This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williams SISHO on your twenty four to seven Home of the Black and Gold cast in Steelers Nation Radio.

This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williams SISHO on your twenty four to seven Home of the Black and Gold cast in Steelers Nation Radio.

Technically this is only half of the drive because Matt Williamson is not here today. I'm Dale Lolly flying solo on the Drive today. Of course, you can hear the Drive every Monday through Friday from four to six pm on these very airwaves. You can also download the Steelers Mobile app and get that on there, download it to your phone and you can watch the show or listen to the show on YouTube as well. Leave us comments there. And today I asked for people for comments on the ex Twitter and I've gotten some comments there. We'll get to those later in the show here. But what I wanted to do in this segment, Matt's not here, so I get the mock draft all by myself. And I do this today because today was the day where all the underclassmen except for the people still playing, that's two teams there. Today was a day for them to all declare or have their their deadline for them to declare for the draft. So we now have a better idea of who the underclassmen are in this draft as well, and it is a good group. So let's get to that. The Steelers picking here. I'm only going to do the first five rounds. We're not going to go the Steelers have three seventh round picks. I'm not that deep into the weeds here yet on the draft to understand exactly who some of those later picks might be. And to be quite frank, wouldn't surprise me if if some of those seventh round picks aren't with the Steelers by the time they get done with this. They could be moved elsewhere, or you know, trade a couple of them to move up, maybe into the sixth rounds something like that here. But so the Steelers will be picking at twenty one, fifty two, eighty three, one twenty one, and one sixty one. And just remember, folks, when you when you're doing these mock drafts, people might say, you'll know when draft time comes around the pick at twenty one, the picket fifty two and a picket eighty three aren't going to cheat. But that pick at one twenty one in the fourth round, there's gonna be some compensatory picks that are waffled in there in between that third and fourth round that are gonna change.

Technically this is only half of the drive because Matt Williamson is not here today. I'm Dale Lolly flying solo on the Drive today. Of course, you can hear the Drive every Monday through Friday from four to six pm on these very airwaves. You can also download the Steelers Mobile app and get that on there, download it to your phone and you can watch the show or listen to the show on YouTube as well. Leave us comments there. And today I asked for people for comments on the ex Twitter and I've gotten some comments there. We'll get to those later in the show here. But what I wanted to do in this segment, Matt's not here, so I get the mock draft all by myself. And I do this today because today was the day where all the underclassmen except for the people still playing, that's two teams there. Today was a day for them to all declare or have their their deadline for them to declare for the draft. So we now have a better idea of who the underclassmen are in this draft as well, and it is a good group. So let's get to that. The Steelers picking here. I'm only going to do the first five rounds. We're not going to go the Steelers have three seventh round picks. I'm not that deep into the weeds here yet on the draft to understand exactly who some of those later picks might be. And to be quite frank, wouldn't surprise me if if some of those seventh round picks aren't with the Steelers by the time they get done with this. They could be moved elsewhere, or you know, trade a couple of them to move up, maybe into the sixth rounds something like that here. But so the Steelers will be picking at twenty one, fifty two, eighty three, one twenty one, and one sixty one. And just remember, folks, when you when you're doing these mock drafts, people might say, you'll know when draft time comes around the pick at twenty one, the picket fifty two and a picket eighty three aren't going to cheat. But that pick at one twenty one in the fourth round, there's gonna be some compensatory picks that are waffled in there in between that third and fourth round that are gonna change.

It's gonna push it down a little bit.

It's gonna push it down a little bit.

Same thing with their some of their later picks there, so they're going to be a little bit later, but you do know that they're going to have twenty one, fifty two, and eighty three. I'm using the NFL Mock Draft database today to do my draft, and they take kind of a conglomeration of all the everything that's out there and just kind of put them together and that's how they do their rankings here. So we'll go from that, and the Steelers are up here now at twenty one. Looking at the picks ahead of them. Well, you had Shadur Sanders go number one to Tennessee cam Ward. It goes to Cleveland at two, Kyle McCord at three to the Giants.

Same thing with their some of their later picks there, so they're going to be a little bit later, but you do know that they're going to have twenty one, fifty two, and eighty three. I'm using the NFL Mock Draft database today to do my draft, and they take kind of a conglomeration of all the everything that's out there and just kind of put them together and that's how they do their rankings here. So we'll go from that, and the Steelers are up here now at twenty one. Looking at the picks ahead of them. Well, you had Shadur Sanders go number one to Tennessee cam Ward. It goes to Cleveland at two, Kyle McCord at three to the Giants.

That seems a little.

That seems a little.

