By Tim Clark / April 28, 2024 / Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

Last week I took a swing at predicting the Steelers draft.

It isn’t easy to predict anything with the draft. For instance, nobody predicted six quarterbacks going in the top 12 picks. Certainly nobody this side of Arthur Blank’s bookie thought the Falcons would draft a quarterback after signing free agent Kirk Cousins to a gigantic contract this offseason. And I am not sure there were many in the NFL universe that saw Washington OL Troy Fautanu slipping to the Steelers spot at 20.

In other words the unpredictability of the draft makes it difficult to predict with any certainty what teams will do in the draft.

The Steelers, in my opinion, were a little more transparent coming into the draft. They had some glaring needs at two positions: offensive line and wide receiver. This would also be Omar Khan’s second draft. Khan was successful a year ago at finding quality players in the draft to fill glaring needs. Broderick Jones filled a need on the offensive line, Joey Porter was the cover corner the team desperately needed, and Keanu Benton, Darnell Washington, and Nick Herbig all found key rotational roles at their positions. Khan certainly hit a home run with last year’s draft.

The first home run Khan hit was hiring Andy Weidl away from the Eagles, where he helped build the Eagles Super Bowl roster. Weidl is highly respected in football circles for identifying talent.

Though you never know how the draft will play out or what players will still be available, I thought it was fairly obvious the direction the Steelers would take. They didn’t bring in Arthur Smith to be the offensive coordinator to throw the ball 40 times a game. Smith was most successful as Titans OC, where he was big on ground and pound. It is clear that is the preference for head coach Mike Tomlin. ,After seeing the Steelers play last season, it was clear an upgrade along the offensive line would be necessary.

With that in mind, here was the Steelers draft along with my predictions.

Round 1

My pick: Amarius Mims

Actual pick: Troy Fautanu

I didn’t think there was any chance that Fautanu would fall to pick 20 or I would have chosen him. I certainly didn’t think the Bengals would take Mims over Fautanu at choice 18.

Fautanu is an excellent run blocker and only allowed two sacks as a starter during his time at Washington. Fautanu has a nasty streak, as well. In other words, he will fit right in with the Steelers. The cherry on top of this pick, Fautanu has always been a Steelers fan.

 

 

Clearly, you just got Khaned.
 

Round 1 Grade: A+

Round 2

My pick: Zach Frazier

Actual pick: Zach Frazier

I thought there was an outside chance the Steelers would jump at center Graham Barton in the first round, and Jackson Powers-Johnson almost slipped to the Steelers spot in the second round. However, some scouts thought Frazier was actually the best center in the draft. He certainly was the toughest center in this draft class. This was the Steelers guy all along. 

Frazier played on a broken leg for West Virginia last year, and starred as a wrestler. Again, He, too, has a mean streak.

 

 

Frazier is the perfect old school Steeler. It was a pick that I thought was obvious.

You got Khaned again.

Round 2 grade: A+

Round 3

My picks: Roman Wilson and Trevin Wallace

Actual picks: Roman Wilson and Payton Wilson

First things first, Roman Wilson was the perfect storm waiting for the Steelers at pick 84. Wilson seemed likely to still be on the board, and he, like the first two picks, seems to be the perfect Steelers. He is a burner, runs good routes, is a willing blocker, and has great hands. He may just remind you of Hines Ward.

 

 

 

Oh yea, you definitely got Khaned again.

Round 3(Pick 84) grade: A+

The next third round pick, number 98, was sort of the beginning of the wide open phase of the Steelers draft. I picked Trevin Wallace, an athletic middle linebacker that can fly around. I was right on the position and style of play, but because other GM’s were scared off by Payton Wilson’s injury history the Steelers had Wilson as an option at pick 98. That is 50 spots lower than Wilson’s projected draft position.

A lot of teams were scared off because Wilson could be a one contract player. Picking late in the third round, why even worry if a guy is a one contract player. That is still good production from a late third rounder. Wilson can fly, and has an intense motor. He told Cam Heyward on a phone call that if there are 97 plays in a game he wants to play 97 plays. Again, Wilson appears to be the perfect Steeler.

 

 

Yep, you know it. A pick plus 50 spots from where the player was projected means you just got Khaned.

Round 3 grade: A+

Rounds 4-7

I didn’t predict these rounds, but I did think another wide receiver would be added with one of these picks. That didn’t happen, but another offensive lineman was added for depth purposes. That is smart.

Mason McCormick, out of South Dakota State, will provide depth now and potential to start later. With Issac Seamulo and James Daniels, the current aging starting offensive guards, makes this a wise decision. And McCormick? You guessed it, a nasty streak.

 

 

In the sixth round the Steelers took defensive lineman Logan Lee, out of Iowa, and Texas cornerback Ryan Watts. Taking an Iowa defender is never a bad idea, and Watts could stick at corner or move to safety sooner rather than later. Both could make the Steelers 53 man roster.

I can’t say for sure that you got Kahmed, because these rounds are anyone’s guess. Certainly, it can be said that the picks were solid, with some potential. So what the hell. You got Khaned.

Rounds 4-7 grade: B+

I must say I did a pretty solid job of predicting what the Steelers would do in the draft. There were signs leading up to the draft, and it appears Omar Khan knows what he is doing when it comes to building a roster. Khan also seems to have a quality relationship with head coach Mike Tomlin. All in all, this draft —on paper— not only says home run, but grand slam home run.

There is still work to be done in free agency to add some more parts to this Steelers team. Cam Sutton coming back to Pittsburgh? Another veteran receiver? It sounds like Khan is working on both.

The Steelers certainly look better after the draft than they did before the draft.

Nobody really knows how these players will perform until we actually see them on the field.

The Steelers have a GM that has a plan and is capable of carrying it out. After two drafts and two offseasons, it is clear Omar Khan is more than up to the task.

Indeed, he is the Khan Artist, and we are all just living in his world.

 

 

 

Two Cent Takes

NFL

~If you had any doubt about how popular the NFL is, look no further than the 275,000 people that showed up in Detroit to watch the draft live. Insane.

~One thing that became clear is the NFC North(Lions, Packers, Bears, Vikings) don’t care for each other.

~Bill Belichick and Nick Saban will be nice additions to TV.

NHL

~For once, the first round of the NHL playoffs is going mostly as expected. Rangers sweeping the Caps was a no brainer. Carolina up 3-1 on the Islanders is no shock, nor is Boston up 3-1 on Toronto or Florida beating Tampa Bay 4 games to 1. Out West, the one potential upset could be Vegas over Dallas, but there is a ways to go in that series. Dallas tied the series last night. 

Golf

~This LIV stuff gets sillier by the week.

 

 

Drinking from shoes, champagne baths, music blaring. Yea, sure, I will be sure to tune in to that nonsense.

NBA

~This is going to actually be a mini column, rather than a two cent take.

The Sixers are something else. Joel Embiid is something else. Something else other than winners. The Sixers play losing basketball, and the team Philly fans allowed Knicks fans to drown out Sunday in a pivotal home game four will soon be dismissed from the playoffs. As usual.

The Sixers have zero grit. In the NBA, to get rebounds you have to have some grit. Boxing out, getting on the floor, outmuscling the opponent are all things the Sixers aren not capable of doing. The Knicks are getting multiple shots almost every trip down the court. In the fourth quarter on Sunday, the only way the Sixers got the ball back was by the Knicks making a shot or hitting the ball out of bounds. It was embarrassing.

In fairness, the Sixers are playing with two competent players and a 38 year old former dynamo who does all he can. Kyle Lowry has been fine. Maxey has been fine. Embiid has been very good. But in crunch time these guys have not made winning plays. And the rest of the team, led by Kelly Oubre, is marginally useless.

Nick Nurse doesn’t get left out of this bashing. Nurse has made no adjustments to get the team to rebound the ball. He can’t find a way to slow down Knicks stud Jalen Brunson. Not stop, it slow down. Nurse’s worst mistake was not getting Embiid a rest in the second half on Sunday, rendering the big man nearly useless in the fourth quarter. While Embiid was gassed, the play selection from the head coach ranged from silly to idiotic.

 

 

It is going to be another season of Embiid putting up numbers, but spending far more time crying, whining, flailing on the floor, and delivering cheap shots to an opponent that will ultimately get the last laugh.

~The Lakers got their one win to feel good about themselves. Plus they always have their huge in season tournament championship to fall back on.

