Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has come under fire lately for some less than spectacular results from some of his more recent draft classes.
At the end of the day, bad drafts have played a large role in why this franchise has produced back-to-back 8-8 seasons.
As soon as this past draft ended, many experts were grading Colbert’s performance either very positively or very negatively, with not much ground in the middle.
I for one did not like the past draft at all, but was hoping to be proven wrong.
I also believe that you really can’t judge a draft classes true worth for about three years, but the Steelers really needed an impact player that could step in and help this team from the start and once again they did not get that.
Injuries and other factors have certainly played a role, but looking at the numbers, the Steelers haven’t gotten much from their draft class through 11 games of the season.
Just to take a look.
Ryan Shazier- The first round pick out of Ohio State has been injured a bunch and has recorded a mere 26 tackles and one tackle for loss. You can see the promise in Shazier, but once again the Steelers haven’t gotten much out of a first-round pick early on.
Stephon Tuitt– Here’s a pick I really liked and I feel Tuitt should be on the field more. But because of the lack of reps for the Notre Dame product, the Steelers have gotten only five total tackles from their second-round pick.
Dri Archer- I thought this was a reach when it happened and after watching Archer early in his rookie season, it looks worse. He looks lost as a running back and pass catcher and is even worse as a kick returner, an area many thought he would make a huge impact right away. All Archer has provided this season has been 41 yards rushing and five receptions for a total of four yards.
Maybe with LeGarrette Blount out of the way he will make a little more impact, but so far Archer has done nothing to make you confident that he will.
Martavis Bryant- I loved this pick also and a solid couple week stretch for Bryant, once he got on the field, has pretty much saved this draft class from being the least impactful one in the entire NFL. Bryant has been a threat, hauling in 16 receptions, six of which went for touchdowns, 321 yards and a whopping 20.1 yards per reception average.
Shaquille Richardson– Practice Squad/ Injured Reserve.
Wesley Johnson– No longer with organization.
Jordan Zumwalt- Injured reserve.
Daniel McCullers- McCullers has filled in nicely at times, but still has a long way to go. On the year he has one tackle.
Rob Blanchflower– Practice Squad
Add all that up and out of the nine Steelers draft picks, they have contributed only 32 tackles with only one for loss and no impact plays. They also have only Archer’s 41 yards rushing and have a total 21 catches for 325 yards and six touchdowns.
All of that production really belongs to Bryant, so if you take him out of the mix, at least on paper it is another underwhelming draft class initially.
A key part of the rest of the season could be how some of the youngsters produce down the stretch.
This is the time in the season when rookies tend to hit a wall, but being the Steelers haven’t got much from their rookie class again, there could be some opportunities for guys like Archer and Shazier to contribute down the stretch.
Usually it takes all 53 guys and then some to build a winning season.
Hopefully the Steelers draft class can find a way to contribute or it could end up being just another underwhelming and non-impactful draft classes that are starting to become the norm.
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