Odd, but okay, we'll go with it. Travis Hunter goes forward to the New England Patriots. Will Johnson, the cornerback from Michigan, goes at five to the Jaguar. Luther Burden to the Vegas Raiders at six. Seven is Simmons, the offensive tackle from Ohio State. Scourton, the edge rusher from Texas, A and m goes to Carolina. Andre Carter no way he lasts along, But that doesn't really matter as long as the picks are somewhat in order here or you know, Will Campbell, Pierce Graham, Grant, McMillan, Stewart from Texas A and M Walter Nolan the defensive lineman from Mississippi, and Barron from the cornerback from Texas goes to Cincinnati, Calvin Banks goes the offensive tackle from Texas goes to Seattle. Then you had chavonn Revel the cornerback from East Carolina goes to Tampa Bay, and Ashton Genty goes to Denver. Get used to seeing that one, because that one might be one that you could pencil in there right now and actually right it in ink. So the Steelers are up at twenty one according to this particular website to guys available, mikel Williams the edge rusher out of Georgia, Malachi Starks the safety out of Georgia, Jalen Walker the linebacker out of Georgia. Nobody's loving the Georgia players in this particular mock draft. Tyler Warren, the tight end out of Penn State. Jalen Milroe quarterback Alabama, Colston Loveland tight end out of Michigan, Benjamin Morrison the cornerback out of Notre Dame, Amika Ekiba the wide receiver out of Ohio State. I don't know that I need to go any deeper in this one. And Malachi Starks would make some sense. I could, you know, perhaps play him in the slot. I think he has some slot capability in his previously and you're going to play the three safeties at times, and you know he would certainly get you younger and more explosive at that position. I don't see mikel Williams or Jalen Walker being the pick. Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland would make sense. And I understand, folks, the Steelers have Pat Fryer on the roster and they have a tight end that catches the ball playmakers. It's all about the playmakers, the same thing that you look at with Eggbuka. I'm going to go into this assuming that the Steelers have signed a veteran wide receiver to play opposite of George Pickens. So in that instance, the tight ends would make sense. You get more explosive with the offense. But what the heck Jaln Milroe is there. I'm going to take him taking by taking a swing at the quarterback position and seeing what happens. I think he's going to by the time this is all said and done and he gets through the combine and all that stuff. Jaylen Milroe I believe could end up being a first round draft pick. And so now we're zooming on down here through to pick fifty two, and well, we got a trade offer for that. We're not going to entertain any trade offers at this thing. I had four trade offers for pick number fifty two, though, looking here at the guys available, well you got Nick Emiwari, the safety from South Carolina. It's kind of that same discussion we just had with the Malachi Starks situation. Can you get better on the back end by adding another safety in the mix? Potentially Jack Sawyer, the edge rusher out of Ohio State. He's got the length that you look for in that, but he's not quite heavy enough. He's gonna have to play outside linebacker, at least he would in this particular scheme, and so I don't think you go that route. Trey Harris is there, the wide receiver, out of Mississippi. That's interesting. Isaiah Bond, the wide receiver out of Texas is there, that's interesting. But there's a guy here I can't pass up, and that is Omarion Hampton, the running back out of North Carolina. If I would have, honestly would have considered him in the first round if some of those other guys hadn't been there. He is a fantastic player, catches the ball well, he's tough, he's physical. He would fit well in this offense. Deon Walker, the big defensive lineman from Kentucky, is there as well, but I might be able to get that a little bit later. I am going to take Marion Hampton, running back out of North Carolina. That's my new bellcal folks. And so we'll see where this goes here. Now as we continue to roll through this particular mock draft here on the NFL Mock Draft Database dot Com, and our next pickup is at eighty three, and we're getting close to that, and we are up now. This is the only flying the ointment here in terms of taking the right the running back, because the top available player here is Quinn Shawn Judkins, the running back out of Ohio State, This is a great running back draft, folks, a fantastic one, and you can get guys like that who can be here potential, you know, every down back you know at this point. Some of the other good players available are top players. A Gray Zabel, the offensive lineman from North Dakota State. He would certainly be interesting and we'll see him at the Senior Bowl in a couple of weeks. Here wide receiver from Miami, Xavier Rostropo, good football player, would be a welcome addition to the team. You got Asirier Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. That's intriguing as well. He is certainly they play a lot of man the man defensive Florida State. I know the team wasn't that great this year, but I think that was more involved with the quarterback play than it was necessarily some of the defensive players there. Andrew mcoba, the safety out of Texas is available. You got Tate Ratledge, the guard out of Georgia, Marcus Mabiu the offensive tackle out of Purdue, Mason Taylor tight end out of LSU, Josiah Stewart, ed rusher out of Michigan. I'm just looking here to see if there's a big defensive tackle here that I have to have here, and I'm not really seeing any of the defensive tackles here that would interest me at this point, So I'm going to go ahead and take a Zeerie Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. Again, I think we've we've taken the wide receiver off the table because I think they sign one, and you do still have Roman Wilson coming back next year, so it's kind of like having an Astra draft pick there as it is. You know, don't know what Roman Wilson can be, but they liked him enough to take him into third round just a year ago, so I'm expecting him to take a step forward and be ready and willing to go here. So we're going to go that route with that, and were next pick is up at one twenty one. We have two trade offers for that, but we're not going to take them because we're going to take another player here and the top players available Caden Prather, the wide receiver out of Maryland, Devin Neil, running back out of Kansas. Again, it's a very deep running back draft, and if we hadn't taken Mari and Hampton in the second round. He would certainly be somebody that would look at their same thing with Dylan Sampson out of Tennessee. Good football player. Tes Johnson, wide receiver out of Oregon. We took our We haven't taken a wide receiver yet, but we'll see. Karen Lacy is there from LSU, but he's got some legal issues that he has to take care of here, so we're not going to take him. Tory Holton, wide receiver out of Colorado State, Will Howard quarterback from Ohio State. Charles Grant the interior offensive line. He could play some tackle. He's out of William and Mary. There's a one defensive lineman here that really interests me at this point at one twenty one, and that's Ty Robinson, defensive lineman out of Nebraska, and he'll be at the Senior Bowl in a couple of weeks here. But he's big enough to ride the ride as a Steelers three to four defensive end. He's six six, three hundred and ten pounds or at least sixty five three hundred and ten pounds, so he's he's got that size and link that you look for in a classic Steelers defensive lineman. I think you got to take him here at one fifteen and and he might be one of the you know, one of the the last guys to go here. But you're talking about a guy in Nebraska last year as a big guy that can play all the spots along your defensive line, and he did that at Nebraska. He had six sacs last year, so he has some juice there as a pass rusher. So we're going to take Ty Robinson defensive lineman out of Nebraska at one twenty one. And So at this point we've gotten Jaylen Milroe quarterback out of Alabama, Omari and Hampton running back out of North Carolina, Aziier Thomas cornerback out of Florida State, and Ty Robinson defensive lineman out of Nebraska with our first four picks. And just for the I was wondering about that this particular website does give you grades on your picks. Thus far, I've gotten an A and A and two eight pluses for the last two picks. So getting some good aye you there? Okay, our pick is now up at one sixty one. The top guys available DJ Giddens running back out of k State, Lander Burton linebacker out of Utah, Jeffrey Bassa linebacker out of Oregon, Tyler Baron, edge rusher out of Miami, Xavier Scott safety out of Illinois, Rondez Gadson the second, the tight end out of Syracuse, Jack Cory Brooks, wide receiver out of Louisville, Jake bringing Stole tight end out of Clemson, and Jay Higgins, linebacker out of Iowa.

