A look into the Steelers draft strategy during the Colbert era

Fourth through Sixth-rounds

This is the part of the draft where the Steelers fill out their roster. They try to get guys who can be depth players on their team. They also will take a player who has dropped and has fallen to them.

A good example is when they took Marcus Allen. He was thought of as a third-round pick but fell to the fifth round. Although his career has been a bit of a disappointment, he showed some potential in the draft process.

An example of a Day Three pick of the Steelers is Zach Gentry. He didn’t have great tape at Michigan, but they liked the potential his height brought. They also liked that he was a Michigan man.

Seventh-rounders

The Steelers have a trend where they like to develop offensive and defensive linemen from the seventh-round. They have had some big successes like Kelvin Beachum.

This year they took Carlos Davis in the seventh-round. He is a defensive lineman who is an athletic freak that could develop. The year before they took Derwin Gray who stuck on the practice squad. Then the year after they took nose tackle Joshua Frazier who didn’t amount to much as an NFL player.

Although the Steelers haven’t hit on all their seventh-round picks, they do seem to find opportunities to add depth on the offensive and defensive lines.