Rookie Report Card: Revisiting the Steelers’ 2017 Draft Class, Part Two
With the Pittsburgh Steelers headed into post-season play, Steel City Underground will be looking back at the 2017 Draft Class and how the picks Pittsburgh made had an effect on their season and future with our Rookie Report Card series.
Part Two
In the first part of our rookie report card series, we looked at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first four picks of the 2017 NFL Draft class. Following our preseason analysis format, we’ll wrap up revisiting what the analysis was immediately after the draft selections were made.
Joshua Dobbs
(QB, Tennessee – Round 4, Pick 29 – No. 135 overall)
Much of Steelers Nation was hoping, after hearing Ben Roethlisberger hint that he may be looking at retirement at the end of 2016, that the Steelers would grab a quarterback in the draft. Many Steelers faithful questioned the choice almost immediately. As the fourth pick, many felt Dobbs was an ‘okay’ pick, but weren’t sold that he’d step into a role that moved Landry Jones – hated and loved – into the third quarterback spot on the depth chart.
Dobbs was able to secure a spot on the final 53-man roster out of training camp, however, and showed promise during the preseason. In four games, Dobbs completed 38-of-64 passes for 406 yards and two touchdowns. Dobbs threw three picks and was sacked six times, showing that the Steelers were likely to give him a true redshirt season in 2017.
Joe Kuzma’s early post-draft analysis:
While I’m okay with the choice, I’m still skeptical that a late round quarterback pick will pan out to anything more than a number two on the depth chart. History shows this to be the case, though I’ll still root for Dobbs to succeed.
Brian Allen
(DB, Utah – Round 5, Pick 30 – No. 173 overall)
That the Steelers double-dipped into the defensive backs pot wasn’t much of a surprise considering their defensive backfield was one of the weakest squads on the 2016 roster. They needed depth, even if they picked up someone who projected to be the type of guy who would need some work on an NFL roster before they turned him loose inside or outside. With Artie Burns, William Gay, Coty Sensabaugh and fellow rookie Cameron Sutton at camp, Allen – a former receiver – would get an opportunity to show how ready he was to use his 6-foot 3-inch, 215-pound frame to bracket and challenge receivers. He exited camp with both Mike Hilton and Joe Haden joining the Steelers, but Allen still got a shot to play in ten games during the season; building his abilities on special teams especially. Allen recorded just two tackles in 2017.
Joe Kuzma’s early post-draft analysis:
Allen’s measurables are elite. In fact, he is strikingly similar to another former fifth-round pick, Seattle’s Richard Sherman. Their stats compare favorably, which is why the Steelers went with this athlete whom they can hopefully develop into a starting cornerback in the near future…the former wide receiver was knocked by analysts for doing all sorts of things wrong. Apparently, he isn’t smooth, doesn’t have good footwork and can’t tackle…Allen’s selection is another in a long line of attempts to create an elite Steelers secondary. I’m pleased with the value he can provide at this time, considering most of Pittsburgh’s interest in the defensive backfield were taken well ahead of their positions in each round. Allen falling here could be a blessing. Or a curse.
Colin Holba
(LS, Louisville – Round 6, Pick 30 – No. 213 overall)
There aren’t very many long-snappers that are grabbed during draft day. Instead of waiting to see if Holba would go undrafted, the Steelers pulled the trigger in the sixth round. They were looking for a replacement for long-time snapper Greg Warren. The Steelers would end up wasting the pick, in a way, by bringing in Kameron Canaday of Portland State who would win the position and take over for Warren. Holba’s talent wasn’t unnoticed and he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars after Matt Overton suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve.
Joe Kuzma’s early post-draft analysis:
Kudos to the Steelers for not only having the guts to make this pick but for scouting long snappers, to begin with!
Keion Adams
(OLB, Western Michigan – Round 7, Pick 30 – No. 248 overall)
Adams was a final piece the Steelers went after to help build their leaner, younger linebackers corps. Adams, who was compared to Arthur Moats in his NFL.com draft profile, was considered to be a player with a nice upside due to the 7.5 sacks in his final year at Western Michigan. Unfortunately for Adams, he suffered a shoulder injury and was forced onto the injured reserve on August 29, 2017.
Joe Kuzma’s early post-draft analysis:
Again, Pittsburgh double-dips at a position of need and finds a player with tremendous upside… Even if he’s not an immediate starter or a backup, he could find a role strengthening the Steelers special teams unit… Adams is considered to be undersized as a defensive end on the next level, but that’s something he could work on.
Side Notes
Similar to what I observed in part one of this rookie series, Joe had some good insights. We never got to see whether Adams will turn out to have that upside, but the fact that the Steelers have him on the injured reserve list at the end of the season seems to indicate they’d like to see what he has to offer during the offseason and possibly into 2018 if he’s healthy.
That Dobbs and Allen were given time to learn the Steelers’ system hasn’t been a negative. In fact, it may turn out to be a very smart forward-thinking move on the part of Pittsburgh’s coaching and general staff to allow those two rookies to mature and get reps as backups so that they’ll be one step closer to being a future starter.
Wrapping up our revisiting of the 2017 draft class, we move next to handing out the grades and talking about the players who’ve done well enough to be in consideration for the Steelers Rookie of the Year honors… and maybe even in consideration for NFL ROY.
