HR2: Future Steelers

Published Jan 14, 2025, 11:00 PM
In hour two, Matt and Dale take a look at a first round mock, break down some of the big names that'll be in the Senior Bowl, and talk more about Mike Tomlin's final presser of the season.

At least.

He's the drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven Home of the Black and Gold in Steelers Nation Radio.

And we are back. I'm Dale Lolly, he is the Matt Williamson and this is the drive on the Steelers Audio Network and Matt. We did a four round mock draft yesterday. Yeah, it was kind of fun and some of the feedback I got on the on YouTube had some tweets about it too. Yeah, some people loved it, some people hated it. How can you talk draft already?

The thing is that you mentioned as an opening segment Senior Bowls in two weeks, Right, we're gonna be there. We're gonna be there. No, I'm gonna know what I'm looking at.

And you know, when we're when we're talking, part of the lead in for the mock draft is us talking about, Okay, this is our off season plan. So we're gonna assume going into this mock draft that we signed a receiver and you know, did something free agency. When Matt plan, you know, it's just talking through the process, right, because you have to talk through the process.

That's believable. You know, Like I've even thrown out the name like Chris Godwin. I don't know if that's believable or not. I mean there's there's seems a lot of money. They're gonna be after Chris Godwin, you know, or DeVante Adams, let alone T Higgins.

But well, DeVante Adams was on Kay Adams Show today and said that, you know, she she asked some point black, would you would you like to play for Mike Tom And he said one.

I mean, that's a great option to me because he's not in the free agent but he's gonna get cut.

He's gonna get cut. He's making like thirty seven million dollars a.

One year deal. Yeah, rental, that would be the ideal guy. And then I'm probably done there, you know. And then the conversation with Mike Williams gets a lot different, Like, Mike.

Right, right, right, you were just on a team you got you got kicked off your last team because of this guy, and now we're gonna yeah, yeah, right exactly, You're not You're not DeVante Adams, You're not.

De Wanta Adams. But yeah, I mean if you can do something like that, that would be wonderful, right, So that.

I mean that's why we mock drafted yesterday. And you want to start learning the names, you want to start looking at these things you can't.

You also need to know the pockets of where you know. Well, i'd like i'd love a corner in round one, but man, there's a really nice group of them going around round three too, I'd be just as happy with. But as always the case, you know, you can't get that tackle anywhere but round one. You know, I'm not saying the Steelers are even the tackle market. It's just you know how we did it last year. If you're gonna get tackle, you better do it early, right, that type of thing, right, Yeah, So, I mean you know you need it's an extra It's like exercising.

Yeah right, it's an exercise. You're okay, we're practicing. If this happens, then.

What what do you do? Every time we make this pick in the first two rounds? We never end up with a corner, right you know this? Yeah, that's it.

Just kind of takes you through the process and go, boy, I like this guy here, but if we take that guy there, then we miss out on this later in the draft. But the boy there was another guy that same position that I like almost as much he was there. This guy wasn't, it was there were nobody at that posis mentioned you and I aren't going into Ole Miss, you know, writing up all their seniors and know all the guys either.

I mean, I'm trying to learn the Day two, let alone the Day three guys at this point. Yeah.

So, I mean that's one of the reasons why we do these things, folks. It's not just wasting time or anything like that.

But I also got a lot of tweets saying first off draft of the year. Let's go, baby, Everyone's liked up about it, you know. So, so I'm.

Gonna read through it. We're gonna do a little first round mod. We're not gonna do the mock draft. I want to take a look here at some of these guys that have been doing mock drafts.

You'll see more and more of them, draft orders set for the non playoff teams and the eliminated teams.

And right so, Ryan Wilson's a guy who joins us on occasion at the NFL Scouting Combine. Ryan's a Carnegie Mellon graduate and does mock drafts.

For CBS Sports CBS.

Right, Yeah, he's their primary draft guy. So he's got cam word going at number one to Tennessee.

I think that'll be close to consensus, but who knows.

Yeah, somebody could just offer them a bundle of money or a bundle of draft.

Picks, and yeah, you know, maybe the Raiders, maybe the Giants team like that.

For example, the Dallas Cowboys are talking to Dion Sanders about becoming their head coach. The Dallas Cowboys are drafting twelfth. Yep, the Dallas Cowboys drafting twelfth are not going to get a shot at Shadoor Sanders, who I would think if Dion were to become But.

Why would they want a quarterback? They? Oh, they have Dak Prescott.

If Dion becomes the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and I think it's a long shot.

I think he just too. But I think Jerry will do whatever he wants.

Yeah, yeah, they're gonna want to have Shadoor Sanders on the roster.

I would think. I would think, right, this isn't college where you can dictate that, but I would think it comes up.

Yeah, yeah, And so therefore I think they move sun and moon and water and everything else to get up to the number one spot and get Shadoor Sanders at the number one spot, or they talk to they think he's going number two. They're going to straight up with Cleveland. But to do that, you're gonna have to give up multiple picks, you know. And are the Titans or I mean the Browns obviously would say, yeah, we'll take Dak Prescott off your hands as part of the deal. But they can't afford him.

