Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish nose tackle Louis Nix (1) carries the ball for a two point conversion in the fourth quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
When this 2014 draft season first began, just about every draft expert, pundit, guru, and Joe Schmoe out there had the Pittsburgh Steelers drafting Louis Nix III in the first round in their mock drafts. My thoughts were something like this “NO! NO! NO! They will not draft a player in the first round who will only play two downs per defensive series!” In my opinion, a first round draft pick should be able to play AT LEAST three downs and if they can play some special teams as well that’s even better.
As the draft season has gone on, Nix has steadily slipped down into the back half of the first round for seemingly no other reason than all the draft experts realized the same thing I was thinking. It makes no sense for a team to spend a high first round draft pick on a player that will not see the field very much. Good job experts.
Mel Kiper, Jr., ESPN’s resident draft expert, has Nix slipping all the way to the Steelers pick in round two in his latest two-round mock draft. This is a reasonable expectation simply for the fact that, even though Nix is a very good player at his position, a run-stuffing nose tackle is not a position of great need in today’s pass-happy NFL. This sort of nose tackle fits in the same group with running backs in this draft process. They will slip because they are not used as much as they used to be.
If Louis Nix III does manage to slip all the way to the 15th selection in round two of this year’s draft, it would be a great pickup for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It would be similar to the value they received in the 2013 draft from selecting Le’Veon Bell in the second round because of the tumble of running backs down draft boards. It is true that Bell is a three down player and Nix is not, but Nix would help shore up the defensive line and improve the Steelers run defense which has been slacking the last few years. Plus he can come in on offense for some goal-line carries. (See picture above.)
What do you think Steeler Nation, will Nix slip to the Steelers selection in the second round of the draft? And if so, would it be a good pick?