Haden addresses Steelers’ need at safety
It didn鈥檛 take long for the Steelers to trot last year蘑菇视频 newcomer, Joe Haden, out as this year蘑菇视频 team spokesman.
Haden 鈥� a 29-year-old Pro Bowl cornerback who won a national title at Florida and a state high school title in Maryland (as a quarterback) 鈥� is a natural-born leader.
So he met the Pittsburgh media this week to chat about offseason workouts. He was also asked about the Steelers鈥� needs at the positions left open by the releases of Mike Mitchell and William Gay.
鈥淎t the free safety spot,鈥� Haden started, 鈥渨e just need a sure tackler, be able to go sideline to sideline, being over top of the corners, being able to just be the blanket on the defense. If anything breaks it蘑菇视频 a 20-yard gain, not a 50-yard gain. 鈥� They have to be able to get them down.
鈥淎nd with the dime, somebody who蘑菇视频 very smart, can blitz, can cover, knows the defense very well. With Cam Sutton and with Mike Hilton and with the body types and people that we have in there, we have a lot of guys who we know can cover the third receiver, cover the tight end and do that. So with those two things we鈥檒l be solid.鈥�
Haden provided names for Gay蘑菇视频 dime position, but what about the free safety?
The Steelers recently signed Morgan Burnett, a strong safety with the Green Bay Packers. Haden is a close friend of a former free safety of the Packers, Micah Hyde.
鈥淗e蘑菇视频 like, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to love Morgan. Great player,'鈥� Haden said. 鈥�(Hyde) had nothing but good things to say about him, so I can鈥檛 wait to play with him.鈥�
So, who moves to free safety? Sean Davis?
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 really talked about who蘑菇视频 in what positions yet,鈥� Haden said. 鈥淪ean, I think he could definitely be a free safety though. He蘑菇视频 the dude I could see definitely being able to cover sideline to sideline, and with his tackling he蘑菇视频 going to be able to get people down.鈥�
This draft has been considered by many as the one in which the Steelers address their problems on the back end. They pick 28th, a spot near which teams have drafted Pro Bowl safeties Budda Baker (36th), Landon Collins (33rd), Harrison Smith (29th) and Devin McCourty (27th) this decade (along with eight other starters). It蘑菇视频 a place to find someone who can either roam center field, cover tight ends and/or slot receivers, or become another of the playmaking strong safeties the Steelers have utilized in every one of their Super Bowls.
Or, they could get lucky and find one who does all of that, as might be the case with Stanford蘑菇视频 Justin Reid.
Reid (6-0 1/2, 207, 4.40) is the younger brother of current free agent Eric Reid, who蘑菇视频 seemingly frozen out of the NFL due to his kneeling during pre-game anthems last year. Would an intelligent and thoughtful younger brother pick up the cause for a blacklisted older brother?
That might be the only negative consideration for a safety who can seemingly do it all on the back end. In speaking to Justin Reid蘑菇视频 versatility, his college coach, David Shaw, told The Mercury News, 鈥淗e蘑菇视频 a strong safety, he蘑菇视频 a free safety, he蘑菇视频 a box safety, he蘑菇视频 a nickel defensive back, he蘑菇视频 a great blitzer. So it蘑菇视频 kind of like the whole package.鈥�
Reid has become the clear-cut No. 3 safety in the draft behind Top-15 talents Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James.
The Steelers also met with Jessie Bates, a redshirt sophomore out of Wake Forest. At the Combine, Bates said he met with the Steelers 鈥� 鈥渢he GM, the owner, all that stuff鈥� 鈥� and presumed they were keenly interested, even before he dined with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert the eve of his pro day.
Bates is the best pure 鈥渃enter fielder鈥� of the draft. A proper comparison might be Eric Weddle, who came out of Utah in 2007 with nearly exact physical attributes.
n Bates (6-1 1/8, 200): ran 4.50 40, 12 bench reps, 35.5 vertical jump, 9-8 broad jump, 6.78 3-cone.
n Weddle (5-11 1/4, 203): 4.56 40, 11 bench reps, 35 vertical, 9-6 broad jump, 6.78 3-cone.
Weddle was drafted early in the second round, 37th, and has become one of the premier NFL ballhawks. The Steelers entertained Weddle as a free agent two years ago, so their interest in Bates makes sense.
But, since Bates couldn鈥檛 make the first-year impact as a do-it-all type of safety off the bench, as Reid would, Bates is likely a second-round consideration, along with Ronnie Harrison (6-2, 207, 4.63).
Harrison, the Alabama safety, is similar to Reid in that he has all-around versatility and could help sooner, although he蘑菇视频 not as athletic as Reid and is more than likely a high second-rounder.
Reid (Feb.), Bates (Oct.) and Harrison (April) all turned 21 in the last six months, so they fit the Steelers鈥� preference for younger prospects. But, as Haden outlined above, safety might not be the first-round need most of us believed it was throughout this past season.
My take
It might behoove the Steelers to wait to see if any of those three safeties makes it to their pick (60th) in the second round. If none fall, the standby could be Combine snub Tarvarius Moore (6-1 1/8, 199), who ran a blazing 4.32 40 at his Southern Miss pro day 鈥� not once, but twice. He also had explosive jumps and good agility, but needs to get stronger (7 reps). The Steelers had Moore, a free safety, in for a visit this week. NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein, for one, was impressed with Moore蘑菇视频 tape. 鈥淓xcellent cover skills too,鈥� Zierlein tweeted. But if the Steelers opt to draft a safety later, in order to fortify their depth, they鈥檒l have several options.
Value board
First Round 鈥� Justin Reid, Stanford.
Second Round 鈥� Jessie Bates, Wake Forest; Ronnie Harrison, Alabama; Tarvarius Moore, Southern Miss.
Fourth Round 鈥� Dane Cruikshank, Arizona; Marcus Allen, Penn State.
Fifth Round 鈥� Kyzir White, West Virginia; Quin Blanding, Virginia; Terrell Edmunds, Virginia Tech.
Sixth Round 鈥� Trayvon Henderson, Hawaii; Damon Webb, Ohio State.
Seventh Round 鈥� Steven Parker, Oklahoma; Troy Apke, Penn State; Tre Flowers, Oklahoma State; Van Smith, Clemson.