I would think they can't, right, yeah.

Because he's his base salary next year is like forty million dollars.

So your break idea, of course, was we'll send you our first round pick. Three way type of deal.

A three way deal.

Deal, right that comes to Pittsburgh. They can handle the money without problem.

The Titans would love to have. Hey, we're gonna have pick number twelve and twenty one and whatever else the cause and whatever, you know, some sweeteners and Dallas gets gets their guy gets their guy to get the number one overall pick.

It's Sonny and Daddy Anders. Yeah, just an idea, it is, Yeah, but I mean, you gotta thing to talk about though, I mean, like that possible, No, there's a chance.

Yeah, whatever, Shador Sanders goes at two to the Browns. Okay, now do you think they'll take one at two?

I do?

I do too, Yeah, especially now with the news that Watson may not even play next year.

I don't think he'll ever play football game. Yeah.

Travis Hunter goes three to the Giants, which.

I would think they're happy with if you get the best player in the draft. But who's your quarterback? Right?

You still don't have a quarterback, which may be again, why you be in the market for a veteran guy. If you think, well, we just got this great wide receiver. Now we're adding another guy who can play wide receiver and cornerback. Best player in the draft, we might be able to win.

Maybe now maybe? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah.

For Kelvin Banks Junior, the offensive tackle from Texas goes to New England.

Would makes sense. It's gonna be the best offensive lineman you can get.

Yeah. Mason Graham, the defensive lineman from Michigan, goes at five to Jacksonville.

I would add up to numbers. Got the edge guys already.

D take Will Johnson, the cornerback out of Michigan at six.

We got some feedback too. Oh yeah, Johnson's not gonna be there. Twenty one. The probably won't you know, but we took him, right, we took him.

He was there for the year. Yeah, it wasn't our Yeah, you know.

We didn't have maybe would take on the next corner if he wasn't, or another corner would have fallen, if.

Somebody would have fallen.

Right. Uh.

Teria McMillan goes to the Jets at seven.

I think they go receiver, especially if Wilson one's out. Yes, you got to replace Adam. You have a replace Adams. Yeah, that's not a bad move.

At eight, Abdull Carter goes to the Carolina Panthers.

I bet he goes earlier than that.

I think so too.

Yeah, I don't think edge rusher is with his bend and stuff. It's gonna last. Yeah.

At nine, the Saints take Michael Williams, the linebacker or edge rusher out of Georgia.

Okay, they need everything.

At ten, will Campbell, the offensive lineman from LSU, goes to the Bears.

Yeah. I assume they'd make him a guard.

Yeah, there's a lot of people projecting here.

Yeah, guard him and Banks aren't prototypical. Jonathan Ogden no first tackle.

It's not that deep. Of it. It's not that good of an offensive tackle draft.

No, there's no Joe Alt, you know.

Yeah. Eleven, Jalen Walker, the edge rusher out of Georgia, goes to the San Francisco forty nine ers.

They don't have the hockey waves of d linemen that they usually do. Yeah.

At twelve, j Hud Campbell, the linebacker from Alabama, goes to the Dallas Cowboys.

Could certainly be defense. Everyone in the world's gonna mock Jinky there. But yeah, I don't think they'll go running back. Yeah.

Their problem is Overton, who was having a good year for.

The mad injury.

I had a bad injury. May not play it all next year.

I think you're a receiver. They could go a line Yeah, I don't think Zach Martin will be back.

Thirteen. Nick Scourton, the Texas A and M edge rusher slash defensive lineman, goes.

To the Dolphins. I guess that'd be fine. I mean a guard would make a lot of sense. I don't know if there's a first round garden thirteen.

Yeah, thirteen, take of guards.

I'm sure you get a quality one the second round. Yeah, not that they are short on needs, but you know.

Uh. At fourteen, Malachi Starks, the safety out of Georgia, goes to the Colts.

Sure, curiously their defense coordinator is first, but yeah, it's not that they couldn't use one.

Fifteen, the Falcons take James Pierce, junior edge rusher out of Tennessee. You can just yeah, right, best edge rusher. We need some kind of pass.

Fast rush, pass rush. I've been trying for a decade.

Sixteen Kenneth Grant of Michigan, the defensive lineman, goes to the Arizona Cardinals.

Mm hmm, I think they'll be defense defense defense for.

The seventeen Princely human edge rusher out of Ole Miss.

How you say it?

Yeah? Who in a melon? Edge rusher out of Old miss goes to the Bengals.

Sure, opposite Hendrickson. Yeah, yeah, yeah Murphy.

Murphy hasn't worked out, No, robber just had the injury.

Yeah. I wonder if he's a cap casually too. I know that there's like people in the know. So there's about five defensive starters they are gonna cut.

Yeah. Eighteen Luther Burden, the third wide receiver from Missouri, goes to the Seahawks.

Did you get DK Metcalf.

Potentially they're gonna be They're probably going to move on. Yeah, no, kidd, they're probably going to move on from Lockett.

Oh. I think he's a cap caf Yeah yeah.

