Steelers: AFC North First Round Roundup
By Remy Retro
The first round is in the books and the Steelers did take the best Cornerback left on the board.
The first round is in the books and the Steelers did take the best Cornerback left on the board, let’s hope. Some say Artie Burns could end up being the best corner coming out of the 2016 Draft, but he is very raw. Surely they were waiting on William Jackson III, who was plucked right before pick 25 to everyone’s favorite rival Bengals. While Cincinnati deserves a shot for that one, it is probably due to Cleveland’s selection of Wide Receiver Corey Coleman that the Bengals did not take a Receiver themselves as it was definitely a greater position of need for them.
After Jackson was selected, I thought the team would go with Vonn Bell the Safety from Ohio State, as he could come in and play right away. The Burns pick still leaves Ross Cockrell and William Gay as the two starting Corners, which is concerning. There is still a lot of Draft left and it is too early in the season to make any conclusions, but the question is, “Did the team get an impact player with their first pick?”
Looking at the other three teams in the AFC North (in their Draft order), the Ravens made the safe selection by taking Tackle Ronnie Stanley from Notre Dame. With an incriminating video surfacing on Laremy Tunsil’s Twitter account, they opted to go with what appears to be the more grounded player, from a character perspective. Stanley has good size and arm length, but may not be the strongest. It was better, I think, from the Steelers’ perspective that the Ravens did not get Jalen Ramsey or Deforest Buckner.
The Browns taking Corey Coleman at pick 15 was a bit of a surprise. He could very well be the most electrifying offensive player in this year’s Draft, but, like Artie Burns, maybe a bit of a reach. The fear factor isn’t quite there, as he does have some learning to do and will probably be catching passes from Robert Griffin.
Lastly the Bengals basically took what should have been Pittsburgh’s selection (as posted here yesterday). Jackson has good size and speed and catches the ball like a Wide Receiver. A good pick, but not their highest position of need. Potentially, this could work out well if it shakes up the Bengals’ Draft Board and leads to some missed picks.
For tonight’s edition of the Draft, hopefully the team sticks with defense, hopeful picks for Pittsburgh;
Sean Davis CB/S Maryland
Cyrus Jones CB Alabama
Sheldon Day DT Notre Dame