Who should Steelers draft in 1st?
If not a linebacker, who would the Steelers draft in the first round?
You鈥檝e probably heard of Heathers, the movie about popular girls in high school.
Well, opening in NFL cities next month is the sequel, Devins, a flick about the most popular linebackers in the NFL draft.
We鈥檝e seen clues that the Steelers want a Devin. They reportedly had a deal in place that would鈥檝e moved them up to the ninth pick of the first round 鈥� until the movie蘑菇视频 villain, Antonio Brown, abruptly ended the talks.
But the clue remains vital because there isn鈥檛 another position of need that involves Top 9 picks other than linebacker. The only plausible explanation for such a trade would be for the Steelers to grab themselves one of the Devins.
Top Steelers brass showed up at the Michigan pro day two weeks ago, and that night I received this DM from a reporter on site: 鈥溾�� the Steelers appear to really love Devin Bush.鈥�
The coach and the GM then traveled to LSU a week later, and photos were plastered all over the internet of Mike Tomlin settling in to watch his linebackers coach, Jerry Olsavsky, run Devin White through his positional drills 鈥� which, by all accounts showed that White was worthy of a Top 10 pick.
Oh, to have a chance at a Devin.
But what if they don鈥檛 get that chance?
What if the Steelers can鈥檛 draft a Devin?
My guess, according to Steelers needs and the array of available draft talent, is they would select a wide receiver first. And for reasons I鈥檒l explain, the receiver I鈥檓 going with is Hakeem Butler.
This has to be a surprise to readers who pay close attention to my work, because in a March 2 story about elite WRs at the NFL Combine, I ruled Butler out because of too many drops, as well as N鈥橩eal Harry for a perceived lack of separation against top cornerbacks.
But today, they鈥檙e the two receivers I contemplated for a pick that蘑菇视频 personal to the Steelers for two reasons: One, they need a splash receiver, and, two, said splash receiver would replace the aforementioned villain.
In my March 11 mock, I had already begun to waver on Butler as I contemplated the big man for the second round. Most media boards still have him as a late first or early second-rounder, but I鈥檝e kept him in mind as a big target for Ben Roethlisberger, who thrives with big receivers, as we recall during his 15-1 season with Plaxico Burress.
Burress was a big part of Roethlisberger蘑菇视频 incredible rookie year, and then he was gone in free agency. He came back as an old man. And Martavis Bryant later tried to replace him. So did Justin Hunter. But no one has been able to replace the 2004 version of Burress as a big-bodied deep threat for Roethlisberger.
So wouldn鈥檛 Butler be a nice gift for a quarterback who蘑菇视频 been slimed by the villain these past couple of months?
Here蘑菇视频 the physical comparison:
n Burress 鈥� 6-5 3/8, 231, 33 3/4 arms, 4.59 40, 33 vertical, 9-7 broad jump.
n Butler 鈥� 6-5 3/8, 227, 35 1/4 arms, 4.48 40, 36 vertical, 10-8 broad jump.
The comparison is enticing. But then someone at our message board back at SteelCityInsider.net made the point that Butler very well could be Jonathan Baldwin.
And, yikes, I have to admit I liked Baldwin, who was drafted 26th out of Pitt in 2011, but washed out after three seasons.
n Baldwin 鈥� 6-4 3/8, 228, 34 arms, 4.49 40, 42 vertical, 10-9 broad jump.
Pretty darn close to the others.
So, the important question is whether Butler蘑菇视频 more like Burress or Baldwin.
Butler has dropped some easy passes. It蘑菇视频 possible his massive 10 3/4-inch hands might actually be too big for that little pill of a football. Butler also appears to lose focus at times. Are the Big 12 defenses boring him?
Statistically, though, Butler蘑菇视频 actually pretty good with contested catches. He might not be Gary Jennings. The WVU receiver led draft-eligibles with a 54 percent catch rate of contested passes. But Butler checked in at a respectable 45.2 percent catch rate of such balls.
It did come out Tuesday after his pro day that Butler蘑菇视频 hard at work on his flaws. He catches 鈥渉undreds of balls a day,鈥� and he蘑菇视频 also working to get off jams, on his breaks at the tops of his routes, and other fine points of big-man receiving with the great Calvin Johnson.
When I read that story in the Des Moines Register, I thought to myself, 鈥淗mmm, Jim, you know Megatron is the son-in-law of a Steelers scout.鈥�
And so I wondered if he, Bruce 鈥淐hilly鈥� McNorton, had set up this new mentorship. It would certainly give the Steelers insight into Butler蘑菇视频 skills AND work ethic.
Hmmmm, indeed.
I pondered this while also wondering whether the Steelers would actually draft someone in the first round without Tomlin having attended his pro day. That seems to be the trend for the Steelers anymore at draft time.
But, 鈥淗ey,鈥� I thought, 鈥淭omlin蘑菇视频 at the NFL Owners Meetings and that adage can鈥檛 always hold up.鈥�
Hey, indeed.
As I thought about Butler and Megatron, and Tomlin not being there, I turned on an NFL Network recap of the Iowa State pro day. And who walks behind analyst James Palmer during his report?
Chilly.
A.k.a. McNorton.
A.k.a. Megatron蘑菇视频 father-in-law.
A.k.a. Butler蘑菇视频 in with the Steelers.
Some scouts aren鈥檛 fazed by the young receiver蘑菇视频 drops. In fact, some call Hakeem Butler the best receiver in the draft. And what better way to kill off the villain at the end of a good movie than drafting a terrific, king-sized replacement for your side?
Yep, just draft the monster who鈥檒l give the guy who hasn鈥檛 responded to six weeks of smearing his just due in the end.
It蘑菇视频 the least the Steelers could do for Roethlisberger after allowing his other king-sized receiver to leave 15 years ago.