OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: New Quarter Backs for the Handball team!

[The Old Master]

How much of the Steelers recent success in drafting and FA is Khan and how much Andy Weidle?

I ask because we likely lose Weidle soon because of that success.

i guess we will find out soon enough.

 

[OnMyOwn]

I dunno. He’s from Pittsburgh originally and he makes real good money. No incentive for him to move on, TBH. At least not for a while I would imagine.

 

[Peat]

How much of the Steelers recent success in drafting and FA is Khan and how much Andy Weidle?

I ask because we likely lose Weidle soon because of that success.

Impossible to say but I would note he had no interviews this off-season. Life changes fast and maybe its just him turning offers down, but that doesn't feel like his work with the Steelers has the NFL slavering to break down his doors just yet.

And fwiw, he appears lower on Breer's list of GM candidates than he has previously too.

 

[xlm34]

I feel like Weidl sometimes gets too much credit. He definitely seems like a good guy to have to pair with Khan, but at the end of the day it’s Khan calling the shots.

 

[Ryder71]

I feel like Weidl sometimes gets too much credit. He definitely seems like a good guy to have to pair with Khan, but at the end of the day it’s Khan calling the shots.

Not to be rude but is that really all that important? As long as they improve the team should we really care?

I dunno. He’s from Pittsburgh originally and he makes real good money. No incentive for him to move on, TBH. At least not for a while I would imagine.

Exactly, we haven't even had our 2hd draft with these guys and ppl are worrying about if AW might leave already?

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Of course I worry. Because although it certainly is a collaboration I don't know who the stronger contributor is.

Given the success of the Eagles when Weidle was there it is legit to worry that he was the bigger talent and may go for a GM job.

 

[Ryder71]

Of course I worry. Because although it certainly is a collaboration I don't know who the stronger contributor is.

Given the success of the Eagles when Weidle was there it is legit to worry that he was the bigger talent and may go for a GM job.

Well, not this year, it'll be fine. Let's get through another draft. We had one good draft and we should act like either guy is indispensable? I have faith in these guys, but damn!

If you wanna find something to worry about, believe me it won't be hard to find. Not sure at this stage what is to be gained from that particular area of concern. Right now we got huge holes to fill.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

No talk about OJ Simpson dying?

 

[Ryder71]

No talk about OJ Simpson dying?

Wish it would have happened much sooner?

 

[Goalie_Bob]

We are closing in on the last pick for the Steelers in the 2024 draft, Pick 195. So far we have drafted the following:

20. Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
51. Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
84. Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington
98. Blake Fisher, T, Notre Dame
119. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Texas Tech
178. Logan Lee, DL, Iowa

Here is a general list of the players that could make sense with this pick:

Ainias Smith, WR, Texas A&M
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, WR, Georgia
Ray Davis, RB, Kentucky
Will Shipley, RB, Clemson
Brennan Jackson, Edge, Washington State
Steele Chambers, LB, OSU
Tyrice Knight, LB, UTEP
Jarvis Brownlee, CB, Louisville
Kamal Hadden, CB, Tennessee

 

[JTG]

Yeah I don't think that's a very good article. It completely discounts the chance of one of the Cs being picked to play G and also discounts at least a couple of very common mock landing places for a C. Would not have a high level of confidence that only the four teams named will be involved in the first three Cs.

Agreed. All 3 start day 1 on the IOL somewhere. I'll be rather shocked if they aren't.

I would be completely shocked if Barton or J P-J made it to 51. But Frazier's RAS score and his injury could have him being there at 51.

I took J P-J in the first round of the HFBoards Mock Draft, with what I knew at the time, but I am now convinced they will not go that route. I think they go OT or CB or maybe even WR and then make a decision in the 2nd for a Center at 51. If there isn't one there, aka Frazier, they wait and take one of SvP/Bortolini/Limmer/Nourzad with Pick 98+.

I think the sweet spot for Frazier is going to be 40. We need to get around there. If you wait after, I'm more concerned about the C needy teams swooping up and grabbing him.

I think we can afford to be aggressive in this draft. Get our guys, and let's get this ball rolling again

They may be cool with Herbig snapping the ball? He does make a lot of money to be a backup.

How much of the Steelers recent success in drafting and FA is Khan and how much Andy Weidle?

I ask because we likely lose Weidle soon because of that success.

Weidl. This team moves eerily similar to the places he has been in the past.

I think in the very, very near future, they make Khan the front office figure head, they make Weidl GM, and then they migrate Little Dan in to be the face and kind of do what Big Dan did - just kind of made sure everyone was doing what they needed to do and got involved when he had to.

I feel like Weidl sometimes gets too much credit. He definitely seems like a good guy to have to pair with Khan, but at the end of the day it’s Khan calling the shots.

Disagree. Many of the moves that have been made here since Colbert retired have been moves that Philly or Baltimore would have made in the past.

I think they make a great duo. This is the best cap situation we have ever had since I've been a fan. They can restructure their way to tens of millions of space. I think what may be a problem is that the GM and the coach down value the same players in the same way. We will see how that works though.