Odd, but okay, we'll go with it. Travis Hunter goes forward to the New England Patriots. Will Johnson, the cornerback from Michigan, goes at five to the Jaguar. Luther Burden to the Vegas Raiders at six. Seven is Simmons, the offensive tackle from Ohio State. Scourton, the edge rusher from Texas, A and m goes to Carolina. Andre Carter no way he lasts along, But that doesn't really matter as long as the picks are somewhat in order here or you know, Will Campbell, Pierce Graham, Grant, McMillan, Stewart from Texas A and M Walter Nolan the defensive lineman from Mississippi, and Barron from the cornerback from Texas goes to Cincinnati, Calvin Banks goes the offensive tackle from Texas goes to Seattle. Then you had chavonn Revel the cornerback from East Carolina goes to Tampa Bay, and Ashton Genty goes to Denver. Get used to seeing that one, because that one might be one that you could pencil in there right now and actually right it in ink. So the Steelers are up at twenty one according to this particular website to guys available, mikel Williams the edge rusher out of Georgia, Malachi Starks the safety out of Georgia, Jalen Walker the linebacker out of Georgia. Nobody's loving the Georgia players in this particular mock draft. Tyler Warren, the tight end out of Penn State. Jalen Milroe quarterback Alabama, Colston Loveland tight end out of Michigan, Benjamin Morrison the cornerback out of Notre Dame, Amika Ekiba the wide receiver out of Ohio State. I don't know that I need to go any deeper in this one. And Malachi Starks would make some sense. I could, you know, perhaps play him in the slot. I think he has some slot capability in his previously and you're going to play the three safeties at times, and you know he would certainly get you younger and more explosive at that position. I don't see mikel Williams or Jalen Walker being the pick. Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland would make sense. And I understand, folks, the Steelers have Pat Fryer on the roster and they have a tight end that catches the ball playmakers. It's all about the playmakers, the same thing that you look at with Eggbuka. I'm going to go into this assuming that the Steelers have signed a veteran wide receiver to play opposite of George Pickens. So in that instance, the tight ends would make sense. You get more explosive with the offense. But what the heck Jaln Milroe is there. I'm going to take him taking by taking a swing at the quarterback position and seeing what happens. I think he's going to by the time this is all said and done and he gets through the combine and all that stuff. Jaylen Milroe I believe could end up being a first round draft pick. And so now we're zooming on down here through to pick fifty two, and well, we got a trade offer for that. We're not going to entertain any trade offers at this thing. I had four trade offers for pick number fifty two, though, looking here at the guys available, well you got Nick Emiwari, the safety from South Carolina. It's kind of that same discussion we just had with the Malachi Starks situation. Can you get better on the back end by adding another safety in the mix? Potentially Jack Sawyer, the edge rusher out of Ohio State. He's got the length that you look for in that, but he's not quite heavy enough. He's gonna have to play outside linebacker, at least he would in this particular scheme, and so I don't think you go that route. Trey Harris is there, the wide receiver, out of Mississippi. That's interesting. Isaiah Bond, the wide receiver out of Texas is there, that's interesting. But there's a guy here I can't pass up, and that is Omarion Hampton, the running back out of North Carolina. If I would have, honestly would have considered him in the first round if some of those other guys hadn't been there. He is a fantastic player, catches the ball well, he's tough, he's physical. He would fit well in this offense. Deon Walker, the big defensive lineman from Kentucky, is there as well, but I might be able to get that a little bit later. I am going to take Marion Hampton, running back out of North Carolina. That's my new bellcal folks. And so we'll see where this goes here. Now as we continue to roll through this particular mock draft here on the NFL Mock Draft Database dot Com, and our next pickup is at eighty three, and we're getting close to that, and we are up now. This is the only flying the ointment here in terms of taking the right the running back, because the top available player here is Quinn Shawn Judkins, the running back out of Ohio State, This is a great running back draft, folks, a fantastic one, and you can get guys like that who can be here potential, you know, every down back you know at this point. Some of the other good players available are top players. A Gray Zabel, the offensive lineman from North Dakota State. He would certainly be interesting and we'll see him at the Senior Bowl in a couple of weeks. Here wide receiver from Miami, Xavier Rostropo, good football player, would be a welcome addition to the team. You got Asirier Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. That's intriguing as well. He is certainly they play a lot of man the man defensive Florida State. I know the team wasn't that great this year, but I think that was more involved with the quarterback play than it was necessarily some of the defensive players there. Andrew mcoba, the safety out of Texas is available. You got Tate Ratledge, the guard out of Georgia, Marcus Mabiu the offensive tackle out of Purdue, Mason Taylor tight end out of LSU, Josiah Stewart, ed rusher out of Michigan. I'm just looking here to see if there's a big defensive tackle here that I have to have here, and I'm not really seeing any of the defensive tackles here that would interest me at this point, So I'm going to go ahead and take a Zeerie Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. Again, I think we've we've taken the wide receiver off the table because I think they sign one, and you do still have Roman Wilson coming back next year, so it's kind of like having an Astra draft pick there as it is. You know, don't know what Roman Wilson can be, but they liked him enough to take him into third round just a year ago, so I'm expecting him to take a step forward and be ready and willing to go here. So we're going to go that route with that, and were next pick is up at one twenty one. We have two trade offers for that, but we're not going to take them because we're going to take another player here and the top players available Caden Prather, the wide receiver out of Maryland, Devin Neil, running back out of Kansas. Again, it's a very deep running back draft, and if we hadn't taken Mari and Hampton in the second round. He would certainly be somebody that would look at their same thing with Dylan Sampson out of Tennessee. Good football player. Tes Johnson, wide receiver out of Oregon. We took our We haven't taken a wide receiver yet, but we'll see. Karen Lacy is there from LSU, but he's got some legal issues that he has to take care of here, so we're not going to take him. Tory Holton, wide receiver out of Colorado State, Will Howard quarterback from Ohio State. Charles Grant the interior offensive line. He could play some tackle. He's out of William and Mary. There's a one defensive lineman here that really interests me at this point at one twenty one, and that's Ty Robinson, defensive lineman out of Nebraska, and he'll be at the Senior Bowl in a couple of weeks here. But he's big enough to ride the ride as a Steelers three to four defensive end. He's six six, three hundred and ten pounds or at least sixty five three hundred and ten pounds, so he's he's got that size and link that you look for in a classic Steelers defensive lineman. I think you got to take him here at one fifteen and and he might be one of the you know, one of the the last guys to go here. But you're talking about a guy in Nebraska last year as a big guy that can play all the spots along your defensive line, and he did that at Nebraska. He had six sacs last year, so he has some juice there as a pass rusher. So we're going to take Ty Robinson defensive lineman out of Nebraska at one twenty one. And So at this point we've gotten Jaylen Milroe quarterback out of Alabama, Omari and Hampton running back out of North Carolina, Aziier Thomas cornerback out of Florida State, and Ty Robinson defensive lineman out of Nebraska with our first four picks. And just for the I was wondering about that this particular website does give you grades on your picks. Thus far, I've gotten an A and A and two eight pluses for the last two picks. So getting some good aye you there? Okay, our pick is now up at one sixty one. The top guys available DJ Giddens running back out of k State, Lander Burton linebacker out of Utah, Jeffrey Bassa linebacker out of Oregon, Tyler Baron, edge rusher out of Miami, Xavier Scott safety out of Illinois, Rondez Gadson the second, the tight end out of Syracuse, Jack Cory Brooks, wide receiver out of Louisville, Jake bringing Stole tight end out of Clemson, and Jay Higgins, linebacker out of Iowa.

I'm looking here.

I'm looking here.

Is there anybody left here that I'm just catches my eye here as a potential.

Is there anybody left here that I'm just catches my eye here as a potential.

Offensive lineman that's.

Offensive lineman that's.

Gotten pretty picked over here at this point, and obviously things can change as we get closer. So I'm going to look at the wide receiver position. You get Ja Cory Brooks, you got Pat Bryant, Antoine Wells junior out of Mississippi, Nick Nash out of San Jose State, Elijah Badger out of Florida, Ricky White out of UNLV, Jalen Lane from Virginia Tech. None of that really interests me a whole lot. Here. I'm just gonna look at the offensive tackles here. You get Chase Chase Lunt out of Yukon, Jack Nelson out of Wisconsin. You can rarely go wrong taking in a Wisconsin offensive lineman, and I'm gonna take Jack Nelson, offensive lineman out of Wisconsin. Maybe he's a tackle, maybe he's a guard. We'll figure that out once he gets here. But yeah, that's we're gon We're gonna go an offensive lineman there. We've taken a defensive lineman, We've taken an offensive lineman here. I think that's always good business to take players from those positions in some of those spots and just kind of keep restocking that. But so what we ended up with was Jaylen Milroe at twenty one. We'll see if that continues to trend that. I think he's gonna test really really well over the next few weeks here. Once he gets he's going to be at the Senior Bowl, he's going to be at the NFL Scouting Combine. I expect him to run very well. Expect him to perform well at the Senior Bowl. Amari and Hampton, the running back out of North Carolina, very talented guy, catches the ball well. You know you're looking at a two hundred and twenty five pounder who's not afraid of contact.

Gotten pretty picked over here at this point, and obviously things can change as we get closer. So I'm going to look at the wide receiver position. You get Ja Cory Brooks, you got Pat Bryant, Antoine Wells junior out of Mississippi, Nick Nash out of San Jose State, Elijah Badger out of Florida, Ricky White out of UNLV, Jalen Lane from Virginia Tech. None of that really interests me a whole lot. Here. I'm just gonna look at the offensive tackles here. You get Chase Chase Lunt out of Yukon, Jack Nelson out of Wisconsin. You can rarely go wrong taking in a Wisconsin offensive lineman, and I'm gonna take Jack Nelson, offensive lineman out of Wisconsin. Maybe he's a tackle, maybe he's a guard. We'll figure that out once he gets here. But yeah, that's we're gon We're gonna go an offensive lineman there. We've taken a defensive lineman, We've taken an offensive lineman here. I think that's always good business to take players from those positions in some of those spots and just kind of keep restocking that. But so what we ended up with was Jaylen Milroe at twenty one. We'll see if that continues to trend that. I think he's gonna test really really well over the next few weeks here. Once he gets he's going to be at the Senior Bowl, he's going to be at the NFL Scouting Combine. I expect him to run very well. Expect him to perform well at the Senior Bowl. Amari and Hampton, the running back out of North Carolina, very talented guy, catches the ball well. You know you're looking at a two hundred and twenty five pounder who's not afraid of contact.

There.

There.

Azeri A Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. Could be a potential guy to line up and play a man pressman defense opposite Joey Porter Jr. Ty Robinson, a guy who is a again has the length to play defensive end. We're kick inside and play some interior line in your defense as out of Nebraska, and then offensive tackle Jack Nelson out of Wisconsin. That's what we ended up with here. Again, I don't make the decisions about who is available at what spots here. Obviously there were some interesting picks there in early in this draft.

Azeri A Thomas, the cornerback out of Florida State. Could be a potential guy to line up and play a man pressman defense opposite Joey Porter Jr. Ty Robinson, a guy who is a again has the length to play defensive end. We're kick inside and play some interior line in your defense as out of Nebraska, and then offensive tackle Jack Nelson out of Wisconsin. That's what we ended up with here. Again, I don't make the decisions about who is available at what spots here. Obviously there were some interesting picks there in early in this draft.

But could I see the Steelers being interested in Jaylen Milroe? Yes, I could, you know. I think he is.

But could I see the Steelers being interested in Jaylen Milroe? Yes, I could, you know. I think he is.

