelersPride]

Dem der iz fightin werdz...

man, the sad thing is, i with you on mason, always have been a huge non-believer.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

man, the sad thing is, i with you on mason, always have been a huge non-believer.

Well I wanted to give him a shot before 2019... But that came crashing down to earth after 2-3 games.

 

[SteelersPride]

Well I wanted to give him a shot before 2019... But that came crashing down to earth after 2-3 games.

yup. agreed, heck? maybe?

Look lances intangibles are tantalizing. IF we draft him I'm behind it...but i just have a hard time getting behind guys that still need to develop so any facets of their game. I agree there's your dak, josh allen, tom brady.......but the list of failures is epic.....pointing to that is kinda an @eaglesnut or RTK move......cherry picking the one thing and not acknowledging the rest(yeah i went there)

 

[Superbelt]

I'll say that I started out a big doubter in Mac Jones.

But he's been growing on me as I've been getting into it.

 

[SteelersPride]

I'll say that I started out a big doubter in Mac Jones.

But he's been growing on me as I've been getting into it.

care to share? Id like to feel better about the prospect of him, since there is a lot of hype.

 

[Superbelt]

care to share? Id like to feel better about the prospect of him, since there is a lot of hype.

He's not mobile at all. But I don't think high mobility is necessarily needed in a QB. Athleticism like that shouldn't overshadow the primary job of being a passer. All things being equal it's a bonus, but I also don't want a franchise QB to be running much anyway, their focus should be on buying time to make throws, not running for yards.

From what I see of Mac's throws, he is pretty elite. Leads his throws well, passes into tight windows. He does what you expect out of an NFL starter. I think he has the brain for it, but he needs to get faster in his decision making.

Him being surrounded by a lot of future high-level NFL talent needs to be taken into consideration, but it shouldn't be a knock against him. Because he might just be that too.

He looks like a whole lot of flabby right now, but so did Brady when he came out. An NFL weight room gets that right pretty quickly.

IF they end up taking Mac Jones. I won't be disappointed.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well shit... League's Cap has been set at $182.5M, which is a decrease of $15.7M from last year's $198M.

This offseason is going to be brutal.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well shit... League's Cap has been set at $182.5M, which is a decrease of $15.7M from last year's $198M.

This offseason is going to be brutal.

I think the Steelers are cap compliant though after the restructures of Heyward & Ben, and the retirements of Vance & Pouncey.

And there's this: