Steelers News: Blount, Cornerbacks, Heavyweights
By Kim Myers
The Steelers offseason which includes everything from free agency to draft prep and anything in between is in full swing.
Steelers season never truly ends for Steeler Nation so while the offseason starts to heat up we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Monday, Apr. 11th.
Giving back
Legendary Steelers Hall of Famer Mel Blount has made it literally his life’s work to give back to kids. Teresa Varley tells us how he recently celebrated his 50th birthday with a benefit fundraiser for the Mel Blount Youth Home, a program that serves young males who are victims of child abuse and neglect.
The home provides housing, counseling, education and activities to the young men. Blount’s former teammates and fellow Hall of Famer’s Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Joe Greene, John Stallworth and Lynn Swann joined him for the benefit. You can find the pictures right here.
The drop-off
There’s no secret that the Steelers are in the market for a cornerback in this year’s NFL Draft. Based on their free agency acquisitions alone they’ve pretty much set themselves up to go into the draft with their sights fixed on a corner. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler suggests that there’s a huge drop-off in talent from the top-level corners available and the rest.
At the 25th pick the Steelers don’t exactly have the luxury of singling in on a specific player but most prognosticators have them leaning towards Houston’s William Jackson III, who is, according to ESPN the fourth-best corner in the draft after FSU’s Jalen Ramsey, Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves and Ohio State’s Eli Apple.
The heavyweights
Even prior to the draft there’s still plenty of time to predict what might or might not happen during the 2016 season. Around the NFL’s Marc Sessler suggests that the Steelers and Patriots are the heavy-hitters in the AFC going into the 2016 season.
Next: Steelers Draft: Kavon Frazier
The Patriots are annual favorites regardless of how they finish the year before so there’s no surprise there but the Steelers find themselves on top looking down even with their holes on defense because of the offensive attack featuring Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.