This Bud’s for You
Palmer’s Post-Draft
May 7, 2015
The Stillers’ 2015 is in the books. Let’s start though with my pre-draft comments:
“One final dark-horse pick: Bud Dupree, LB, Kentucky. Dupree is huge for an OLB (270 lbs.) and may represent the next generation of players at the position. Dupree ran an amazing 4.56 40 and posted a 42-inch vertical at the combine – upping his stock tremendously (this size-speed ratio may make him a top 15 pick). Dupree has the bulk to hold the edge and the quickness to rush. Here’s a selection that would make Joey Porter smile.”
So the Stillers ended up taking my dark horse. How fitting for a Kentucky Derby weekend that capped off one of the most intriguing Stillers drafts in years – a draft that had everything from the obligatory Stillers’ scratch-your-head pick to some real Spy vs. Spy stuff between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
No doubt somewhere Joey Porter is smiling. Are you? From what I’ve read out there, not every Stiller fan is thrilled with the player the Stillers picked first.
A draft like the one we just witnessed is an unfolding story, so, in honor of the big fight in Vegas, let’s break the action down by round.
ROUND ONE: A run on backs and receivers keeps the Stillers in the running for the trio of players I want to see available at #22: Dupree DE, Peters CB and Williams TE. I’m hoping Peters will still be there, as he sits at that rare intersection where need meets best available. I’m fearing Kansas City will pluck him though – cue me trying not to throw a bottle through my TV when they do. Peters to me is the last corner worth the first pick, and now he’s gone.
But lookee here – Bud Dupree, the guy some mocks had as a top-ten pick, is still around. There’s no way you can pass on him at 22 – is there? The answer comes right away – nope! I have to admit – once Peters is gone this is guy I want them to take.
Vic Beasley is the gold standard of edge rushers coming into this year’s draft. But the Stillers weren’t going to get near Beasley with a ten-yard drafting pole. Dupree didn’t show Beasley’s production, but he actually showed more athleticism in a couple of combine categories. It’s a must-take pick here.
Like Shazier, Dupree is a freak, a guy who’s way too fast for his size. If you’ve watched him play, you know he is that quick (get your hands on some highlights, see how much faster he blows across the line than his teammates). My one issue is that he didn’t fare as well against other elite future-NFL type players. That’s not because he lacks the skills – far from it. It’s simply that, like many athletically gifted players, he too often relies on athleticism alone to beat the other guy. That doesn’t cut it against other top-tier twitch types.
When Dupree played with technique he often looked unstoppable. If he can be coached up, he’ll remind people of Robert Quinn. If not, he may turn out to be another Woodley. Keep in mind the following about Dupree when analyzing his enormous potential:
1. He often dropped into coverage, which limited his sack production at Kentucky
2. He showed he’s comfortable playing in space, which is key for a DE-to-LB convert.
Again, with Dupree it’s going to be all about the technique. Dip and rip, engage with the inside arm and all that kind of stuff. No doubt Coach Porter has a program already mapped out.
ROUND 2: I said going into the draft this was the year of the DB, and boy has it been! I don’t recall so many safeties and corners going off the board like this. The Stillers join the fun, finally taking that coveted corner – though probably not the one most people thought. Ole Miss CB Senquez Golson is probably a top-15 pick if he were a few inches taller. But he’s not, and the debate begins: sure, he was a fixture of the stout Rebels D, but is he tall enough to play at the next level?
Golson is a pure ball-tracker, and unlike your average Stillers DB, can catch, as evidenced by the fact he’d led all college corners in picks last year. One thing I noticed about him: many times he actually seems to be the one running the route on his highlights. Check out how often Golson is actually behind the receiver when he’s made the interception – that’s superior instinct and anticipation. Ah, but there’s that height thing again.
My take? I don’t care if he fills in for Dinklage on “Game of Thrones.” I don’t care if he gets the Lucky Charms box instead of the Wheaties cover. I want to get some freakin’ ball hawks in here. I’m tired of seeing those 15-yard cushions, and balls clanking off guys’ hands. Darrell Green did all right playing the position, and Golson is listed at about the same height and 40-time. B
One knock on Golson is he gave up some big plays to big receivers (interestingly enough, the Stillers’ next draft pick is one of them). However, in Golson’s most-played highlight, the game-sealing pick against ‘bama, that’s tight end O.J. Howard he’s covering on the play. Who happens to be 6’ 6”.
One trend I’m noticing: teams are looking at a new breed of DB, the hybrid. Players like Eric Rowe and Quinten Rollins, listed at both safety and corner.
Also developing: a controversy between (who else?) the Stillers and Baltimore. Reportedly they got wind that Pittsburgh coveted Maxx Williams, my choice of TEs in this year’s draft. I’m not buying it. First of all, this “news” came straight out of Bouchette. Why on earth would they tell anybody they were looking to move up, let alone announce which player they were targeting? “Hey Ed, we’re hot to swap with Tenny at #33, and guess what? We’re gonna take Maxx Williams! Go out now and tell everybody!” Uh huh.
