This is lifted entirely from an si.com article on OL prospects - the direction I think our Stillers need to go in Round 1 of the April draft:
4. Jeff Otah, Pittsburgh: A mammoth tackle prospect who displays surprising athleticism and agility for his size. Otah, who has only played five years of organized football, is an emerging talent ideally suited to play in a power based running scheme. He overpowers defenders at the point of attack and shows surprising athleticism working to the second level. Otah is not quite as polished in pass protection, but displays enough lateral quickness and body control to be a quality performer at right tackle. Expect Otah to hear his name called near the end of the first round.
Please notice the red text. Hmmmmm. I don't even pretend to follow college football but my brother from another mother does and I bet he'll chime in and tell us something about this Panther. Can we afford a first round pick whose main thing that needs work is pass protection? Remember, NFL edge rushers are about 37 times faster and stronger than their NCAA counterparts.
2 comments:
Jeff Otah is a real possibility to become a Steeler but I wouldn't look for him to contribute right out of the gate. It'd be great if he could take over at RT though. Then Willie Colon could displace the wasted #1 pick (and second worst Steeler signing right behind Kordell Stewart) that is Kendall Simmons, at RG.
I'd like to see them pick up a real center unless Faneca is going to sign for a discount and assume that position. But I'm more likely to assume that Fancea is gone and we need to draft a guy like Mike Pollack out of AZ State. Not sure if he'll be on the board when we draft but taking a C #1 is a bit unusual for any NFL team so who knows?
But I would be happy if we got either or both of Otah and Pollack. Now if we had an O-line coach and an Offenseive Coordinator to teach them the NFL game we could really make progress.
Hey, I know this is kinda off topic but...
I just saw that Bernard Berrian, the WR for the Bears is a free agent. Now this is a guy we should definitely consider picking up. He's entering his 5th year in the league and is an upgrade over every receiver on our roster except Ward and Holmes. And although he's not in the Randy Moss / Plaxico Burress size range, he's a bigger target the either Holmes or Ward.
Let's face it, Washington and Wilson are pretty much shitass NFL WRs. This guy would give total legitimacy to our WRs. He's young and he can catch. If he caught 71 balls from Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, he could catch 100 from Big Ben (assuming Arians has pass plays in the game plan, uses them, and Ben has time to throw).
Anyway I was excited to see him unsigned and I think whoever gets him is getting a rose ready to blossom. Might as well be us. Besides, I didn't see an offensive lineman the Rooney's would fork out the dough to get. Although in truth, Berrian is a pipe dream of mine. Perhaps I should just smoke on.
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