I mean and Smith and Jig was the dude.

He's a dude, right, Yeah, that's why I mentioned I don't know if in this instance, I don't think Metcalf would be back.

Yeah. Nineteen Ashton genty, running back out of Boise, goes to the Houston Texans.

I like it. I mean, we get one more year out of mixing. Maybe, Yeah, I don't know. I don't love it.

I think the Broncos would hate it because Denver's where I want to see him go because at twenty they had to pick after the Texans. That's not right. He did this last week because he has the Steelers picking at twenty. This is just the names anyway, Okay, yeah yeah. Twenty Colston Loveland, the tight end out of Michigan, goes to Denver.

That would makes sense, or the Penn State kid or you know, yeah, they could use another a tight end.

Twenty one Shamar Stewart, the defensive tackle from Texas A and M, goes to Tampa.

Okay, a lot different than Clancy or Beya.

Now, remember the Steelers have twenty one.

That's actually their spot. Yeah. J D.

Brown or Baron I should say, the cornerback out of Texas goes to the Steelers at twenty two.

Okay, don't know a ton about him. I mean I know the name beside, Yeah, I know he's not small.

Twenty three Tyler Warren, the tight end out of Penn State goes to the Rams.

Yeah, I mean back seven I would think is a priority, but tight end would go a long way in that. Yeah.

Chevron Revel Junior, the cornerback out of East Carolina goes to the Packers.

Yeah, I think that's I don't know how you count on Jarry Alexander Corners.

He may not be. He may not be a Packer.

No, he might not. And it seems like a voll little dude too.

Landon Jackson, the edge rusher out of Arkansas goes at twenty five to the Chargers.

Sure, I mean BOTHA and Mack are up in A. I don't think they'd go that route.

They might retire.

Could there's some I know the USC like a lot is their number three? Yeah, his name I don't pronounce.

Well, Jackson might be able to bulk him up.

And play around. He's bigger than Yeah, he's got some size.

He's like six seven to ninety. Uh ariante as Ursery, the offensive tackle out of Minnesota, goes to Washington.

Could see that.

Josh Simmons, the offensive tackle from Ohio State, goes to the Ravens.

Maybe they could wait on Stanley's up.

Stanley's up, so is so is uh McCarry?

Yeah, Okay, that's a lot of line change.

In two years and they don't have much cap space.

No, no, don't.

Emery Jones, the offense tackle out of LSU, goes at twenty eight to the Vikings.

I don't think they'd go tackle. I mean, darrisaw his lone keep.

Kind of a guard.

Do you think they'd kick him in? Yeah, and their interior line need to work. Yeah, okay, he's not six to six. No.

Trey Amos, the cornerback out of Ole Miss, goes to the Bills.

Yeah. I'm fine with that as well. I mean the what's his face? Bradford's been really good for them, but you know.

The Eagles take you make a Ubuka, the wide receiver out of Ohio State at thirty.

Oh, what direction? What do they need? I mean, they got a really stacked rafter and I don't know who their free agents are. I know Zach Bond's up.

Yeah, he mights gonna cost him a heck of a lot more, and he did this year.

Yeah.

Walter Nolan, the defensive lineman out of Old miss goes to the Chiefs. I think he'll be desceniable. Yeah, it'd be a good guy to learn from. Chris Jones and Tyler Williams, the defensive lineman out of Ohio State, goes at thirty two to the Detroit Lions.

Put in next to DJ Reader. It's a lot of beef, A lot of beef. Yeah, okay, just some names, right, yeah.

Yeah.

But the Steelers end up with it.

They end up with a cornerback corner from took the corner from Texas.

We took a corner yesterday. If you weren't, we did as well. Yeah, it doesn't seem like that area. The first round is bad for corners. It was the East Carolina kid.

If you like the corner, if you like those corners, you know that's the couple of them are coming off of injuries.

So yeah, I'm saying, I'm not sure what's going on with the Notre Dame dude, and yeah, right right, you know, injury wise, will they be working out the combine or not. It's all the stuff we need to figure out.

Yeah, but it's a great defensive line draft, it is. We just think we just rolled through that and there were like six defensive linemen taken in the first round.

And several of them after the Steelers pick or in that neighborhood that you could be there. Nolan's really attractive to me from what I've seen. Yeah. Yeah, so there's some dudes. No, there's some dudes. Yeah, And it's just.

A matter of identifying the right dudes in which direction you want to go.

Mm hmm. A lot of puzzle pieces need to start falling into place here for free agencies and signing your own and all that good stuff too.

Yeah, So a lot to take place here in the ne two months and we'll be uh.

It's a great time a year though. I love this part of it. Yeah, and try to think as all thirty two teams think and why they're doing the moves they are and all that kod of stuff. This is what you live for Yeah, I love it. Yeah, and I like it.

You like this more than the damn games?

I might like it more in the regular season. Yeah, that the free agent week and draft week is the best thing go.

Yeah, you know. So anyways, that's just a little mock draft there from Ryan Wilson. Again that was before that was done, before the official draft warder said, But just some names to keep an eye on here and again we'll be at the NFL scouting combine. Let's go through the NFL scouting combine here when we come back on some of the names that interest us that are on that list.