He has a lot of those intangibles that you look for in quarterbacks, particularly in terms of the mobility. Maybe he's not a starter right out of the gate, but you might be able to come up with some packages for him and Omari and Hampton. You would plug right in as your lead running back there, and we'll see about AZERI A.

He has a lot of those intangibles that you look for in quarterbacks, particularly in terms of the mobility. Maybe he's not a starter right out of the gate, but you might be able to come up with some packages for him and Omari and Hampton. You would plug right in as your lead running back there, and we'll see about AZERI A.

Thomas.

Thomas.

But yeah, I think that would be an interesting draft. But we're gonna get to another break. I'm dale Lolly. Matt Williamson not here today. He is out doing some personal stuff. He'll be back at tomorrow. Of course, we'll preview all the games going on this weekend in the NFL. We'll put together our DFS lineup, all that fun stuff. We'll do that tomorrow. For now, we're gonna take another break and I will be back with more in a drive right after this.

But yeah, I think that would be an interesting draft. But we're gonna get to another break. I'm dale Lolly. Matt Williamson not here today. He is out doing some personal stuff. He'll be back at tomorrow. Of course, we'll preview all the games going on this weekend in the NFL. We'll put together our DFS lineup, all that fun stuff. We'll do that tomorrow. For now, we're gonna take another break and I will be back with more in a drive right after this.

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

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

And I am back. I am Dale Lotty and Matt Williamson not here today. He is off doing some other stuff, but he'll be back tomorrow. This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio networking. Earlier in the day here I put out ask for any questions on social media on the ex Twitter, and I've got a number of questions here and I'll go through some of these now. First one's from Mike. That's m Rose seven to one four. He asked, when can we expect to hear any type of movements within the coaching staffs, hiring, firings, all that kind of stuff.

And I am back. I am Dale Lotty and Matt Williamson not here today. He is off doing some other stuff, but he'll be back tomorrow. This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio networking. Earlier in the day here I put out ask for any questions on social media on the ex Twitter, and I've got a number of questions here and I'll go through some of these now. First one's from Mike. That's m Rose seven to one four. He asked, when can we expect to hear any type of movements within the coaching staffs, hiring, firings, all that kind of stuff.

It's going to take a couple of weeks, folks.

It's going to take a couple of weeks, folks.

I mean there are lots of interviews that take place here the Steelers. Typically what happens is is guys just aren't retained, your contract is up, and they'll go in a different direction or whatever. You may not hear all of it right away, but there's always They just take their time and do these things. There's no rush per se, you know. It's why the NFL has changed the rules on some of this stuff as it is in terms of when you can start hiring head coaches and things of that nature. You know, you have to wait for teams that are done playing and all that kind of stuff. That's why you've only seen basically one coach hired thus far, and that being Mike Vrabel, because he was already sitting out there waiting for a job.

I mean there are lots of interviews that take place here the Steelers. Typically what happens is is guys just aren't retained, your contract is up, and they'll go in a different direction or whatever. You may not hear all of it right away, but there's always They just take their time and do these things. There's no rush per se, you know. It's why the NFL has changed the rules on some of this stuff as it is in terms of when you can start hiring head coaches and things of that nature. You know, you have to wait for teams that are done playing and all that kind of stuff. That's why you've only seen basically one coach hired thus far, and that being Mike Vrabel, because he was already sitting out there waiting for a job.

He wasn't under contract or anything.

He wasn't under contract or anything.

You know, do these teams have an idea of who they're going to hire shore But you know, everybody in their uncle has been interviewed for the Jets job at this point, including myself. I'm just kidding that I had not been interviewed for the Jets job, But I'm surprised my name didn't come up in that because everybody else's has, you know, so they'll do second rounds and third you know, all that kind of stuff. People are taking their times, and the league has kind of worked in that direction to kind of tap the brakes a little bit on some of this off that you know, how these hirings and firings have happened over the last couple of years here, uh, just to give the teams that are still in the playoffs a chance to breathe a little bit and continue to you know, work towards those games. So if there's any changes, it's they're not going to be right away, but they'll be forthcoming. If there are changes coming. Daan tober uh d e T four one eight seven says, can we can we get daily seven day, seven day, daily seven day mock drafts from now until April? Well, we don't do them every day, Dame, but you know, it's a great way to learn who the prospects are, get the names out there, talk about you know, those particular guys for example, you know, we just I just did the mock there and and Ty Robinson was a guy that I've you know, talked about a little bit there as a mid round defensive lineman out of Nebraska that's kind of fits the Steelers mold and what they're looking for in those defensive ends and so you know, it's just a great way to learn more about those players, and so we'll do more of them and talk you through different scenarios. Again, maybe Jaln Milroe is there at twenty one. Maybe he's not, but certainly I think he'd be somebody that would interest the Steelers, you know, a great deal. But you know, by the time we're done with the Senior Bowl, for example, in a couple of weeks, he may not be going at twenty one anymore. Maybe he's better than that, maybe he's you know, goes down there and doesn't play well, and you know it just it's it's all part of the process and you keep working out those different scenarios to figure out how this is going to go because it's it's a big part of the offseason. JB who says, mister no followers two. So apparently there's a mister no followers one out there, kind of like the wrestlers, there's mister unknown number one, mister unknown number two. Uh, do you have any idea if Tomlins slash offensive coaching staff have told Jones, Broderick Jones, Troy Fatanu where they'll be starting. Also, are you in favor of drafting a guard in the first three rounds, all answer the first part of that or the second part of that first, and I must say no, on the guard, you've got Mason McCormick under contract. I think you can resign Nate Herbig for a pretty good price. And you know, this is a guy that's started thirty plus games in the NFL over the course of his young career, still only twenty six, can play all three spots on your interior. You still have Isaac sam Malu under contract, You drafted Mason McCormick last year, and so I don't know that you draft a guard in the first three rounds. I think you want guys who either make plays or take the ball away or help you help you keep the other team from scoring. And then this first part of your question, do you think Tomlin or the offensive coaching staff have told Jones or Troy where they'll be starting at Talk to Troy Filatano earlier this week, and he said he hadn't had those conversations with anybody to this point. But that's not unusual because that's part of the exit interview process and they'll they'll talk about, you know, hey, where do we see you at, here's what you need to prepare for, here's what you need to do better. And those are some frank conversations, and so you know, maybe you know, if you're talking to Roderick Jones, you say, hey, look, you need to be better next year. We're going to probably end up sliding you over to the left side. And I'm just assuming here that that's you know, what happens here. But you just tell them, hey, you know, this was not the step forward that we expected from you in year two. You know, too many missed assignments, too many mistakes out there. You know that that's got to be better. Uh. You Knowtano said, you know when we spoke to him on locker clean out day, that he's going to go into this whole thing under the assumption he's going to be on the right side because that's where he had been working. Well, that's where Jones had been working as well. And maybe you work both of those guys at left and right and see which one's better. You know, both of those guys played left tackle in college. And if if Troy fi Otano's the better left tackle, then maybe maybe you play him at left tackle and lead broderc Jones on the right side because you want to you know, you want to put these guys where they can best are best suited to succeed. And I don't know that you want to go into that with preconceived notions, but you know there's potential there that you you know, when they when they put their best five, when they open up OTAs or mini camp and they put their best five on the field, those two guys are going to be somewhere in that mix along that line. But that doesn't mean that's we're gonna where they're going to finish at. You know, the Steelers could decide it, you know, halfway through training camp. All right, we've seen both of these guys on on either side. Let's see what it looks like if we flip flop them. And so that wouldn't surprise me either if they if they go and do it that way. But that's all you have to be determined. Scott and Jersey blitz them at Blitz them says, I think a holdout slash trade are very possible. With George Pickens. What would you put his value at if you think the team wants him and he is willing to extend what would it cost well, I mean, I'm not a soothsayer here, I just pretend to be one on the radio. But you know, will George Pickens hold out? I don't think that will be the case. If they get anything done with George Pickens, it probably wouldn't happen until training camp, and you know, at that point you would have more information in hand. You know, maybe you would field offers for him, or at least if somebody calls you about him, you at least fulfilled the phone call. And and you know, see what that is. I don't have any idea what his value is around the league. Obviously that the player is very talented. You know, there's some stuff with him that you know, quite frankly, you could do without in terms of, you know, some of the the things that you know, the penalties that he takes and things of that nature. But I don't know that he isn't off the field problem. You know, the problems are all kind of on the field kind of stuff that you'd like that to be better. But you know, at the same time, he's still, you know, a guy who's in his early twenties, and you know, you expect that as he continues to mature and get you know, get older and you know, more involved in the game that that would get better.