 

 

~Anthony Edwards is quickly becoming a league star. Keep an eye on Edwards, Karl Anthony Towns, and the T’Wolves.

~The best series of the first round is clearly the Mavericks and Clippers.

~The best part of the NBA playoffs is the TNT studio show.

 

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

With all of the portal madness, I found quite possibly the best apology/explanation a fanbase has received from a player. Last year Kyle Ford transferred from USC to crosstown rival UCLA. This year he is coming back, with this funny as heck post to announce his return.

 

 

Don’t worry, Kyle. We’ve all been trippin’ at one point or another.

A Penny For Your Final Thought…

The Pittsburgh Pirates have become unwatchable in record time this year.

Nobody hits.

Everybody stinks.

That includes the back end of the bullpen, once thought to be a strength.

The starting pitching has been close to fantastic, none more shockingly than Bailey Falter.

It has led to a lot of low scoring, boring to watch baseball that results in close losses.

This is year five for GM Ben Cherington. He has yet to come close to producing a winning baseball team. He has yet to prove his staff can develop talent. He has yet to prove he and his staff is capable of taking players to the next level.

Henry Davis was the first —as in nobody was picked before him— choice in the 2021 draft. He is closer to being sent back to AAA than he is to blossoming into a star player. That is unacceptable from the top choice in any draft.

O’Neil Cruz is a five tool stud who looks more lost during most plate appearances than he does a guy who knows he could hit one 500 feet.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has reverted back to the weak, opposite field hitter he was before last year. He has one home run in the first month. The hitting instructor he used behind the Pirates back last season was fired in the offseason.

Jared Triolo has a gold glove and a whiffle ball bat.

Jack Suwinski will have a super hot month twice this year. The other months he will stink. Nobody has been able to level him out. This is year three of this for Suwinski.

Michael Taylor was picked off the scrap heap. He is giving Michael Taylor production.

Rowdy Tellez was on the same scrap heap Michael Taylor was on. Tellez is a scrap heap player. He is much better at leading by talking and goofing around than he is leading by example. He is so bad the Pirates are 100 times better off with utility player Connor Joe at first base. Next to Bryan Reynolds, Joe has been the team’s best offensive player. And considering Reynolds is hitting .248 that isn’t saying much.

The one player the Pirates spent money on this offseason was Aroldis Chapman. He was super lucky last year not to have worse results. He looks like he may be finished. A very shrewd move by Cherington to spend on this bum.

David Bednar is not the picture of physical fitness, but it never has gotten in his way on the field. He started the year on IR, and one wonders whether he is out of gas or just out of luck. Either way, Bednar has been putrid.

Manager Derek Shelton still looks —in year five— like a guy who is in over his head. A former hitting coach, and yet Shelton can’t seem to make a difference with these hitters. Lord knows his hitting coach, Andy Haines, can’t make a difference. The amount of strikeouts Haines’ pupils rack up is startling. It is why the Brewers were smart enough to fire him. Shelton also _never seems to stick with a lineup more than about two days, and he still struggles to manage his pitching staff.

Shelton was hired by Cherington, as was his staff. Cherington was hired by the buffoon of an owner, Bob Nutting. Somewhere out there in the abyss is team president Travis Williams. I am pretty sure I saw his picture on a milk carton, though I can’t be sure it was actually him.

This is, and always will be a top down problem. The owner isn’t competent enough or financially willing enough to hire a good GM. The GM isn’t competent enough to hire a decent staff. The staff isn’t competent enough to develop talent.

And there is talent here. Davis should be a solid player. Cruz should be a star. Pitcher Jared Jones may already be a star barring them screwing him up. God knows what will become of the minor league players with a chance to be good.

I feel stupid for viewing the Pirates glass as half full at the start of the season. I saw the best in Cruz, Davis, Suwinski, and Triolo. I thought Paul Skenes would be in Pittsburgh by now, forming a one-two punch with Jared Jones. I assumed Bednar would be fine.

As I finish typing this, the Pirates drop another game 4-1 to the Oakland A’s poetically in front of about 14 people in Oakland. The Bucs got two whole hits, and one of them even made it out of the infield. 

What was I thinking?

The Pirates glass is always half empty. And that is in a good year.

Just my two cents…