Okay, Yeah, that's a good group.

We'll do that when we come back. He is Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lolly. You're listening to the Drive here on the Steelers Audio Network.

At least he's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt williamsons on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.

Welcome back. I am Dale Lolly. He is the Matt Williamson And as I mentioned, the Senior Bowl roster has been set. Yeah, and obviously there'll be some changes here and there are, Yeah, there are changes during that week when guys get hurt or guys decide they're too hurt to work out or whatever. But if you look at some of the highlights of this year's roster, if you were raving about it, uh, the quarterback group.

There's legit quarterbacks. There's been some Senior Bowls, Like, none of these guys are going.

Yeah, right, So this year it's Jackson Dart from Mississippi, Dylan Gabriel from Oregon. Yeah, Will Howard from Ohio State, Riley Leonard from Notre Dame, jalenan Milroe from Alabama, and Tyler Schoff from Louisville.

Maybe none of those guys were super high picks, but they're all guys.

You know now, they're all guys are gonna get drafted probably right.

Ohio State, Oregon. Yeah, Like these are big time programs. You don't have to watch much college football to run across those names. And you know, it was exciting to me he brought him up yesterday, like just from a Steeler perspective, I wonder what he could become.

Yeah, he's the one with the most upside.

Sure.

Somebody asked me today on the comments about Will Howard, I like some of what I see from him. You know, does he have the athleticism that you're looking for at the position.

I think that's a concern. Yeah, it's not his strength.

Yeah, you know, there's almost like an NFL player. No, yeah, somebody else like Jackson Dart from Mississippi and I I I get it. He's got a lot of the stuff that you look for.

And all that. But there's old miss quarterbacks in that goofy system. That's a tough transition.

I watched the last was one of the last games of the season they needed to win, and I can't remember if they were playing maybe South Carolina game. I'm watching that and he kept kept throwing interception after interception. I'm like, man, I wanted the to like that more. And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a feeling that's going to be a common thread with a lot of these And again, to your point, you don't know if it's a system that held them back a little bit, or what they what they can become and something else. And maybe you go back. A lot of these guys transferred from other schools, so you go back and look at the old tape. How did they perform in this system versus this system?

You know in depth process.

Yeah, running back a good group here too. Donovan Edwards from Michigan, Ollie Gordon from Oklahoma State, R. J. Harvey from UCF, Jarques Hunter from Auburn, Woody Marx from my USC, Damian Martinez from Miami, Kalel Mullings from Michigan, Devin Neil from Kansas, UH, Brichard Smith from s m U UH, Baschule Touton from Virginia Tech, and Marcus Yarns from Delaware. Don't know much about him, but.

No, I'm sure he's super productive. You're running back from Delaware and you're the Senior Bowl. You put up you probably did some good things, some good things, But I think there's all shapes and sizes. Sene Bowl is not the best evaluation for running back. They don't break tackles, but you do get the body type them and see him move around and.

See the burst, how they catch the ball exactly? Can they blitzes.

And some protection drills to Yeah. The linemen are the ones that are stealing the show from what I Yeah.

Yeah, the the wide receiver group, there's some guys here that are interesting. There are more mid round guys.

I don't think there's stars in this group.

Elic yaman Ore from Stanford. That's a name to watch. I think he's sweet. U about him yesterday. He's a nice player. Jack Stayler Traits. Jack Beck from TCU is another guy that I think. He's the guy who had a brother die in the attack. Yeah, but he's a big you know, he's got some got some out there. Pat Bryant from Illinois, Jamir Dyke from Florida, de Quon Felton from Virginia Tech, Ty Felton from Maryland, Jayden Higgins from Iowa State, Tess Johnson from Oregon, Jalen Lane from Virginia Tech, Jaylen Noel from Iowa State, Xavier Rostropo from Miami, Jalen Royals from Utah State.

I like him, say, he's gonna be probably one. I'm looking at most of that.

Group Arion Smith from Georgia and Kyle Williams from Washington State.

Now, this is a good group to distinguish themselves. Yeah, you can run flat out.

These are guys that are you're looking at around two three type guys.

That Yeah, I'm sure some of those guys even drift into the fourth and fifth when but there's a lot of draftable players there. Yeah, but they'll just think the couple will really shine that week.

Tight end you're looking at Elijah Rojo from Miami, Gavin Bartholomew from pitt Jake Brings Brings Stool from Clemson.

CJ.

Dipp Ray from Alabama, Harold Fanning Junior from Bowling Green Super Productive.

Were talking about him a lot.

There, Terrence Ferguson from Oregon, Jack Jackson Howes from Georgia's Tech, Gunner Helm from Texas, Malakai Montevo from u C l A, and Mason Taylor from LSU.

That's a lot of tight ends, a lot of tight ends. Yeah, and it's supposedly a deep and rich at the top tight end class in the stronger position. Yeah.

