“A colossal draft mistake.” “This sucks.” “(Roethlisberger) sucks, they suck, they’re not going to be good this year, deal with it.”
It’s pretty obvious from those quotes the PM Team they’re not happy with the Steelers drafting running back Najee Harris at #24.
It’s the message that has been coming out of the radio for weeks and months between 2 to 6 so it isn’t a new take, but Poni and Mueller really let Steeler Nation know how bad they think the pick is.
So why is the pick so bad? Here are five quick reasons:
1. You don’t take a running back in the first round of the draft
“When people say that if you can guarantee that it’s Barry Sanders you’re drafting then you do it, how many games did the Lions win around Barry Sanders,” asked Mueller. “One…one,” replied Poni.
The last time the Steelers drafted a running back in the 1st round it was Rashad Mendenhall who had a decent three-year run and they won nothing.
The last time the Steelers did win a Super Bowl it was an undrafted Willie Parker.
2. Unproven/weak offensive line
“What’s Najee going to do run behind Chuks, run behind J.C. Hassenauer or B.J. Finney, 40 percent of an offensive line you don’t know if it’s any good or not,” said Mueller. “We love Zach Banner on this show but we don’t know what Zach is as an NFL player yet because he hasn’t played enough games. We hope David DeCastro is going to regain his form, this is a pro Kevin Dotson show for sure, but what do they think Najee Harris is gonna do, make wine out of water here?”
3. Alabama O-line better than Steelers line
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly of The Athletic says that “I can make a pretty good debate that the Alabama offensive line in 2020 was better than the line the Steelers have right now.”
He adds, “I think the plan is to build up the run game and hand things over to Mason Rudolph next year.”
4. Unwillingness to trade down
Poni was blown away when General Manager Kevin Colbert said they had eight players they would take and not consider at trade.
CBS Sports reports the Dolphins wanted to trade back into the first round.
“How do you consider moving down, like it’s just a non-starter, you don’t even entertain the idea that someone might make you a good deal?” asked Poni.
5. Doesn’t improve their chances for a Super Bowl
“I thought they were a seven-win team before the draft and maybe if they get all of their picks right they go 8 and 9, I don’t think that this makes them I Super Bowl contender, I think that this makes them a bubble playoff team, like most NFL Teams,” said Poni.
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