 

[Peat]

See I look at the moves made so far and I'm not sure I see the major difference between Colbert/Hunt and Khan/Weidl.

The FA moves are still heavily influenced by who they liked in the draft ages back. They spend more but they have more money to do so with because of the team's life cycle/less draft success, so how much does that mean? Have they been more successful spending more money? Wait and see but I'd say that if you look at the money handed out last off-season, it's not gone great. The DJ contract extension was a bust, the Ogunjobi resigning hasn't gone well, Seumalo has been decent and no more, Peterson got cut, ARob got cut, Holcomb was doing well before the injury, and that's all the major cap expenditure right?

Draft wise it'll be interesting to see what happens as we've only got one, but that one felt quite Steelers. They didn't do many trade ups under Colbert but they did some, and they did it for the position they'd loudly broadcast they wanted. They then went and got the super obvious Steelers target in Porter, got a bunch of guys they'd show interest in and who fitted the Steelers mold including a brother of a current player... could have absolutely been a Colbert draft. It was better than most of the previous Colbert drafts but how much of that was a favourable draft?

And is it still going to look good after another year? Wouldn't be the first recent Steelers draft to suddenly look a lot worse after a couple of years.

The one thing Khan did that was great that I can't see Colbert doing is trading Claypool.

For me I'm wait and see but I don't see a bright new dawn of player acquisition that's going magically better.

 

[JTG]

See I look at the moves made so far and I'm not sure I see the major difference between Colbert/Hunt and Khan/Weidl.

The FA moves are still heavily influenced by who they liked in the draft ages back. They spend more but they have more money to do so with because of the team's life cycle/less draft success, so how much does that mean? Have they been more successful spending more money? Wait and see but I'd say that if you look at the money handed out last off-season, it's not gone great. The DJ contract extension was a bust, the Ogunjobi resigning hasn't gone well, Seumalo has been decent and no more, Peterson got cut, ARob got cut, Holcomb was doing well before the injury, and that's all the major cap expenditure right?

Draft wise it'll be interesting to see what happens as we've only got one, but that one felt quite Steelers. They didn't do many trade ups under Colbert but they did some, and they did it for the position they'd loudly broadcast they wanted. They then went and got the super obvious Steelers target in Porter, got a bunch of guys they'd show interest in and who fitted the Steelers mold including a brother of a current player... could have absolutely been a Colbert draft. It was better than most of the previous Colbert drafts but how much of that was a favourable draft?

And is it still going to look good after another year? Wouldn't be the first recent Steelers draft to suddenly look a lot worse after a couple of years.

The one thing Khan did that was great that I can't see Colbert doing is trading Claypool.

For me I'm wait and see but I don't see a bright new dawn of player acquisition that's going magically better.

Colbert would have never done those free agent moves to begin with. The biggest free agent signing Colbert ever had was James Farrior followed by Ryan Clark. The aggressiveness in which they are trying to make this team better is something that is the biggest shift, in my opinion.

 

[Peat]

Colbert would have never done those free agent moves to begin with. The biggest free agent signing Colbert ever had was James Farrior followed by Ryan Clark. The aggressiveness in which they are trying to make this team better is something that is the biggest shift, in my opinion.

Kevin Colbert had a franchise QB and a bunch of home grown stars for most of his time here. That right there kills a team's ability to be aggressive with free agent moves because the cap was spent, and it will do the same with Khan/Weidl if they can get us back to that situation.

 

[Andy99]

See I look at the moves made so far and I'm not sure I see the major difference between Colbert/Hunt and Khan/Weidl.

The FA moves are still heavily influenced by who they liked in the draft ages back. They spend more but they have more money to do so with because of the team's life cycle/less draft success, so how much does that mean? Have they been more successful spending more money? Wait and see but I'd say that if you look at the money handed out last off-season, it's not gone great. The DJ contract extension was a bust, the Ogunjobi resigning hasn't gone well, Seumalo has been decent and no more, Peterson got cut, ARob got cut, Holcomb was doing well before the injury, and that's all the major cap expenditure right?

Draft wise it'll be interesting to see what happens as we've only got one, but that one felt quite Steelers. They didn't do many trade ups under Colbert but they did some, and they did it for the position they'd loudly broadcast they wanted. They then went and got the super obvious Steelers target in Porter, got a bunch of guys they'd show interest in and who fitted the Steelers mold including a brother of a current player... could have absolutely been a Colbert draft. It was better than most of the previous Colbert drafts but how much of that was a favourable draft?

And is it still going to look good after another year? Wouldn't be the first recent Steelers draft to suddenly look a lot worse after a couple of years.

The one thing Khan did that was great that I can't see Colbert doing is trading Claypool.

For me I'm wait and see but I don't see a bright new dawn of player acquisition that's going magically better.

That’s because moves are still largely driven by Tomlin lol

 

[Peat]

That’s because moves are still largely driven by Tomlin lol

Not wrong imo. Still a very obvious Tomlin influence.