I'm interested to see the Bowling Green kid though. Yeaheah, it's the same thing like you coming from Bowling Green. Oh he likes set records, Yeah, yeah, offensive line yout Anthony Belton, Logan from NC State, Logan Brown from Kansas, Josh Connelly from Oregon, Johnny Cornelius from Oregon, this one Ursery from Minnesota is going to be there. I'm just going to hit the big names on this.

Because there's some potential first round picks.

Y Wyatt Millam from West Virginia is going to be there. Yeah, he's nice player. Emery Jones from LSU is going to be there.

One on one, big guy stuffs going to be fun.

Yeah, Jack Nelson from Wisconsin, Jonah, say another name, the kid from Arizona. Yeah, the Arizona Kid seven and a big guard master type. Jared Wilson from Georgia. Carson Vincent from Alabama State's another one. That's another he's small Alabama A and M. I should say, okay, they he's big, you know, small school guys. And then Gray's Abel from North Dakota State is going to be there.

So good. He's a nasty finisher type dude. Yeah yeah, you were excited about him.

And keep an eye on that interior defensive line. This is where the stars are here at the Senior Bowl of Year.

I feel like we're gonna fall in love with one or two of them and end up mocklingelers. I can already predict the future on this one right while.

So you got Darius Alexander from Toledo. I need to do more homework on him. Yeah yeah, yaha. Black from Iowa, Jamari Calbell from Oregon, Alfred Collins from Texas, Josh Palmer Farmer from Florida State, Ty Hamilton from Ohio State, Cam Jackson from Florida, Walter Nolan from Mississippi.

Omar the best player there. Yeah, all said and done.

You know Omar Norman Lott from Tennessee, Anias Peebles from Virginia Tech, Schamar Turner from Texas, A and M and Dian Walker from Kentucky.

Who's gonna be really interesting is.

A mountain of a man.

Yeah, he's I don't see him mocked in the first round anymore. Yeah, but you started talking about the second round. A guy like that for the Steelers. I mean one of these three sixty that can move type of dudes. He doesn't always line up at the nose either. Yeah. They'll play some end and you know, the interesting guy, but he's gonna stand out.

He's gonna stand out, all right. Uh. The edge rushers, Uh, looking here at that group. You got Vernon Broughton from Texas, Jordan Birch from Oregon. Uh, Donovan Useekra from Boston College. He's a good edge rusher.

Yeah, he's had a good career.

Mike Green from Marshall. Another guy was really yeah, very explosive, tyron Ingram Dawkins from Georgia, Jared Ivy from Mississippi, Landon Jackson from Arkansas. We just talked about him his segmentary six seven ninety. I just wonder if he's a four three end.

I don't know.

Yeah, I'm not sure.

I don't think he's a stand up outside linebacker type.

I don't think so, right, Uh, Savon Jones from l s u Jah Joyner from Minnesota, Kyle Canard from South Carolina, Ola olejo Ole Joe from u C l A, Ty Robinson from Nebraska, t J. Sanders from South Carolina. It's nice player. Nick Scourton from Texas A and M. We just did a mock draft there and he was one like the top twelve pick. Baron Sorel from Texas, Josiah Stewart from Michigan, Shamar Stewart from Texas A and M. So you get three of these three Texas A and M front seven guys, Princely uh, Emma Jumelin from Mississippi, Yeah, and David Walker from Central Arkansas.

I've heard really good things about Walker too. I mean He's a really physical, destroying, bad competition guy.

Which is what you want to see. Oh yeah, if you're playing in a smaller place, you better.

Oh then if you hang in Mobile, that's a huge, huge, huge right linebacker.

Okay. Eugenisante from Auburn, Jeffrey Bossa from Oregon, Shamar James.

Boss is the one I think people were most excited about.

Yeah, he's probably the best of the group. Shamar James from Florida, Demetrius Knight Junior from South Carolina, Cody Lindenberg from Minnesota, Nick Martin from Oklahoma State.

Real quick, I was just reading up on Lindenberg. He's on the Feldman Freak List, Okay. I mean it's like a two hundred and forty five pound dude too, so he may really stand out as a mover. Yeah.

Nick Martin from Oklahoma State has gotten quite a bit of a pub Jaylen McLeod from Auburn, Sameo Mandon junior from Georgia, Colin Oliver from Oklahoma State, ty Tyrene Pyle from Rutgers, Kaarine Reid from Utah, and Carson Schwelsinger from UCLA. I don't know if the Sealers would be in that market. I don't think so, not really. Wilson was a Steel last year.

Yeah yeah, I mean, of course, sixth seventh round. You might grab somebody like that, might play special teams white Mark Robinson first bought.

Or well the way Mark Robinson had a nice year on special teams.

Yeah, I see, he's he took a step forward to a huge step forward.

Yeah yeah, cornerback b J. Adams from UCF heard.

Good things about him too. He's a big guy, big guy.

Trey Amos from Mississippi, Maxwell Harriston from Kentucky another one that's the thought of. Yeah, Tommy Hill from Nebraska, Balal Cooney Cone from Western Michigan, Mac McWilliams from UCF, Jacob Parrish from k State, Darian Porter from Iowa State, Quincy Riley from Louisville, Jalen Smith from usc Upton Stout from Western Kentucky, Dorian Strong from Virginia Tech, and Azir AZERI A. Thomas from Florida State.