You know, do these teams have an idea of who they're going to hire shore But you know, everybody in their uncle has been interviewed for the Jets job at this point, including myself. I'm just kidding that I had not been interviewed for the Jets job, But I'm surprised my name didn't come up in that because everybody else's has, you know, so they'll do second rounds and third you know, all that kind of stuff. People are taking their times, and the league has kind of worked in that direction to kind of tap the brakes a little bit on some of this off that you know, how these hirings and firings have happened over the last couple of years here, uh, just to give the teams that are still in the playoffs a chance to breathe a little bit and continue to you know, work towards those games. So if there's any changes, it's they're not going to be right away, but they'll be forthcoming. If there are changes coming. Daan tober uh d e T four one eight seven says, can we can we get daily seven day, seven day, daily seven day mock drafts from now until April? Well, we don't do them every day, Dame, but you know, it's a great way to learn who the prospects are, get the names out there, talk about you know, those particular guys for example, you know, we just I just did the mock there and and Ty Robinson was a guy that I've you know, talked about a little bit there as a mid round defensive lineman out of Nebraska that's kind of fits the Steelers mold and what they're looking for in those defensive ends and so you know, it's just a great way to learn more about those players, and so we'll do more of them and talk you through different scenarios. Again, maybe Jaln Milroe is there at twenty one. Maybe he's not, but certainly I think he'd be somebody that would interest the Steelers, you know, a great deal. But you know, by the time we're done with the Senior Bowl, for example, in a couple of weeks, he may not be going at twenty one anymore. Maybe he's better than that, maybe he's you know, goes down there and doesn't play well, and you know it just it's it's all part of the process and you keep working out those different scenarios to figure out how this is going to go because it's it's a big part of the offseason. JB who says, mister no followers two. So apparently there's a mister no followers one out there, kind of like the wrestlers, there's mister unknown number one, mister unknown number two. Uh, do you have any idea if Tomlins slash offensive coaching staff have told Jones, Broderick Jones, Troy Fatanu where they'll be starting. Also, are you in favor of drafting a guard in the first three rounds, all answer the first part of that or the second part of that first, and I must say no, on the guard, you've got Mason McCormick under contract. I think you can resign Nate Herbig for a pretty good price. And you know, this is a guy that's started thirty plus games in the NFL over the course of his young career, still only twenty six, can play all three spots on your interior. You still have Isaac sam Malu under contract, You drafted Mason McCormick last year, and so I don't know that you draft a guard in the first three rounds. I think you want guys who either make plays or take the ball away or help you help you keep the other team from scoring. And then this first part of your question, do you think Tomlin or the offensive coaching staff have told Jones or Troy where they'll be starting at Talk to Troy Filatano earlier this week, and he said he hadn't had those conversations with anybody to this point. But that's not unusual because that's part of the exit interview process and they'll they'll talk about, you know, hey, where do we see you at, here's what you need to prepare for, here's what you need to do better. And those are some frank conversations, and so you know, maybe you know, if you're talking to Roderick Jones, you say, hey, look, you need to be better next year. We're going to probably end up sliding you over to the left side. And I'm just assuming here that that's you know, what happens here. But you just tell them, hey, you know, this was not the step forward that we expected from you in year two. You know, too many missed assignments, too many mistakes out there. You know that that's got to be better. Uh. You Knowtano said, you know when we spoke to him on locker clean out day, that he's going to go into this whole thing under the assumption he's going to be on the right side because that's where he had been working. Well, that's where Jones had been working as well. And maybe you work both of those guys at left and right and see which one's better. You know, both of those guys played left tackle in college. And if if Troy fi Otano's the better left tackle, then maybe maybe you play him at left tackle and lead broderc Jones on the right side because you want to you know, you want to put these guys where they can best are best suited to succeed. And I don't know that you want to go into that with preconceived notions, but you know there's potential there that you you know, when they when they put their best five, when they open up OTAs or mini camp and they put their best five on the field, those two guys are going to be somewhere in that mix along that line. But that doesn't mean that's we're gonna where they're going to finish at. You know, the Steelers could decide it, you know, halfway through training camp. All right, we've seen both of these guys on on either side. Let's see what it looks like if we flip flop them. And so that wouldn't surprise me either if they if they go and do it that way. But that's all you have to be determined. Scott and Jersey blitz them at Blitz them says, I think a holdout slash trade are very possible. With George Pickens. What would you put his value at if you think the team wants him and he is willing to extend what would it cost well, I mean, I'm not a soothsayer here, I just pretend to be one on the radio. But you know, will George Pickens hold out? I don't think that will be the case. If they get anything done with George Pickens, it probably wouldn't happen until training camp, and you know, at that point you would have more information in hand. You know, maybe you would field offers for him, or at least if somebody calls you about him, you at least fulfilled the phone call. And and you know, see what that is. I don't have any idea what his value is around the league. Obviously that the player is very talented. You know, there's some stuff with him that you know, quite frankly, you could do without in terms of, you know, some of the the things that you know, the penalties that he takes and things of that nature. But I don't know that he isn't off the field problem. You know, the problems are all kind of on the field kind of stuff that you'd like that to be better. But you know, at the same time, he's still, you know, a guy who's in his early twenties, and you know, you expect that as he continues to mature and get you know, get older and you know, more involved in the game that that would get better.

Think back to.

Think back to.

Juju Smith Schuster, folks, you know when Juju came to the Steelers and was a very young player, still twenty at that point, and Juju at I think twenty eight now is what he is, doesn't do some of the same things that he did when he was a younger player. Now he's not also not the player that he was at that point in his career, but he matured, he got older, he got wiser, you know, and so I understand the frustrations at times with George Pickens. I absolutely do, and I you know, I questioned some of the things that he does on the football field, but he is a tremendous talent, and so you know, you have to always weigh if you're in the situation of looking at that player, you know, does the talent outweigh the headaches for lack of a better word, that you get with that as well. That's a quick, big question if the Steelers are going to have to ask themselves this offseason, and part of that process might be what are teams willing to give up for a guy like that? You know, if you did make him available via trade. But if you do that, now you've got two big holes in your offense. Not only do you need a number two receiver, now you need a number one and those are hard to find. And I think we can all agree that George Pickens has the talent and if he's not already a number one receiver, he's certainly trending in that direction. Sprance. Rob sprant At Rob Sprance asks, do you think part of the late season falloffs can partly be attributed to the team practicing far more physically than almost every organization. This happens in both camp and during the season with aggressive padded practices. Even Tomlin admitted they were fatigued. Well, there's a difference in padded practices, Rob, Just because they're in pads during the season doesn't mean that they're tackling. You don't do that. You're not allowed to do that. It would be silly to do that. And that's what teams. If you talk to Craig Wolfly and he starts talking about back in his day, they had padded practices during the season in which they tackled to the ground during the season. They don't do that anymore, you can't do it. And I know the Steelers do more tackling and are you know, more physically into the training camp practices than most other teams, but that's usually just the first two weeks. So I don't know that I'm going to use that as an excuse a Steelers have been doing that. They were doing that, you know, when they were going to the AFC Championship for example in twenty sixteen. You know, did that team all off at the end of the season. No, Now, each team is different and each team handles those kind of things differently, but you know, maybe it's something they need to look at, you know, just getting guys to the to the to the end of the line and better health and and they'll look at all those kind of things over the course of the next couple of months. Here as they put together a plan for the twenty twenty five season. DSR who is at Doug Doo daus Steele Underscore New I guess DALs Steele Undercore New as if a if A Smith gets hired for a head coaching job, who are the possible replacements? Antoine Randellellen Detroit, any rams assistance. I'll be honest with you, I haven't looked that far into this yet because that would have to happen first before I start looking to replace the guy who's currently in the job. You know, if if Arthur Smith starts, you know, getting more traction here as a head coach with the Chicago Bears or the New York Jets, you know, then I'll start looking at potential replacements. I don't know that they would go in in house to do that. I think they would, you know, look outside again. You know, there were some people who were interviewed for the job last year. Some of those guys are available, you know. For example, I believe Clint Kubiak got hired you know, with the by the Saints, but those guys are all out of jobs right now. So that's just a name I'm throwing out there. I don't know if he got hired yet by anybody else or not. I've just been too ingrained with what's been going on with the Steelers to start looking that far down.