I do wonder if maybe some things were more Khan driven than Tomlin this spring tho (particularly the QB situation).

 

[JTG]

Kevin Colbert had a franchise QB and a bunch of home grown stars for most of his time here. That right there kills a team's ability to be aggressive with free agent moves because the cap was spent, and it will do the same with Khan/Weidl if they can get us back to that situation.

That may be true, but I find the current front office much more modern in their approach. Colbert would have never completely the Claypool trade. Colbert wouldn't have completed the Johnson trade. Those two we know without question. They are quick and decisive when shit doesn't work.

I think Colbert and Cowher in the 2000's hit on the picks they had to hit on - Hampton, Troy, Ben, Heath, Faneca. Harting was also a ridiculous FA pick up...I left him out of my last post.

 

[Peat]

That may be true, but I find the current front office much more modern in their approach. Colbert would have never completely the Claypool trade. Colbert wouldn't have completed the Johnson trade. Those two we know without question. They are quick and decisive when shit doesn't work.

I think Colbert and Cowher in the 2000's hit on the picks they had to hit on - Hampton, Troy, Ben, Heath, Faneca. Harting was also a ridiculous FA pick up...I left him out of my last post.

The Johnson trade looks similar enough to the Bryant trade that I feel like Colbert might have made it. Offseason shifting of an annoyance WR? Yup, he did that.

But also to not lose sight of the point - maybe the Steelers are more aggressive trading for players now, or moving on from players - but they're still targeting the same players. If we're looking for the magic wand of Andy Weidl as a big difference in these parts, it's hard to see when they're still chasing the same guys they've crushed on forever.

 

[Ryder71]

That’s because moves are still largely driven by Tomlin lol

Not really lol

 

[bigdaddyk88]

Not really lol

Most reports say andy sets the draft board with input from the scouts Khan runs draft night and can trade up or down the only thing is tomlin has final say on tie breakers.
Khan has 100 percent control on fa and contracts

 

[Empoleon8771]

No talk about OJ Simpson dying?

I feel bad for the cancer.

 

[Goalie_Bob]

With the 195th pick in the HFBoards Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Ainias Smith, WR/RB/KR, Texas A&M.

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted...

steelersdepot.com

This concludes the 2024 HFBoards mock draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And a pretty successful one. J P-J will start at Center, Lassiter will start at slot corner, McMillan should be able to contribute year 1 on the outside and slot WR. Fisher can learn and be the swing tackle. DTD, Logan Lee and Smith should be able to contribute on special teams while learning on the job and getting snaps.

If the Steelers came out of the draft with this haul, man it would be beautiful. A group of highly skilled, great character with great compete level.

20. Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
51. Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
84. Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington
98. Blake Fisher, T, Notre Dame
119. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Texas Tech
178. Logan Lee, DL, Iowa
195. Ainias Smith, WR, Texas A&M

 

[Peat]

With the 195th pick in the HFBoards Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Ainias Smith, WR/RB/KR, Texas A&M.

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted...

steelersdepot.com

This concludes the 2024 HFBoards mock draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And a pretty successful one. J P-J will start at Center, Lassiter will start at slot corner, McMillan should be able to contribute year 1 on the outside and slot WR. Fisher can learn and be the swing tackle. DTD, Logan Lee and Smith should be able to contribute on special teams while learning on the job and getting snaps.

If the Steelers came out of the draft with this haul, man it would be beautiful. A group of highly skilled, great character with great compete level.

20. Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
51. Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
84. Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington
98. Blake Fisher, T, Notre Dame
119. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Texas Tech
178. Logan Lee, DL, Iowa
195. Ainias Smith, WR, Texas A&M

Very nearly took Smith with the Atlanta pick just before. Shied away due to the misdemeanour charges against him.

But yeah, nice draft.

20/20 hindsight though - I'd have loved to see you take Fuaga at 20 as hot damn that's a game changer, but, way that draft ran, you're pretty much not getting one of the top Cs. I think it'd have been worth it tho.

 

[JTG]

The Johnson trade looks similar enough to the Bryant trade that I feel like Colbert might have made it. Offseason shifting of an annoyance WR? Yup, he did that.

But also to not lose sight of the point - maybe the Steelers are more aggressive trading for players now, or moving on from players - but they're still targeting the same players. If we're looking for the magic wand of Andy Weidl as a big difference in these parts, it's hard to see when they're still chasing the same guys they've crushed on forever.

Does Kevin Colbert sign Russell Wilson, trade for Justin Fields, and then ship Kenny out of town? Maybe I'm wrong in believing it moves differently, but it does.

 

[OnMyOwn]

It’s also apples to oranges. One had a HOF QB making a lot of money and drafted some other awesome talent while rarely doing anything in FA. While Kahn has a bunch of cap room and is going after players.

Colbert was reserved in FA and paid his own talent. Kahn has shown he’s good with paying for free agents.

You can only speculate on what Colbert would be doing right now.