You said this needed to be a special draft – did you accomplish that?
Director if football operations Kevin Colbert: Only time will tell. I said that fully understanding where this team is and where we want this team to be – And acknowledging that we weren’t big players in free agency. Players have to come from somewhere and the draft has always been this organizations source of talent and it’s our job to make sure that continues..gif)
When you traded out of round two – did you end up with the guys in round three you were planning on?
Colbert: Yeah we did. There was a group in there and there were other guys other than the three we picked in the third round, but that group definitely – we looked at it and we knew we had a couple players at each position that we were looking at and if we got lucky we’d be able to get three. We were really targeting an offensive lineman, a corner and a receiver with those three picks. We felt we could come out of that and which we did.
RE: Given yourself options on return game:
Coach Mike Tomlin: Mike Wallace is a credible return guy as a kickoff return man. He has multiple returns for touchdowns in his career and (Joe) Burnett is as productive as anybody in that area. I think he’s got a five as a combination as a punt and kick return guy. We feel like we’ve given ourselves some candidates in that regard. We realize that’s a potential weakness in our football team. Maybe these young men are the answer to that. We look forward to watching them work.
Is Summers a candidate to do some goal line work?
Tomlin: He is. When you put the UNLV tape on, very rarely does he get dropped in the backfield. Short yardage goal line situations have been an asset of his game. I think he got into the end zone ten times or so this year. But aside from what he’s able to do with the ball in his hand – an attractive feature for us was a big running back like him who is also a functional special team’s player. This guy was a productive special team’s player. He cover kicks – he covered punts – he was an up-back if you will in the kickoff return game. You know we’re looking for guys that are capable a lot of things. Here’s a guy that works in an area that usually doesn’t have a bunch of position flexibility with the people that occupy those roles. He’s a big powerful back who is not a fish out of water in the special team’s game and that’s attractive to us.
Lewis and Wallace went to school together. Do you think that will help them with their transition?
Tomlin: I think you’ve got to make your own plays. They have to stand up and deliver. Maybe it will be comforting off the field in terms of getting transitioned and being able to look around and see a familiar face. But in terms of making the plays required to be a part of this thing and do what’s required, it’s every man for himself. That’s just the nature of this game and of this business. I’m sure they are excited. I think when we were on the phone with Keenan Lewis this afternoon, he said he was going to take his party over to Mike Wallace’s house and they were going to have a good time together. That’s kind of a neat story.
At times, did the short yardage and goal line thing get a little frustrating for you?
Tomlin: No, I enjoyed it.
Was there anything about those two kids (Wallace and Lewis) that lead you to one or the other, or is that just a unique coincidence?
Colbert: Not really. The fact that they grew up together and went to school together really didn’t play into things until we picked both of them. Mike was somebody that was interesting because he’s a speed receiver that can return kicks, and Keenan was a big corner. But, really, their relationship, we really didn’t talk about it until afterward. We knew about it, but it wasn’t a factor.
This day is approaching nine hours long now. What is this day like for you? Is it full of surprises, or do you have it so mapped out that it goes pretty much according to plan?
Tomlin: I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as surprises. I think that Kevin and the scouting staff did a great job of developing and preparing the board. Really, we were very methodical about the things that we wanted to do, not only today, but leading up to today. I thought it was critical when we made the decision last night to go with three 3’s [third-round picks] and have four picks in the top 96 picks in the draft. We’re excited about being able to do that and getting some quality. And we feel like we did that. We got four players in the first three rounds in areas that we wanted to get players – some big, young people in the offensive and defensive line, a wideout with some speed capabilities that is capable of stretching the field, hopefully similar to the way that Nate Washington did, who’s also a kick returner, and a six-foot corner who can run. It was a productive day. A long day, yes, but those are challenges that inspire you and that fire you up when you do what it is that we do.
With nine draft picks, how will that affect signing free agents?
Colbert: It will be somewhere around 10 to 12. We’ll be working on that as soon as this concludes. We may over-sign at a couple of positions because we can. We can be over 80 [players] until we sign our draft picks. So we could be a little bit higher. During the mini-camps and the OTAs. But we’ll see what kind of response we get. Sometimes, we’re really desparate just trying to find a guy and sometimes we wind up with an extra guy. It’s kind of like college recruiting. You can only promise so many scholarships and you may have to pull one, or we may have to add one somewhere along the way. It will be somewhere around 10 to 12.
Do any of your draft choices have to wait before they can work out here?
Tomlin: No, I think we’re clean.
Colbert: No, we’re good because the kids that are quarter-school guys have their degrees.
You mentioned A.Q.’s heart. That being said, why do you think he lasted this long in this draft?
Colbert: I can’t answer that. Again, we all want the biggest, the fastest, all the measurables. And you’re not going to get that. I always tell players [that] 90 percent of their evaluation is from August until December – what we see them do on the field. This kid was a productive player. When we’d interview defensive linemen – when we interview any position, we always ask them who was the toughest offensive lineman you went against, and vice versa – and we got A.Q.’s name quite often. So I can’t answer why he lasted. We’re happy to get him where we got him because we think he’ll come in and he’ll compete.
You have brought rookies along slow since you’ve been here. Is that by design?
Tomlin: Really it’s just more of a function that we have a pretty good football team. We’re not going to anoint anyone or hand jobs to anyone. They’ve got to earn it. Part of them doing that is having an opportunity. There haven’t been many opportunities for some of our young people because our veteran players have been so solid. So it’s been a good thing, actually. I’m a proponent of that. I think that in order for somebody to really appreciate what this league is about, they have to earn it. So it’s been a good thing. Because of what happened here in recent years is no indication of what’s going to happen with these young men. Maybe some men in this group are not enamored by the transition, are quick studies and are competitive and able to produce. And maybe they’ll be on the field for us because of it.
That being said, Kraig Urbik, the guard, what do you like best about this guy? And with Kendall [Simmons] gone, might he be a candidate to start this year?
Tomlin: He could. He’s a right guard, of course, a four-year right guard from Wisconsin. He’s a big guy. He’ll fight you. He has the characteristics of those Wisconsin linemen. He’s a smart guy. We’ll see how he transitions. He’ll be definitely given an opportunity to show what he’s capable of.
Comments
Appreciate the article. As for the draft, I wish we did more for our offensive line, and got one of the top three centers. Yet, I think Hood is going to be special, and Wallace and Lewis have potential to be real contributors. Urbik I think will be solid and hopefully will push either Stapleton or Colon although I do not see him as a great long term player necessarily. The two guys who could really surprise are Harris and Summers. Shipley, Burnett, Johnson I don't know. I'm sure all local fans thrilled with Shipley but I don't think he will amount to much. Guys likely to contribute next year: Hood will get in the rotation on Dline at least seeing a quarter of the plays by mid-season, Summer will be special teams and shortage yardage (and if Mendenhall struggles let's see if he gets bigger role), and I think Wallace will be our returner on kicks and hopefully make it in on some passing packages. Urbik will either play a lot or not at all since Steelers do not rotate Oline. Lewis does not crack into the nickel package but hopefully is in the dime. Rest could easily be cut by opening of the season. (hope here is that Harris shows enough for them to keep as project for following year). The reality is that Steelers team to tough to make to consider more than half being kept. Remember that there are several guys from last year including Hills and Caprizzi on the line who hopefully will push for spots (including vets like trai essex).
Great interviews, you are the A.Q. Shipley of media. I think I read already 80% of everythng Steelers this weekend and this has some value. Thanks
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