Juju Smith Schuster, folks, you know when Juju came to the Steelers and was a very young player, still twenty at that point, and Juju at I think twenty eight now is what he is, doesn't do some of the same things that he did when he was a younger player. Now he's not also not the player that he was at that point in his career, but he matured, he got older, he got wiser, you know, and so I understand the frustrations at times with George Pickens. I absolutely do, and I you know, I questioned some of the things that he does on the football field, but he is a tremendous talent, and so you know, you have to always weigh if you're in the situation of looking at that player, you know, does the talent outweigh the headaches for lack of a better word, that you get with that as well. That's a quick, big question if the Steelers are going to have to ask themselves this offseason, and part of that process might be what are teams willing to give up for a guy like that? You know, if you did make him available via trade. But if you do that, now you've got two big holes in your offense. Not only do you need a number two receiver, now you need a number one and those are hard to find. And I think we can all agree that George Pickens has the talent and if he's not already a number one receiver, he's certainly trending in that direction. Sprance. Rob sprant At Rob Sprance asks, do you think part of the late season falloffs can partly be attributed to the team practicing far more physically than almost every organization. This happens in both camp and during the season with aggressive padded practices. Even Tomlin admitted they were fatigued. Well, there's a difference in padded practices, Rob, Just because they're in pads during the season doesn't mean that they're tackling. You don't do that. You're not allowed to do that. It would be silly to do that. And that's what teams. If you talk to Craig Wolfly and he starts talking about back in his day, they had padded practices during the season in which they tackled to the ground during the season. They don't do that anymore, you can't do it. And I know the Steelers do more tackling and are you know, more physically into the training camp practices than most other teams, but that's usually just the first two weeks. So I don't know that I'm going to use that as an excuse a Steelers have been doing that. They were doing that, you know, when they were going to the AFC Championship for example in twenty sixteen. You know, did that team all off at the end of the season. No, Now, each team is different and each team handles those kind of things differently, but you know, maybe it's something they need to look at, you know, just getting guys to the to the to the end of the line and better health and and they'll look at all those kind of things over the course of the next couple of months. Here as they put together a plan for the twenty twenty five season. DSR who is at Doug Doo daus Steele Underscore New I guess DALs Steele Undercore New as if a if A Smith gets hired for a head coaching job, who are the possible replacements? Antoine Randellellen Detroit, any rams assistance. I'll be honest with you, I haven't looked that far into this yet because that would have to happen first before I start looking to replace the guy who's currently in the job. You know, if if Arthur Smith starts, you know, getting more traction here as a head coach with the Chicago Bears or the New York Jets, you know, then I'll start looking at potential replacements. I don't know that they would go in in house to do that. I think they would, you know, look outside again. You know, there were some people who were interviewed for the job last year. Some of those guys are available, you know. For example, I believe Clint Kubiak got hired you know, with the by the Saints, but those guys are all out of jobs right now. So that's just a name I'm throwing out there. I don't know if he got hired yet by anybody else or not. I've just been too ingrained with what's been going on with the Steelers to start looking that far down.

The road yet.

The road yet.

Jay Mick, who is a JP primetime asks how can they build the wide receiver room to help out whoever the quarterback is. I'm of the thought J mcmack that they need to go sign a veteran wide receiver, a guy who's who has done that, a guy who has produced, even if he's coming off of a down year or an injury. You know, I just think that a.

Jay Mick, who is a JP primetime asks how can they build the wide receiver room to help out whoever the quarterback is. I'm of the thought J mcmack that they need to go sign a veteran wide receiver, a guy who's who has done that, a guy who has produced, even if he's coming off of a down year or an injury. You know, I just think that a.

You get a guy who.

You get a guy who.

You you know, would hope could come in and contribute right away and be you know, not rolling the dice with with a rookie there. And the other side of the equation is there we just talked about George Pickens. You know, I want somebody in that room with him that maybe he listens to a little bit more. Maybe it's the voice he looks at some guy and says, well, this is guy's been. Let's say a thousand yard receiver before, this guy's been, you know, a super Bowl winning receiver before, maybe both, or a guy that's been an All Pro and I want to be that, so I'm going to emulate that guy. And you know, a guy like Devonte Adams would certainly be that that veteran voice in the room that I think would get a lot of attention there. Chris Godwin might be a guy that would get a lot of attention and command that kind of respect from the players around him. Nanastu asks, do you think Mike Tomlin is too much hands on on the offensive game planning and maybe just maybe needs to back off of it and bet and let Arthur Smith do what he was brought in for. That's an assumption. And here's why I say that's an assumption. If you watch Hard Knocks and they've got cameras in all the rooms, did you see any cameras in the offensive game planning room with Art with with Mike Tomlin sitting there with all the offensive coaches coming up with the offensive game plan you And the answer is you did not. Now, does he have his fingerprints on the defensive game plan?

You you know, would hope could come in and contribute right away and be you know, not rolling the dice with with a rookie there. And the other side of the equation is there we just talked about George Pickens. You know, I want somebody in that room with him that maybe he listens to a little bit more. Maybe it's the voice he looks at some guy and says, well, this is guy's been. Let's say a thousand yard receiver before, this guy's been, you know, a super Bowl winning receiver before, maybe both, or a guy that's been an All Pro and I want to be that, so I'm going to emulate that guy. And you know, a guy like Devonte Adams would certainly be that that veteran voice in the room that I think would get a lot of attention there. Chris Godwin might be a guy that would get a lot of attention and command that kind of respect from the players around him. Nanastu asks, do you think Mike Tomlin is too much hands on on the offensive game planning and maybe just maybe needs to back off of it and bet and let Arthur Smith do what he was brought in for. That's an assumption. And here's why I say that's an assumption. If you watch Hard Knocks and they've got cameras in all the rooms, did you see any cameras in the offensive game planning room with Art with with Mike Tomlin sitting there with all the offensive coaches coming up with the offensive game plan you And the answer is you did not. Now, does he have his fingerprints on the defensive game plan?

Absolutely? Does he have some say in what happens offensively?

Absolutely? Does he have some say in what happens offensively?

Absolutely, But I don't know that he's game planning necessarily offensively as much as some people might give him credit for. I think he again, he's the head coach. He should have a say on fundamentally what kind of offense that you want to run. That's why they hired Arthur Smith. They wanted to go to him more run oriented offense, one that that is based on, you know, a tough nosed running game. But I don't know that you know, Mike Tomlinson and you know we're not gonna we're gonna go in here, and you know, scheme this up offensively.

Absolutely, But I don't know that he's game planning necessarily offensively as much as some people might give him credit for. I think he again, he's the head coach. He should have a say on fundamentally what kind of offense that you want to run. That's why they hired Arthur Smith. They wanted to go to him more run oriented offense, one that that is based on, you know, a tough nosed running game. But I don't know that you know, Mike Tomlinson and you know we're not gonna we're gonna go in here, and you know, scheme this up offensively.