ROUND 3: Needing defense all over the place, the Pittsburgh Stillers select… Sammie Coates, wide receiver, Auburn. Are you kidding? This pick is going to look a lot different later on, though, when the draft is viewed in its entirety. Coates is big, fast with a knock on him for his hands – pretty much the same stuff they said about Martavis Bryant coming out of college. Coates was the big-play machine at Auburn, with a physical profile comparable to Brashad Perriman, for whom the Ravens risked a first-rounder. I love the pick – great athlete, big-name performer bringing in the potential to form a monster receiving trio in Pittsburgh. Like Dupree, he’s too plum a player to pass up at this point in the draft.
ROUND 4: The Stillers reel in another corner in this year’s DB-a-rama. Doran Grant represents excellent value here. He’s solid if not spectacular, the complete cover and tackle package. In other words, he’s a more traditional Stillers kind of corner than the one they landed a couple rounds earlier. A possible steal, Grant is a clutch performer from the Buckeyes’ national championship team.
ROUND 5: I’m pulling for Nick O’Leary, the Dallas Clark clone from Florida State. Instead the Stillers take the outlaw Jesse James from Penn State, all 6’ 7” of him. James has come out early (Joey One-Bar on ESPN practically had a stroke scolding him for it) which means he actually has room to grow! James comes with some promising highlights, including a Gronk-like swat-away of a Wisconsin DB on the way to a touchdown. Jimmy Graham I don’t expect him to be. I just hope he doesn’t turn out to be Spaeth 2.0
ROUND 6: The Stillers welcome yet another MAC player onto their roster, big Letterius Walton from Central Michigan, aka “Antonio Brown U.” Walton has the bulk to play anywhere on the D-Line, as mobile as he is for a guy his size. He manned the middle at CMU; my feeling is the Stillers will try him at end.
Supplemental time: the Stillers make probably my favorite pick, Anthony Chickillo of The U. “Captain Relentless” has that proverbial no-quit motor and the charge of a stuck bull. Just ask the all-stars he terrorized at the East-West Shrine Game (that is, if you can coax them out from underneath the bed.) Plus, he’s got a name that lends itself to some gay-sounding fan club, maybe throwing Chiclets at him like they do with that Skittles guy in Seattle. Chickillo’s another DE I look to be transitioned to OLB. A pass-rushing demon, it remains to be seen if he can develop the necessary coverage skills. That may land him a spot on the practice squad, but once he develops, look out.
ROUND 7: I’m looking for a dice-roll on Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, the Oregon corner with the bum knee that kept him from being taken Thursday night. Instead the Stillers gamble on Gerod Holliman, the Louisville safety. How does the winner of the Thorpe trophy, not to mention the guy who led college football in interceptions last year, last til the end of the draft? Well, just read his draft reports, where you’ll find such phrases as “atrocious tackling skills.” Holliman also suffered a shoulder injury, which may have contributed to the above.
Holliman may never turn out to be Donnie Shell, but the critics who call him a contact-shy superpussy might want to cue up this video at the :25 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPktF5oA0kw
While you’re watching you’ll notice the sick ball skills, and the feel he has for receivers going across his face. Not to mention the speed and agility he possesses on a 6’0” 220-lb. frame. Holliman is said to have first-round skills and last-round attitude. My feeling with him is that you’re either going to get Ed Reed or Donna Reed – there won’t be any in-between. I’d seen mocks that had Holliman being taken with the Stillers first pick (albeit mostly from fans, but still) – risking your last pick is a no-brainer here.
The Stillers d-backfield now includes 5’ 9” Golson, 5’ 9” Shamarko Thomas and 5’ 9” Willie Gay. I think this unit needs a nickname: The Mighty Mice? The Five-Niners? The Runt Pack? Feel free to chip in suggestions.
SUMMARY: The hope is that Dupree brings the heat and the new DBs can play tight, bringing some aggressiveness back to a D that sorely needs it. Last season the Stillers notched their lowest sack total in 25 years, and couldn’t create turnovers in a French bakery. For two years now Joe Flacco has had time to sit back and launch his Moon Balls to the receiver of his choice. That has to stop. The team responded with the kind of defense-heavy draft that was necessary.
The Stillers’ mandate was to get younger and faster on defense, and they addressed about every position except one. I still think they’re lacking at nose (which is why I thought they might take a 1-techniquer like Malcom Brown) but you can’t solve every problem in one draft. I’m much looking forward to seeing what these DBs can do, especially Golson and Holliman.
Before I go, I want to mention one more player of note. I’ve always considered free agency to be an extension of the draft, an area where the Stillers have unearthed some real gems. One player stuck out for me in this year’s FA crop: Kansas State center B.J. Finney. Finney is tough and versatile, reminding me of Doug Legursky. Take a look at this video – if it doesn’t warm your cockles, have your pulse checked out by a medical professional:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2452846-undrafted-bj-finney-announces-to-friends-and-family-he-signed-with-steelers
I guess I know which player I’ll be pulling for this summer.
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