Okay, I think he's more of a man the man type guy too, So I'm I need to know those names better. But that's certainly gonna be a real focus of mine. And we're down there.

Yeah, I've heard some read some good stuff about Porter and uh Dorian Strong as well, and.

I saw people say it's a pretty good mobile corner class overall. Yeah.

Yeah, the kid from Kentucky's got some got some skill. Uh. The safety position got Billy Bauman from Oklahoma, Sebastian Castro from Iowa, Maxim Hook from Toledo, Rayon Lane from Navy, Andrew mccoba from Texas. He's a nice player, Caleb Ranassaw from Tulane, Lathan Ransom from Ohio State, Jonas Sanker from.

Real Quick on Ransom, he's kind of like the Clark to Paula Maloo. Yeah, like they have that stud safety, but he's the one that aligns everybody. He's the quarterback on the back end. Yeah.

Uh, Jonas Sanker from Virginia, Dante Trader from Maryland, Malik Verdin from Iowa State, and Hunter Wohler from Wisconsin.

Again, I'm mu sure the Steelers will hit this position and super hard. But the linebackers and safeties in the late late rounds for special teams reasons. Yeah, and what of that group can play the slot?

That's the big thing. You know, who are your slots? I want to watch the slot type guys who they line up there at the senior.

Booby and they'll do you know, Manda Mandrills against tight ends and some some receivers as well, and you know they won't just sit there and deep middle doing nothing.

Yeah, the specialists. I don't know that the Steelers going to be in the market for this, but Austin Brinkman from West Virginia is going to be there as long snapper, as is William Wagner from Michigan. And then you get through. Punters are James Burnett from Alabama and Jeremy Crayshaw our Crosshaw, I should say, from Florida. Your kickers are Ryan Fitzgerald from Florida State and Caden Davis from Mississippi.

One thing I did notice, I just looked at the kickers, not that I even know anything about them, but they're all warm weather guys.

Yeah, you know, weird, Yeah, weird, but yeah, it's I mean, there's some guys there. I'll bet you there's probably of this group that's going to be down there at least ten to fifteen. They're going to be top fifty picks, maybe more.

Any first round picks they had last year, but it was like seven or eight. Yeah, they don't think it's going to hit that number for first rounders, but there's definitely a few D line and O line come to mind, the line and O liners.

Yeah, they're going to be fun to watch.

Maybe up to eighth just in that group maybe, but no, you're right. How many you say the top fifty?

I said ten to fifteen somewhere.

That's probably fair. Yeah.

Yeah, and so you know, if that's the case, okay, yeah, oh, that's why it's worth that's why it's worth being there.

And it's pretty rare for any of those guys not to end up on a team too. Yeah.

One of the things about the Senior Bowl that if you're a team such as the Steelers who were always drafting fifteen or lower, the top fifteen guys never go to these all star games.

Yeah many years junior Yeah, yeah.

Those guys aren't going there. So you're going to get eyeballs on a lot of these guys who are going to be there for you in the first and second rounds, let alone the third and fourth rounds.

Yeah, and later there's a ton of interview and it goes on behind the scenes. You get official heights and waits for the first time in a while. Body types.

You get to see him work.

You have to see him work. You really have to know the human beings too. I mean, even if you're not one of the coaching staffs, which is a nice advantage, but you still there's a lot of time at night that you sit down with these guys and open ballrooms where they're at. You get to sit and pick their brains. Yeah, pretty cool.

Yeah, this is one where you know, I'm trying to think of who I've talked to over the years that I think Keanu Benton was a guy that stood out to me down there couple of years ago that I'm like, he might he might be a Steeler.

Yeah, I'm sure we could. I'm sure there's a high percentage of Steelers that played in the Game of Yes, you.

Know, and just you know, I know heinz Ward was on the all time Senior Bowl list, their all time team. He was one of the players because he went to the Senior Bowl.

And yeah, you know, it was a success story.

I'll get a chance to show, hey, I can play a full time I can be a full time wide receiver. You know, because if if you remember, Yeah, he was a Jack Waal trade played a little bit of everything. They took snaps and all that kind of stuff. So if people don't know, there's really three pretty intense practices of rev up day after day after day. Then there's a walk through and by then most of the scouts are gone. We'll be gone, and then the game on Saturday, and the scouts basically just watch that tape. And the way that works is the one team will work against the other. The defensive players, like the offensive from that team will work against the defense from that team, and then likewise, in the afternoon, the other team will be on the field and they'll have any and then they bring it all together at the end for the game.

Is it North and South still or I think they call.

It American and National? American and National.

I mean they sometimes an Oregon kid would end up on the South teas. Yeah, like it was.

You got to split them up evenly. Who was it last year that moved to change teams?

It was practiced. He practiced all week long. There's a brand name guy. I should know that off the top of my head.

Yeah, I can't remember who it was. He was like one of the Stars of the Week, and then they changed the other team.