I don't know that he does that, and I've never heard that he does that. Now.

I don't know that he does that, and I've never heard that he does that. Now.

He may say in certain situations, hey, we want to run the football here because we will to run some clock or things of that nature.

He may say in certain situations, hey, we want to run the football here because we will to run some clock or things of that nature.

But that's what every head coach does.

But that's what every head coach does.

They all say, hey, let let's let's be cognizantive here of of the situation, and we want to run some clock here, and and if we have to pump, you know the defense will get it done. Or we're going to throw here because I don't know if the defense can hold them. Again, those are decisions that every head coach makes, So I don't know that he is as much involved in the offensive game planning stuff as some people might assume. Kirby'suzula asks why did Russ hardly ever complete passes over the middle?

They all say, hey, let let's let's be cognizantive here of of the situation, and we want to run some clock here, and and if we have to pump, you know the defense will get it done. Or we're going to throw here because I don't know if the defense can hold them. Again, those are decisions that every head coach makes, So I don't know that he is as much involved in the offensive game planning stuff as some people might assume. Kirby'suzula asks why did Russ hardly ever complete passes over the middle?

Poor scheme?

Poor scheme?

Or is he physically too short to see it over a collapsing pocket. If you look at Russell Wilson's career, you know that's been something that He's never been a big throw over the middle guy. And part of that is because he is a shorter quarterback, doesn't seem to matter because he still completes passes. And I think back to some of the passes that he did complete over the middle of the field this year, and there were several. I think some of that over the middle of the field stuff gets magnified in certain games. But I just think back to the game that they just played last week against the Baltimore Ravens. He threw a pretty big pass in that game over the middle of the field on the third nine or third and ten, whatever it was, from his own three, and hit Calvin Austin in stride. You know, there were plays this year where he did throw over the middle. And again i'll go back to hard knocks. You know, you heard Mike Tomlin tell him before they went out on the field here, let's be aggressive. Let's be aggressive here in this situation to try to get back into this game. So some of it's also that. So in some ways you're talking about that's not necessarily poor scheme, but some of that is also you throw more interceptions when you throw over the middle, balls get tipped, linebackers dropped that you didn't.

Or is he physically too short to see it over a collapsing pocket. If you look at Russell Wilson's career, you know that's been something that He's never been a big throw over the middle guy. And part of that is because he is a shorter quarterback, doesn't seem to matter because he still completes passes. And I think back to some of the passes that he did complete over the middle of the field this year, and there were several. I think some of that over the middle of the field stuff gets magnified in certain games. But I just think back to the game that they just played last week against the Baltimore Ravens. He threw a pretty big pass in that game over the middle of the field on the third nine or third and ten, whatever it was, from his own three, and hit Calvin Austin in stride. You know, there were plays this year where he did throw over the middle. And again i'll go back to hard knocks. You know, you heard Mike Tomlin tell him before they went out on the field here, let's be aggressive. Let's be aggressive here in this situation to try to get back into this game. So some of it's also that. So in some ways you're talking about that's not necessarily poor scheme, but some of that is also you throw more interceptions when you throw over the middle, balls get tipped, linebackers dropped that you didn't.

Expect to be there.

Expect to be there.

So some of that is, Hey, we don't want to turn the football over in some of these situations. And you have a quarterback in Russell Wilson who's really good throwing outside the numbers, and that's one of the reasons why they went out and got him, because they had guys who could make plays outside the numbers. And you're leading receiver this season, Let's not forget it's Pat Fryarmouth. He led the team in receptions. Well, most of his receptions come over the middle. You know, they had no problem throwing over the middle, for example in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals the first time around. So they can throw over the middle, I think a lot of times they choose not to because that's where the ball gets intercepted. Anyways, that looks like it for the questions on social media, a lot of good stuff on there. Appreciate all the questions. You know, do that maybe a little bit more often when we also have Matt here available. We do it every once in a while in the offseason, but maybe we'll do that more here as we're acting going to continue to do the drive five days a week all the way running up through the start free agency.

So some of that is, Hey, we don't want to turn the football over in some of these situations. And you have a quarterback in Russell Wilson who's really good throwing outside the numbers, and that's one of the reasons why they went out and got him, because they had guys who could make plays outside the numbers. And you're leading receiver this season, Let's not forget it's Pat Fryarmouth. He led the team in receptions. Well, most of his receptions come over the middle. You know, they had no problem throwing over the middle, for example in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals the first time around. So they can throw over the middle, I think a lot of times they choose not to because that's where the ball gets intercepted. Anyways, that looks like it for the questions on social media, a lot of good stuff on there. Appreciate all the questions. You know, do that maybe a little bit more often when we also have Matt here available. We do it every once in a while in the offseason, but maybe we'll do that more here as we're acting going to continue to do the drive five days a week all the way running up through the start free agency.

Here. That'll be something new.

Here. That'll be something new.

We usually drop back to after the super Bowl, going to a three day a week schedule. We're going to continue to do five days a week because there's just so much to talk about. And as I mentioned in the previous hour, you would do that in previous years because well the Steelers weren't real active in you know, free agency. Well that's not been the case the last few years, and so you know, got to have instant reaction, You got to have analysis and everything that goes with that, with everything that happens, that's why you tune into the show, and hopefully we're able to bring that to you. We're going to get to a break here on the drive. I'm Dale Lolly, no Matt Williamson today, flying solo here today, but we'll be back with more right after.

We usually drop back to after the super Bowl, going to a three day a week schedule. We're going to continue to do five days a week because there's just so much to talk about. And as I mentioned in the previous hour, you would do that in previous years because well the Steelers weren't real active in you know, free agency. Well that's not been the case the last few years, and so you know, got to have instant reaction, You got to have analysis and everything that goes with that, with everything that happens, that's why you tune into the show, and hopefully we're able to bring that to you. We're going to get to a break here on the drive. I'm Dale Lolly, no Matt Williamson today, flying solo here today, but we'll be back with more right after.

This as 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.

This as 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 we are back.

And we are back.

I am Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson while he's not here today, so I'm using the royal we when we talk about we are back. Anyways, This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio Network and recently Mel Kiper put together and of course those of you who know Mel Kuiper, NFL draft analysts for ESPN took a look here at the running backs taken in the first round going back to the twenty thirteen twenty fourteen drafts. Really, there weren't any in the first round running backs in the twenty thirteen twenty fourteen drafts, so he ranked him since then. So really, over the last ten seasons, the guy's taken in the first round the kind of slotted in Ashton genty from a Boise State where he feels like he would rank him among those players. So let's take a look at that here to finish up the show. And at fifteen he has Rashad Penny out of San Diego State. He went at number twenty seven in twenty eighteen to the Seattle Seahawks, And that one was I can remember when that one happened. That was kind of a surprise. You know, the Seahawks have been a team that's been known to throw some surprises out there in terms of their first round draft picks over the years, and that was definitely one that was a surprise. And well, Penny showed some flashes but his best season came in twenty twenty one, when he ran for seven hundred and forty nine yards. He did average six point three yards of carry that season, scored six touchdowns, but he was always hurt and not a good use of.

I am Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson while he's not here today, so I'm using the royal we when we talk about we are back. Anyways, This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio Network and recently Mel Kiper put together and of course those of you who know Mel Kuiper, NFL draft analysts for ESPN took a look here at the running backs taken in the first round going back to the twenty thirteen twenty fourteen drafts. Really, there weren't any in the first round running backs in the twenty thirteen twenty fourteen drafts, so he ranked him since then. So really, over the last ten seasons, the guy's taken in the first round the kind of slotted in Ashton genty from a Boise State where he feels like he would rank him among those players. So let's take a look at that here to finish up the show. And at fifteen he has Rashad Penny out of San Diego State. He went at number twenty seven in twenty eighteen to the Seattle Seahawks, And that one was I can remember when that one happened. That was kind of a surprise. You know, the Seahawks have been a team that's been known to throw some surprises out there in terms of their first round draft picks over the years, and that was definitely one that was a surprise. And well, Penny showed some flashes but his best season came in twenty twenty one, when he ran for seven hundred and forty nine yards. He did average six point three yards of carry that season, scored six touchdowns, but he was always hurt and not a good use of.

