Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, prompts more bullshit to be spread among sports writers, sports TV talking heads, and sports radio talk-jocks and callers than the build up to the annual NFL Draft. And when said draft is over, more bullshit is spread in the analysis of "how teams did" in the draft, including instant letter grades assigned to teams' draft classes, which consist of anywhere from six to ten young men who, it needs to be noted, have yet to step on to an NFL field or play a single down in an NFL game.
Of course, the Draft is important to the teams themselves as they annually restock and infuse themselves with new young talent, but we really need to wait three to four seasons before we really know "how the Steelers/Browns/Patriots/Chiefs/et al did in the Draft".
As for the Steelers in 2019, great excitement has been generated by the fact that the team traded up ten spots in the draft and gave up three picks in order to select LB Devin Bush with the tenth selection in the first round. No doubt Bush fills a serious need for the Steelers - and here are the key words here - if he can play at an NFL level, and no college game films, no stats from pro days and combines, will be able to tell us if he can play until young Mr. Bush gets to Latrobe in July and starts playing against other actual NFL football players. The credentials are there (as they were with guys like Jarvis Jones) and there are reasons to be optimistic (as there were with guys like Huey Richardson), but until....well, you get the idea.
Anyway, without listing all the names, the "Devin Bush Draft", as it will come to be known, netted nine new hopefuls for Rooney U - 2 linebackers, 2 defensive linemen, and one each of the following: wide receiver, defensive back, running back, tight end, and offensive linemen.
We all know what the needs are. Let's hope that at least four or five these guys can fill them over the next several seasons.
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Elsewhere on the Steelers front, big news was made earlier in the week that Ben Roethlisberger signed a contract extension for several gajillion dollars that will keep him in Black and Gold through the 2021 season, the season in which Ben will be 39 years old. It will probably be Roethlisberger's final contract (although Tom Brady and Drew Brees have shown that you can still play at a top level at age 40 and beyond, so who knows?), and it really was a no brainer for the team. You need a "franchise quarterback" to win in the NFL. The Steelers have one, and they needed to keep him. Case closed. Unless Roethlisberger's talent level falls off the side of a cliff, and there is no reason to think that it will, the Steelers now have a three year window in which to "go for it" in terms of Super Bowl contention.
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One final comment upon all for the aforementioned b.s. that spews forth from draft experts, including the teams' themselves every year, let me offer the following, and I'll just confine this to the quarterback position:
- In 2007, the Number One overall pick was JaMarcus Russell.
- In 1999, the Number One overall pick was Tim Couch
- In 1998, the Number Two overall pick was Ryan Leaf.
- In 2000, the 199th overall pick was Tom Brady.
Somewhere in the archives I am sure that we can find footage of Mel Kiper's comments in each of those years, but I'll take a pass on listening to them.
The Emperor Chas Noll said it best "they all look good in their underwear." Time will tell if these much heralded draftees will be productive or just another group of over paid, egotists who can not play the game on the grid iron. Good luck to them none the less.
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