An NFL draft expert has two perfect adjustments for the Steelers. Franchise brand fallout. And a curious quote from Pitt’s basketball coach, Jeff Capel.
All of this on Wednesday’s “First Call”.
Perfect in Pittsburgh
NFL Network and NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah held his conference call with the annual pre-draft media to examine the potential needs of the teams and college candidates who would serve them.
Through NFL.com, Jeremiah selected two potential customers that he considers perfect for Steelers. The first is a possible substitution in the center of Maurkice Pouncey, Landon Dickerson of Alabama.
“He’s almost the perfect Steeler. He’s physical and unpleasant. He’s fun to watch. He’s fast, ”said Jeremiah. “He’s a taller guy (6ft-6), but we saw the Steelers coming out of a really good race here with a tall center (Maurkice Pouncey).”
Winner of the 2020 Rimington Trophy as the best center in the NCAA, the only problem with Dickerson’s story is health. He tore up an ACL during his first year in Florida. Then he had another knee injury in the SEC 2020 title game that also needed surgery.
The other “great fit” for Pittsburgh that Jeremiah mentioned is North Carolina’s running back, Javonte Williams (1.50 m, 220 pounds).
✅ Hurdle
Stick Truck Stick
✅ Spin MoveI can’t stop watching this race by Javonte Williams 😤 @TarHeelFootball pic.twitter.com/ZW9uHswr0J
– ACC Network (@accnetwork) December 13, 2020
As our Joe Rutter recap, Jeremiah compares former Tar Heel to Cleveland Browns star runner Nick Chubb.
Impact for Al
The Steelers do not franchise Al Villanueva’s offensive attack. This was not expected.
However, two teams made franchise tackles and this impacts Villanueva’s free agency scenario, assuming he does not remain in Pittsburgh.
The Carolina Panthers put the tag on Taylor Moton. The Jacksonville Jaguars did the same with Cam Robinson. The impact against the salary cap is expected to be somewhere between $ 13 million and $ 14 million for both players.
While this means that Jaguars and Panthers are now likely to be out of contention for Villanueva’s services, it also means that two other candidates are out of the mix for the rest of the league when it comes to bidding a lot of money.
Pro Football Focus listed Villanueva as the fourth best tackle available, behind Trent Williams (San Francisco), Moton and his Carolina teammate Russell Okung. Robinson was five points behind Villanueva in his assessments.
Something to watch
Carl Lawson did not receive a franchise label from Cincinnati Bengals.
The defensive side had a bit of a career with the Bengals. In his first year, he totaled 8.5 bags and joined the PWFA All-Rookie team.
But in his second year, Lawson had only one sack in seven games because of a torn ACL. He returned with five bags in 12 games in his third year and another 5.5 last season.
But his game has matured. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin convinced him before both games against Cincy. And I found that that was wise. Lawson had 12 hits from Ben Roethlisberger’s defender in those two games, plus a sack and a forced fumble.
So it would be good for the Steelers to see it hit the open market and maybe get caught by someone outside of AFC North.
The Auburn product is rated by CBS Sports as the 18th best free agent available. And the website suggests that the Bengals may still be working on a long-term deal.
I’m sure Roethlisberger would prefer that that not happen.
Capel quote
Pitt coach Jeff Capel made a curious quote after his team’s loss to the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday afternoon.
Hurricanes beat the Panthers 79-73 in the first round of the ACC tournament.
After the defeat, Capel said: “I wish I had a little more time with this group … I think we could have grown and become something that could be very good”.
By “this group”, I am assuming that Capel meant how the team was built after the transfers of Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney. Both were eliminated on February 25. And the Panthers lost three of four in the final stretch, defeating only the modest Wake Forest (6-15).
So I’m not sure what gave him that vibe, as the team limped during February and March for the third consecutive year to finish 10-12.
It is not as if the Panthers were totally devoid of talent. If Justin Champagnie, Nike Sibande (who said he will return to the NCAA free eligibility year), Femi Odukale and Ithiel Horton return to the team, it is not a bad start for next season. But it wasn’t going to be so fast this year. This will need a complete off-season to develop and improve.
But it’s time to stop the lazy and overly simple analysis of “It’s okay. Jeff Capel put them in the right direction! “
He wants? Does he really believe? That is, if the “direction” is any direction further from the Kevin Stallings era, I suppose it is true. But Panthers fans may want to check their GPS systems.
Because going from 2 to 10 to end the season is not the right direction. Neither were Toney and Johnson’s defections during the season, but Trey McGowens after last season. And certainly, a three-year record of 7-28 in February and March is completely the wrong direction.
Tim Benz is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be posted again. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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