Steelers might be looking for a nose tackle
Associated Press
Washington defensive lineman Vita Vea runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on March 4. Vea will likely not be available when the Pittsburgh Steelers pick 28th in the NFL Draft.
Associated Press
Alabama defensive lineman Da鈥橰on Payne runs a drill during the NFL scouting combine on March 4, in Indianapolis.
(This is the next installment of a 10-part series on the NFL Draft. Today蘑菇视频 story highlights the defensive line.)
In today蘑菇视频 Draft Spotlight, esteemed colleague Jon Ledyard wrote that there蘑菇视频 little room for an addition to the Steelers鈥� interior front, and in regard to Javon Hargrave, relegated to the seldom-used nose tackle position, Ledyard wrote 鈥淧ittsburgh needs to find a way to get him on the field more.鈥�
Well, Jacksonville found a way to get Hargrave on the field more. And once they used him up and spit him out, they did the same with L.T. Walton.
Those nose tackles combined to play an exceedingly high 50-of-61 snaps and were bludgeoned by the Jaguars. Hargrave couldn鈥檛 get the job done and that may have been due to back problems which forced him out of practices that week. Walton, a converted 5-tech, wasn鈥檛 any better as the Jaguars piled up 164 rushing yards at 4.7 per carry.
Re-watch the game and you might rule out needs in the back seven and root for Ndamukong Suh or Haloti Ngata to fall the Steelers鈥� way in the upcoming draft蘑菇视频 first round.
Those are the two players who came to mind while watching the violent world of Vita Vea, the 347-pound nose tackle from Washington.
Vea is 6-4 and runs a 5.1 40, which 鈥� as Penn State so rudely found out this past Fiesta Bowl 鈥� is fast enough to cover punts.
Of course, Vea shouldn鈥檛 last until pick 28. And the other top defensive tackles 鈥� Maurice Hurst, Taven Bryan and Nathan Shepherd 鈥� aren鈥檛 scheme fits.
The Steelers, in Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and reserve Tyson Alualu, have all the talent they need to rush the QB from the tackle spots. What they need is more of a true nose tackle, particularly after team president Art Rooney II said after the season he wants to improve the run defense.
The Steelers allowed 4.397 yards per carry last season, their worst yield per carry in 63 years. And that number was 5.1 in the final six games without linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Sure there isn鈥檛 anyone left in the first round?
Well, a Steelers source laughed when asked if he expected Da鈥橰on Payne of Alabama to last until pick 28.
The Steelers think highly of the 6-2陆, 311-pounder with long 33-inch arms. He reps 500 pounds on the bench and 650 in the squat rack and won鈥檛 turn 21 until May 27. He蘑菇视频 a man-child who was not only coached the last two years by Karl Dunbar, the Steelers鈥� new DL coach, but Payne developed into a big-game playmaker by the end of his third season in 2017. He was the co-MVP of both the Sugar Bowl and National Championship Game.
But Payne蘑菇视频 not a true nose tackle. He蘑菇视频 young enough and strong enough 鈥� (and Dunbar knows whether he蘑菇视频 coachable enough) 鈥� and has played up and down the Alabama front, so even as he develops into a run-stuffing nose he could provide athletic flexibility for the Steelers鈥� ever-changing fronts.
Payne is a possibility if he falls to them, but the Steelers appear to instead be focusing on true nose tackles. They brought in two the other day: Greg Gilmore (6-3录, 305), of LSU, and Bilal Nichols (6-3戮, 306), of Delaware.
The latter is the better athlete. Nichols鈥� 4.95 40 tied Payne and UCLA OT Kolton Miller for fastest time among 300-pounders at the NFL Combine. Nichols played full-time nose for the first time last season, and his relentless motor led to 56 tackles, 5陆 sacks, an interception, four pass break-ups and a blocked kick.
Earlier in the visit season, the Steelers brought in another athletic nose tackle, B.J. Hill (6-3录, 311), who has long arms (33), big hands (10 5/8), ran a 4.99 40 and pushed the bar up 35 times. His 7.28 3-cone drill, which tests lateral agility, tied another defensive tackle, Stanford蘑菇视频 Harrison Phillips, for the top Combine time among 300-pounders.
Hill hails from Oakboro, N.C., some 45 miles north of Hargrave蘑菇视频 hometown of Salisbury, just east of Charlotte.
Phillips, who topped everyone at the Combine with 42 reps, could turn into one of those mid-round values, but there are even better run-stuffers expected to be available in the middle of this draft.
Nose tackle types expected to be available in the third and fourth rounds are Foley Fatukasi (6-3戮, 318), of UConn, Kendrick Norton (6-3, 314), of Miami, Derrick Nnadi (6-1, 317), of Florida State, and Deadrin Senat (6-0, 314), of South Florida.
Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin visited the Virginia Tech pro day and presumably watched Tim Settle (6-2戮, 329), but Tomlin蘑菇视频 never been a fan of players that heavy 鈥� unless they can move like Vea.
The Steelers also met with Alabama nose tackle Joshua Frazier (6-3, 321), who was mainly a backup for four years and, of course, played under Dunbar.
Penn State defensive tackle Curtis Cothran (6-5, 283) was the first draft visitor to the South Side.
A personal favorite is Oklahoma nose tackle Du鈥橵onta Lampkin (6-4, 345), who missed six games with a suspension in 2016, two games for academics in 2017, rotated with an inferior player this past season, but dominated play at times. Lampkin just turned 21 and abruptly left Oklahoma as a redshirt sophomore. He surprised fans and media with the move, and could surprise the NFL if he puts his game together.
MY TAKE
Two years ago I was raving about nose tackle 鈥� what was his name again? 鈥� oh, yes, Andrew Billings as a first-round prospect. I was way off as Billings fell to the fourth round. That蘑菇视频 about where I expect a solid run-stuffer such as B.J. Hill to end up, so that蘑菇视频 about where the Steelers should be looking. They鈥檝e also been looking at several late-rounders, but if they want to erase the memory of their playoff loss, the Steelers shouldn鈥檛 disregard someone like Vita Vea if he falls to the bottom of the first round. They could certainly use a Haloti Ngata-like presence against teams who might be feeling that the Steelers鈥� 3-4 base defense was exposed by Jacksonville and its use of tight ends, fullback and power runner.
VALUE BOARD
First Round 鈥� Vita Vea, Washington; Da鈥橰on Payne, Alabama.
Fourth Round 鈥� B.J. Hill, North Carolina State; Bilal Nichols, Delaware.
Fifth Round 鈥� Tim Settle, Virginia Tech.
Sixth Round 鈥� Joshua Frazier, Alabama.
Seventh Round 鈥� Du鈥橵onta Lampkin, Oklahoma; Greg Gilmore, LSU.