I can't you're other team? All right, Well, I've gone against these linemen all week. I'll whip up all my former teammates. All right.

So that's all, guys, But always look forward to going down there. And again, it kind of to me kickstarts, doesn't kickstart the process, because I've already started looking at.

Sure a lot of these pros officially draft season.

It gives you the opportunity to get eyeballs on these guys.

There's only two teams still alive at that point.

Nobody works the field among the NFL coaches quite like Mike Tomlin does. He's got hands on down there, talking to guys on the field, you know, watching drills closely. Yeah, he wants to, he wants to get a feel for these guys.

If you guys don't remember, like I think it was Tomlin that was really pushing Roman Wilson to go against Mitchell from Toledo, you know, like want you to square off.

Yeah, ended up with one of them. Yeah, so that's how that works. But uh, anyways, that's what the Senior Bowl roster looks like this year. Good roster. Yeah, a lot of guys are gonna get drafted. But we'll be there in a couple of weeks, so talking about Yeah, we'll be talking about all that stuff while we're down there. But he is Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lolly. You're listening to the Drive on the Steelers Audio Network. Of course, you can hear the Drive every Monday through Friday from four to six pm right here on these very airwaves. You can also download the Steelers Mobile app and get it there and as well as watching our show on YouTube or listening to it, yeah on while your work background noise and go from there.

Yeah, leave us comment to it everyone.

Yeah, absolutely, but we'll be back with more right after this.

At least he's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven Home of the Black and Gold cast in Steelers Nation Radio.

And welcome back. I am Dale LOLLI he is the Matt Williamson except no imitations. And Matt just to wrap up the show here. Mike Tomin press conference today, Mike was asked about, you know, what does he say to fans that are frustrated about the finishes, you know, and and everything? How this is transparent.

He said, look, there's a few of them out there, by the way, if you've seen anyone your stuff, But.

I've heard some things here and there. Yeah, and he said, look, I'm frustrated as well. Sure, just as much as you are, because you know, as he said, he thought this team was was going to be different, and at times it was different.

Yeah, glimpses of it with it a little bit, yeah, quite a bit.

And so you know, now they have to go through and figure out what went wrong?

Was it?

You know, why where did this thing go south? And you know this is not making up an excuse or anything, but you can look at that three game stretch in eleven days.

There's obvious line of demarcation.

Three teams that are still alive in the postseason, and you had a bunch of injuries and it went south at that point and.

Including the Bengals game. And they were good opponents, they were.

Good, yeah, good opponents that you lost to. Ideally you win a couple of those games, and if you do that, you know you were playing the Ravens at home potentially, or you're playing somebody else at home.

At least going to Houston or right right, right, right.

And so it's just little things like that that go wrong in a season. And so you now you have to take that step back and and say, Okay, how can we how can we get better? How can we make you know, this work better than what it is, because again, you're not going to have Lamar Jackson walking through that door. You don't now have Josh Allen walking through that door to be You're going.

To beat those guys in the playoffs. And that's as daunting a task as I can remember, you know. I mean, yeah, during the Bend era there was Manning and Brady too. I mean, this isn't a but you had one of those games at least, and you had a dude. You had a dude, you know, you could battle those Yeah. Yeah.

And people complain, then, well, you can't beat Brady. Not many people did.

Yeah, very few do. And Holmes gets another ring. You know what's gonna be going on in Buffalo and Baltimore. Our guys Choker can't.

Can't beat Mahomes, right, Yeah, if you do, I mean it's it's a shortcut. But you got bounced by Lamar, you got bossed by Allen, and you got bounced by Mahomes three years in a row. Well, it'd be nice to have one of them, but you're not gonna. But you don't.

What do you do?

So, now, how do you pivot and adjust and play winning football without one of those guys?

Yeah, And there's a difference between doing it in regular season and the postseason too, And frankly, that last month of the season kind of had a postseason feel to it too.

And here's the thing about it on your bodies and brains. And you're old enough to remember this as well as as am I dating ourselves.

Here, But people forget I'm old enough. You're definitely old enough.

You're gonna have to go there. I included myself and that you didn't have to.

True, but you did, but I did. I appreciate that.

Anyways, from the time Terry Bradshaw retired, yeah, until you got Ben Roethlisberger.

That will stretch you, right. You went to one super Bowl and hey, there's some okay quarterbacks in stretch. You went to.

Multiple AFC championships in between that, but you went to one super Bowl.

Folks, It's not a coincidence that Bradshaw got rings, Ben got rings. Neil and Bubby and didn't. Yeah, quarterbacks are really important.

It's kind of a big deal. It's kind of the most important position on the field. Yes, and you know, now, can you win without one of those guys? Yeah, there are instances where you should where teams have done this, But by and large, Scottie Campbell's not getting you into the Super Bowl. No, No, And I know there's a lot of heat on Tomlin right now. And take this however you want. But I cut and paste.