A first round draft pick at number fourteen.

A first round draft pick at number fourteen.

He's got Clyde Edwards Hilaire by the Kansas City Chiefs in twenty twenty. They took him at number thirty two, and I can remember when that one happened, and everybody's wow, the Chiefs, they just got better. They you know, they got one of the best running backs in this draft. And that did not turn out to be the case. He's in his fifth season. The Chiefs moved on from him. He ended the season with the New Orleans Saints, and you know, he had eight hundred yards in his rookie season. But he has never turned into what anybody thought he could be as a pass catcher things of that nature. He was just tiny. That was one of the problems. And you know, you worried about that with him coming out, you know, could he do how would he handle blitz pickup and things of that nature. Well, as it turned out, not all that well, and that's kind of been his downfall. At thirteen, Sony Michelle, who was drafted number thirty one in twenty eighteen by the New England Patriots, had a lot of ability, couldn't stay healthy. He had over eight hundred rushing yards three times over five years, scored twenty career touchdowns, but knee and quad injuries really impacted what he could be and just didn't work out for the New England Patriots. At twelve on this list, he has Melvin Gordon, who was taken in twenty fifteen by the Los Angeles Chargers at number fifteen. And you know, the guy had seventy career touchdowns, two Pro Bowl appearances, but just one one thousand yard rushing season, that coming in twenty seventeen.

He's got Clyde Edwards Hilaire by the Kansas City Chiefs in twenty twenty. They took him at number thirty two, and I can remember when that one happened, and everybody's wow, the Chiefs, they just got better. They you know, they got one of the best running backs in this draft. And that did not turn out to be the case. He's in his fifth season. The Chiefs moved on from him. He ended the season with the New Orleans Saints, and you know, he had eight hundred yards in his rookie season. But he has never turned into what anybody thought he could be as a pass catcher things of that nature. He was just tiny. That was one of the problems. And you know, you worried about that with him coming out, you know, could he do how would he handle blitz pickup and things of that nature. Well, as it turned out, not all that well, and that's kind of been his downfall. At thirteen, Sony Michelle, who was drafted number thirty one in twenty eighteen by the New England Patriots, had a lot of ability, couldn't stay healthy. He had over eight hundred rushing yards three times over five years, scored twenty career touchdowns, but knee and quad injuries really impacted what he could be and just didn't work out for the New England Patriots. At twelve on this list, he has Melvin Gordon, who was taken in twenty fifteen by the Los Angeles Chargers at number fifteen. And you know, the guy had seventy career touchdowns, two Pro Bowl appearances, but just one one thousand yard rushing season, that coming in twenty seventeen.

He was a good player, just not a great player. You know.

He was a good player, just not a great player. You know.

Was he worth the fifteenth pick in the draft? Probably not. I'd have to look back at that draft and see what was taken after him. But he did score seventy touchdowns in his career, which is no small feat. And they always had a good number two, a good one two punch. But taking Melvin Gordon with the fifteenth overall pick, yeah, probably give that one a thumbs down on that at number eleven. This may surprise some people, but the guber eleven is Travis Atn, who was taken at twenty five by the Jacksonville Jaguars in twenty twenty one.

Was he worth the fifteenth pick in the draft? Probably not. I'd have to look back at that draft and see what was taken after him. But he did score seventy touchdowns in his career, which is no small feat. And they always had a good number two, a good one two punch. But taking Melvin Gordon with the fifteenth overall pick, yeah, probably give that one a thumbs down on that at number eleven. This may surprise some people, but the guber eleven is Travis Atn, who was taken at twenty five by the Jacksonville Jaguars in twenty twenty one.

You can, you know, I can remember last year.

You can, you know, I can remember last year.

Last season, people's thinking that Travis ATM was a better pick than Nause Harris, and that just has not turned out to be the case. He's shown flashes of being a good player, but he's not consistent and he just can't stay healthy on a consistent basis. And that's a big thing in the NFL. You know, the consistency is everything. You know, the best ability is availability and Atn has just not been available nearly enough. And he's also not the receiver or receiving back that a lot of people think that he might be or might might have been coming out.

Last season, people's thinking that Travis ATM was a better pick than Nause Harris, and that just has not turned out to be the case. He's shown flashes of being a good player, but he's not consistent and he just can't stay healthy on a consistent basis. And that's a big thing in the NFL. You know, the consistency is everything. You know, the best ability is availability and Atn has just not been available nearly enough. And he's also not the receiver or receiving back that a lot of people think that he might be or might might have been coming out.

Of the draft.

Of the draft.

You know, had a thousand yard season in twenty three, didn't repeat that this year for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So he just had one one thousand yard season under his belt in those four seasons. And well, Nagie Harris has been better. And number ten on this list is Nagy Harris. Steelers took him at picked number twenty four in twenty twenty one. They got four consecutive one thousand yard seasons out of him. He's been a workhorse back and you know, you could look at the I think sometimes his receiving skills weren't utilized quite enough, but he also doesn't give you the explosiveness necessarily that you might want at that position. He's a solid football player and I think a lot of teams will be glad to have Nag Harris. But what's the price going to be? And that's the question that the Steelers have to ask themselves going into this offseason.

You know, had a thousand yard season in twenty three, didn't repeat that this year for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So he just had one one thousand yard season under his belt in those four seasons. And well, Nagie Harris has been better. And number ten on this list is Nagy Harris. Steelers took him at picked number twenty four in twenty twenty one. They got four consecutive one thousand yard seasons out of him. He's been a workhorse back and you know, you could look at the I think sometimes his receiving skills weren't utilized quite enough, but he also doesn't give you the explosiveness necessarily that you might want at that position. He's a solid football player and I think a lot of teams will be glad to have Nag Harris. But what's the price going to be? And that's the question that the Steelers have to ask themselves going into this offseason.

You know, we'll see where that goes. But we'll see who's ahead of.

You know, we'll see where that goes. But we'll see who's ahead of.

This list of Nause Harris, and number nine would be Todd Gurley, the second out of Georgia. He was taken number ten overall by the Rams in twenty fifteen. And that's the other thing, folks, there's a big difference between taking a guy into top ten and taking Nause Harris. It picked number twenty four. You know, that's a little bit different there. Gurley was a good football player, had some knee issues, you knew that coming out of college, but he was a very good football player. You know, he had that torn acl coming out of school, at knee issues throughout his throughout his career, but he had some big seasons as well. And you know, was he worth the number of ten overall pick in the grand scheme of things. Probably not. You know, if he'd have been taking fifteen or twenty, okay, that would be a little more.

This list of Nause Harris, and number nine would be Todd Gurley, the second out of Georgia. He was taken number ten overall by the Rams in twenty fifteen. And that's the other thing, folks, there's a big difference between taking a guy into top ten and taking Nause Harris. It picked number twenty four. You know, that's a little bit different there. Gurley was a good football player, had some knee issues, you knew that coming out of college, but he was a very good football player. You know, he had that torn acl coming out of school, at knee issues throughout his throughout his career, but he had some big seasons as well. And you know, was he worth the number of ten overall pick in the grand scheme of things. Probably not. You know, if he'd have been taking fifteen or twenty, okay, that would be a little more.

But you did get good value out of that.

But you did get good value out of that.

He did have some big seasons and he helped the Rams to a Super Bowl, So there's that as well. Number eight on this list is Jamier Gibbs and he went number twelve and twenty twenty three out of Alabama to the Detroit Lions. I can remember when that pick was made. A lot of people you can't take a running back that high. The Detroit Lions, I think would would say argue differently. And he's not just a running back. He is a playmaker. And that's the kind of back that if you're going to take one in the first round, he better be a runner and be a pass catcher for you. And you know, if you look at it, he's a playmaker.