Prior to this month's draft, 1SBD's Mark Hogan takes an in-depth look into each team's current projected starters and identifies strengths and lingering team needs after the first waves of free agency.
Player stats collected from Pro Football Reference. Salary information per Over The Cap.
TAKEAWAYS
PROS
- It's not common for a team to lose two of the league's biggest stars - wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell - without taking a huge step back. But Pittsburgh looks like it can move on relatively comfortably with JuJu Smith-Schuster atop the wide receiver depth chart and running back James Conner not missing a beat last season. Either position could be addressed in the draft, but the Steelers remain in a better situation than most teams in the league on offense.
- Ben Roethlisberger's three year extension was an easy way for the cap-tight Steelers to gain over $10 million in cap space, per Spotrac. The team was forced to eat a $21 million cap hit when Brown was traded to Oakland. The Steelers now have around $15 million to sign their incoming rookies -- including three from the first 66 picks.
CONS
- The Steelers allowed tight end Jesse James to depart for Detroit in free agency; probably understanding the draft was deep at the position. James contributed as a blocker but even more so to the passing game, and that kind of tight end is probably what the team will look for in this class. (However, some reports suggest Pittsburgh has not met with many tight end prospects and may happily move forward with Vance McDonald and Xavier Grimble as the team’s only viable tight end options.)
- The Steelers haven't had much recent success in drafting a cornerback. It may have realised as much -- signing former Chief Steven Nelson to a three-year, $25.5 million deal in free agency. But the team will need to try again this weekend, and if it doesn't love who's available at 20, it's very likely they use one of their thre second day picks on a future starter in the secondary.
- Edge rusher is on every team’s list of needs because every team likes to have as many guys bringing pressure as possible. With Pittsburgh still unsure on what linebacker Bud Dupree can give them - a bad sign after four years in the league - they might tentatively address the position in case they move on from Dupree in a year.
Projected Starters
NOTE:
NAME, Draft Round.Overall Pick (TEAM, year). Starts/Games Played. Age. Cap Hit 2019
QB has an additional 'total yards, number of attempts (yards per attempt)' figure.
RB, WR and TE have an additional ‘total yards / number of touches (yards per touch)’ statistic
Age as of Sunday September 8, 2019 (Week 1)
QUARTERBACK
BEN ROETHLISBERGER, 1.11 (PIT, 2004). 214/216. 56,194 yards/ 7,168 attempts. (7.8 y/a). 37-years-old. $12,400,000
RUNNING BACK
JAMES CONNER, 3.105 (PIT, 2017). 12/27. 1,614 yards/ 302 touches (5.3). 24-years-old. $844,572
WIDE RECEIVER
JAMES WASHINGTON, 2.60 (PIT, 2018). 6/14. 217 yards/ 16 touches (13.6). 23-years-old. $1,023,033
JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER, 2.62 (PIT, 2017). 20/30. 2,356 yards/ 170 touches (13.9). 22-years-old. $1,144,303
DONTE MONCRIEF, 3.90 (IND, 2014). 41/69. 2,559 yards/ 205 touches (12.5). 26-years-old. $3,250,000
Average: 71st overall pick. 67 starts/ 113 games played (59.3%). 5,132 yards/ 391 touches (13.1). 23.7-years-old. Total cap hit: $5.4M
TIGHT END
VANCE MCDONALD, 2.55 (SF, 2013). 51/73. 1,664 yards/ 128 touches (13.0). 29-years-old. $5,780,625
OFFENSIVE LINE
ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA, undrafted (PHI, 2014). 58/64. 30-years-old. $8,390,000
RAMON FOSTER, undrafted (PIT, 2009). 131/146. 33-years-old. $2,675,000
MAURKICE POUNCEY, 1.18 (PIT, 2010). 108/108. 30-years-old. $7,951,000
DAVID DECASTRO, 1.24 (PIT, 2012). 95/96. 29-years-old. $11,967,500
MATT FEILER, undrafted (HOU, 2014). 11/17. 27-years-old. $645,000
Average: 162nd overall pick. 403 starts/ 431 games played (93.5%). 29.8-years-old. Total cap hit: $31.6M
DEFENSIVE LINE
CAMERON HEYWARD, 1.31 (PIT, 2011). 83/118. 30-years-old. $14,901,250
JAVON HARGRAVE, 3.89 (PIT, 2016). 39/47. 26-years-old. $2,198,314
STEPHON TUITT, 2.46 (PIT, 2014). 58/70. 26-years-old. $13,642,000
Average: 55th overall pick. 180 starts/ 235 games played (76.6%). 27.3-years-old. Total cap hit: $30.7M
LINEBACKERS
BUD DUPREE, 1.22 (PIT, 2015). 39/54. 26-years-old. $9,232,000
MARK BARRON, 1.07 (TB, 2012). 93/104. 29-years-old. $3,875,000
VINCE WILLIAMS, 6.206 (PIT, 2013). 47/93. 29-years-old. $3,836,666
TJ WATT, 1.30 (PIT, 2017). 31/31. 24-years-old. $2,525,130
Average: 66th overall pick. 210 starts/ 282 games played (74.5%). 27-years-old. Total cap hit: $19.5M
CORNERBACK
JOE HADEN, 1.07 (CLE, 2010). 107/116. 30-years-old. $11,916,668
STEVEN NELSON, 3.98 (KC, 2015). 38/52. 26-years-old. $4,000,000
Average: 53rd overall pick. 145 starts/ 168 games played (86.3%). 28-years-old. Total cap hit: $15.9M
SAFETY
SEAN DAVIS, 2.58 (PIT, 2016). 40/47. 25-years-old. $1,300,398
TERRELL EDMUNDS, 1.28 (PIT, 2018). 15/16. 22-years-old. $2,431,316
Average: 43rd overall pick. 55 starts/ 63 games played (87.3%). 23.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $3.7M
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