Steelers Draft: Grading Third Round Pick Javon Hargrave

The Steelers have selected defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in the 3rd round of the NFL draft.

The Steelers have added another defensive tackle to the team through the draft. With their 3rd round pick and the 89th pick overall the Pittsburgh Steelers picked Javon Hargrave from South Carolina State.

This checks the third box. The Steelers came into the draft needing to address three positions most of all. They needed a cornerback, a safety, and a defensive tackle. There are other needs but none so needed as these needs. They got a corner in the first round, a safety in the second (assuming Sean Davis was drafted as a safety), and finally a defensive tackle.

Javon Hargrave is 6’1″, not unlike our other draft picks thus far, but unlike them, he weighs 309 pounds. This is a pretty textbook defensive tackle build. Hargrave attended MEAC school South Carolina State and improved each year on the team. By his junior year he was noticeably dominating teams.

In 2015, his senior year, he ate up other teams’ offensive linemen. He finished the year with 59 tackles, 22 for loss, and 13.5 sacks. Cam Heyward led the Steelers in tackles for loss with just 15 and sacks with 7. This puts into perspective why Hargrave was the MEAC defensive player of the year.

After concerns about the level of competition he faced and how that may have let him get by on athleticism rather than technique, Hargrave went to the East-West Shrine Bowl and impressed scouts and coaches with his ability to dominate that level of competition as well. He further reassured scouts with a strong combine performance showcasing his quickness and lower body strength.

But we’re not in South Carolina anymore Toto. The big fella’s coming to the steel city so let’s take a look at what he’s bringing to the team.

Strengths

When it comes to strength in both a skills standpoint and taken literally Hargrave’s main asset is his powerful and quick lower body. It’s beyond measurables. Watch some tape of Hargrave, the man is all legs. He weighs 309 pounds but he has the legs that look like they could easily support another hundred pounds. And it’s not all power down their either.

It’s quickness too. For a guy his size, Hargrave gets off the ball in a hurry. He has excellent balance. He changes directions like a player carrying around much less weight. Hargrave has the power to push offensive linemen back and the quickness to make them miss. Furthermore, he has above average speed for chasing ball carriers.

His power let’s him hold his spot against the run and quickness makes him a dangerous pass rusher on the interior. On top of this athleticism he lacks nothing in the hustle department. Hargrave’s motor is always running. Hargrave’s quickness off the snap is elite and he is extremely disruptive along the line of scrimmage.

Weaknesses

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His weaknesses essentially stem from two areas. He went to a small school and his arms are short. These are both concerns that have made scouts hesitate, despite all his physical skills, when evaluating his pro potential.

Obviously when playing MEAC players and moving to the NFL the difference in competition is going to be pretty extreme, more than that of someone coming from a major conference. It’s not just the shock of good competition either.  The lack of competition allowed him to dominate with his physical gifts and allowed him to neglect developing certain parts of his game.

He has some decent pass rush moves but the need to develop moves was limited by the level of play in the conference. One area of improvement is anticipating blocks and plays. The talent gap between Hargrave and his competition allowed him to just burst forward and go from there. In the NFL it is far less likely that if you take a step in the wrong direction you’re going to get yourself back in the play.

There’s also concern about Hargrave having relatively short arms and how that might impact his ability to keep offensive linemen from controlling him and forcing him to get locked up with one blocker, thus limiting his ability to react. He does have arm strength but the length is a concern.

Draft Strategy

As was said earlier, the third box has been checked. I’m not sure I saw one mock draft where the Steelers didn’t take a safety, a defensive tackle, or a cornerback in the first round. If it was a multiple round mock, the first 3 picks were always one of those three positions. It’s not a secret to anyone what the Steelers needed, least of all the Steelers.

So this fills a glaring need. With McLendon having left in free agency the Steelers pretty much have Daniel McCullers as the only defensive tackle. Given the rawness of Hargrave I’m not sure the Steelers, with McCullers and Hargrave, have truly replaced McLendon. But, being two deep at defensive tackle is a lot better than one deep.

Hargrave also further signals the Steeler shift in defensive philosophy. Hargrave is big, strong, and powerful. But unlike a Casey Hampton, his strength is less in his ability to not move than his ability to move. Hargrave is less a plug or a mountain than a wrecking ball. His strength in the pass rush is also a dimension the Steelers have not had at the defensive tackle position for 2 or 3 decades.

Hargrave also offers the ability to spell Tuitt and Heyward. Not unlike Bell a couple years ago, Tuitt and Heyward, as great as they are, were playing too many snaps. Enough that, if sustained, could shorten a career. So Hargrave’s flexibility will allow him to play nose when the Steelers are in 3-4 but also let Tuitt or Heyward rest when the Steelers move to a Cover 2.

They previously used Tuitt and Heyward as defensive tackles in 4 defensive linemen sets because the pass rush in such packages has to come from the line and not the linebackers. The Steelers didn’t use a defensive tackle because the tackles they had were more of the 3-4 man mountains. With Hargrave they can actually play a defensive tackle at defensive tackle regardless of the defense they use.

Overall Grade: B

Overall this was a smart pick. Of course if they went with anything besides a defensive tackle it would have been perplexing, so merely addressing the obvious is not cause for a good grade. This gets a B because Hargrave is a very good fit for the Steelers and where they’re currently at.

Hargrave is very athletic. He’s a disruptive force who is powerful and quick. His athleticism, given his size, particularly in his lower body, is very impressive. Hargrave will be able to play multiple positions in multiple sets for a Steeler team that is not deep along the defensive line.

Hargrave played for a small school. In itself this is not as much of a concern as some might have you believe. What is an issue though is how it impacted his development. Does the MEAC defensive player of the year need to work on technique? What is he going to be MEAC defensive player of the century? How much better than the best do you need to be?

But the Steelers coaches have turned Tuitt and Heyward into the one of the best end combos in the league. Granted Hargrave was selected in the 3rd round, but that was well before McLendon, who was an undrafted free agent, and who the Steelers still managed to coach up into a starting nose tackle in a top 5 run defense.

Personally I think Hargrave is going to be an asset to the Steelers. He’ll be a helpful depth player his first year and I believe he can be a great help to the Steelers during these times of defensive transition. But because of the uncertainty around a small school we’ll make the cutoff point a B.

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But, assuming Hargrave’s ability to learn how to make better reads and keep blockers out from inside of him, he could really benefit the team for years to come and has the physical makeup to bridge the 3-4 era to the cover 2 era.

All stats used via scsuathletics.com