It’s the Monday after the NFL Draft so you know what that means…
Draft grades!! Everywhere!!
The concept of grading and evaluating a team’s draft class before any of these players steps out on a field or even attending a rookie minicamp may be flawed. But you know what? We do it anyway.
The Fan Morning Show hopped around the internet Monday morning to various publications to check out their “draft grades” article and see what they thought about what the Steelers did with their selections.
Let’s go over some highlights…
Starting locally, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “A” letter grade was tied for the highest mark of any publication cited.
Dulac was surprised by the Steelers taking offensive players in each of the top four picks, but finished his assessment of the class by saying, “Make no mistake, getting Harris near the bottom of the first round qualifies the draft as an instant success.
What’s more, it’s not every day a team finds a starter in the seventh round.
From where they were drafting, getting three potential starters for 2021 out of nine picks isn’t bad.”
NFL.com and staff writer Chad Reuter also gave the Steelers an “A” grade.
Reuter praised GM Kevin Colbert for drafting TE Pat Freiermuth in the 2nd round, calling it the “correct decision” to draft a top-50 talent instead of simply taking a lineman because of need. He also loves the Najee Harris pick, saying, “Harris’ game so resembles that of Le'Veon Bell that no one was surprised the Steelers turned in the virtual card to inject his talents into their offense. His playmaking ability was difficult to pass up, even if it meant ignoring the offensive line.”
After that, things take a turn for the more critical with the Steelers draft class. Nine different publications gave the Steelers a “C+” letter grade or worse. Largely, these grades came from the resistance to the idea of taking a 1st round running back. Ever.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports gave them a “C” saying, “I don't like taking running backs in the first round. Najee Harris is a good player, but backs don't decide titles.”
The folks at Pro Football Focus highlighted the Steelers’ selections of C Kendrick Green and LB Quincy Roche has high value picks, even calling Green, “one of the most physically gifted guards to come into the NFL in the last few years.” But then…there’s that running back thing. “This pick was not a surprise at all, and it also shouldn’t be shocking to hear that we at PFF wouldn’t pound the table for such a selection; any running back in Round 1 is a reach. Harris isn’t much of a breakaway threat, but he does bring value as a receiver, which is a requisite in today’s NFL.”
Then there’s the one that caught people’s eye the most. Longtime ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. graded the Steelers, along with the Colts and Saints, as the WORST draft class in the league (C+).
“I’m a big fan of Najee Harris but am almost always against taking a running back in the first round,” Kiper said. “Round 1 is too valuable, and we’ve seen over the past decade that good running backs can be found in any round — or even as undrafted free agents. And when I look at this Pittsburgh roster, I see bigger holes. Offensive line, corner, edge rusher — could the team have gotten better value at another position?”
“I just don’t see much value in Pittsburgh’s class, and the offensive linemen they did take were picked too high. I haven’t even mentioned that the Steelers still don’t have a plan for life after Ben Roethlisberger.”
So there you have it. We gotta ask…what’s your draft grade on the Steelers?