Of this from Bill Barnwell's article the other day, and frankly, I look at it like most coaches wouldn't have even got you this far. You know, you can take it however you want, folks, And there's good and bad. But over the past five years, seventy teams have made it to the postseason. Okay, I mean that's the way it works. Yeah. Among the qualifiers, Tomlin Steelers have ranked fifty eighth, sixty fourth, sixty seventh, and sixty eighth out of seventy in QBR. Yeah, I don't even know what QBR is that I don't either, But it's not They're not top of a list.

It's not the top of the list, you know.

What I mean? And I don't think anyone has to squint too far to figure out Pike at Trubisky all these I mean, they're not mahomes, you know what I mean? Yeah, should you have even been in the playoffs, Now that's a whole different can of worms. But I don't know that most coaches even get you in with bottom of the league, league, bottom of the playoff field quarterback play. And I'm not a QBR guy, you know, but I mean, it's just I thought that was eye openings, Like wow, you know, I mean even this whole season, it's Fields and Wilson combined.

Yeah, and you have to look at it not just through a Steeler's lens, but look at it from the league perspective of let's say Justin Herbert or you know, Trevor, Trevor Lawrence, Yeah, Lawrence is these guys. These guys were highly drafted quarterbacks. Everybody would take them on their team. If Trevor Lawrence or Justin Herbert were available this offseason, they would get.

A different story than the free agent money we're talking about it.

They would get fifty plus million dollars a year in a heartbeat, and between the two of them, they've got one playoff win, and that came when one when one beat the other one after the other, one blew his team, blew a twenty four point lead.

Like Herbert is a great example, Like he's had two really bad playoff performances. But you also could I wouldn't mind being the lawyer trying to prosecute him or defend him, Like he's got one guy to throw to and they can't pick up a blitz and I mean, like, yeah, he's trying to get Quinton Johnson to beat Stingleys, you know, Like, but you're throwing the ball to the other team a lot, and you're not elevating your guys too, you know. And it's a brutal world, it really is. And so you either have the quarterback or you don't. There's some there's some luck involved. The Steelers were fortunate when they got Ben Roethlisberger. Absolutely, he was not a top ten pick, right, Like I think all the optimism in Chicago when they got the first overall pick we got in Caleb Williams, man, we're going to be one of those teams. Maybe you will be, but you're not. You're a long way from being one of those teams, right, now. Yeah, and even though you got or Jacksonville with Laurence, I'm talking about these transcendent quarterback prospects. I mean, I don't think Caleb's gonna be the best quarterback in his class.

It doesn't mean that you can't get there. It doesn't mean that you can't find those guys beyond you know, the first ten picks or the top ten picks.

Right.

You know, Lamar Jackson was the thirty first pick in the draft. You know, you can go on down the line with with guys who have been later picks that you catch fire with or catch lightning in a bottle. But you got to have the quarterback.

You have to.

And if you don't have the quarterback, you're a team that's constantly searching for the quarterback.

Yeah, and I'm even looking at like the NFC teams. Now, the NFC teams don't have to go through the string of beating Alan Lamar Mahome for two of the three. But and I know Stafford was the first pick in the draft, Goff was the first pick in the draft, and Stafford's my favorite of the NFL quarterbacks.

Hurts was a second round pick.

Yeah, but I'm just and My point is, though, those guys aren't the superheroes that Josh Allen are. But could they get can they win the Super Bowl?

I think one of them is going to get there.

One of them is going to get there, probably against Lamar Mahomes or or Allen probably and can they win that game? Yeah. I just think the AFC is a little tougher to get tougher and will be for the next couple of years, a decade. Yeah, yeah, I mean it is.

Yeah, that's the that's the reality of right.

I mean, it was better in the AFC.

If you look at the era when when the Steelers had Roethlisberger. Yeah, Manning Brady and Roethlisberger took up ninety percent of the Super Bowls that were played from AFC teams.

Like the guy that to me got so short changed with Rivers, like the Rivers the NFC. Maybe he's right there with Breeze and Rogers and you know, and really taking this team Rogers a little younger, but you know, you had some powerhouses.

But the first step in doing that is winning a playoff game. Of course, you got to win the first one before you get to the next win. So that's the task that's it's ahead of the Steelers here as we head into the offseason.

That's the way to do that is win the division. You know that was for the taking this year, and then you're at least hosting the game.

R Yeah, real quick. Here, the Steelers assigned seventeen guys to future reserve contracts, including a quarterback, that being Skyler Thompson who used to be with the Miami Dolphins. So don't read too much into them. No, these are futures deals.

He'll be in camp. Yeah, those guys will be in camp. Yeah maybe if they it's not even done deal with that, yeah, but he could be maybe your third or fourth. Yeah.

So that's where we're at. But that's going to do it for today's show. Be careful if you're out there on the roads. I understand it's getting a little slick out there. But for my partner Matt Williamson, for Justin Miller here on site running the Justin Miller hotline and the soundboard, and for Tyler Viittmeyer making sure our video gets out there on the YouTube. Check that out. Tyler likes that when we get lots of hits on that, I am Dale Lolly. We thank you for listening to this edition of The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network.

SNR Drive with Matt & Dale (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Dale Lolley and Matt Williamson tackle the days topics regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers each aftern 
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