Draft class of 2017 on way to greatness
Colbert selections making an impact in second season
NFL scouts will tell you it takes from 3-5 years to truly judge a draft class. Some of Kevin Colbert’s best came early in his tenure as general manager, and they don’t include the years he selected future Hall of Famers Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. While they played a huge role in the Steelers winning Super Bowls in 2005 and 2008, the depth of their classes weren’t great.
Getting a number of players that become starters and contribute in the same draft class is a better indicator of its overall success. Colbert’s 2002 class, for example, produced five players — Kendall Simmons, Antwaan Randle El, Chris Hope, Larry Foote and Brett Keisel — who were starters or major contributors on Super Bowl teams.
Other Colbert classes have produced two or three stars. The 2007 class had Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley. The 2010 class included Maurkice Pouncey and Antonio Brown. The 2014 class had Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt and Martavis Bryant.
Someday soon, the 2017 draft class might be in the conversation as one of Colbert’s biggest successes.
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner are blossoming in their second seasons and are big reasons for th e Steelers being in first place in the AFC North Division at theseason’s halfway point.
Watt leads the Steelers in sacks with seven. That’s twice as many as anyone else on the team and ranks 11th in the NFL. Smith-Schuster leads the team in receptions (53) and receiving yards (672). And Conner, who is off to a torrid start, is second in the NFL in rushing yards (706) and yards from scrimmage (1,085).
“I think that’s just the mentality we all had coming here,” Watt said. “We wanted to contribute in any way possible. It’s not college. You’re not always redshirting. You want to make an impact. It felt like we had a lot of guys who could make an impact.”
Even quarterback Josh Dobbs got into the act Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Dobbs entered the game in the fourth quarter after Roethlisberger got the wind knocked out of him. Backed up on the 5 and facing a second-and-20, Dobbs dropped back and rifled a 22yard completion to Smith-Schuster on his first career pass attempt.
Other members of the draft class include cornerbacks Cameron Sutton and Brian Allen and outside linebacker Keion Adams. Sutton and Allen are reserves on the 53-man roster; Adams is on the practice squad. They could have bigger roles in the future.
“If you look at our class it has guys that played really well in college,” Dobbs said. “T.J., of course, and the type of career he had at Wisconsin. JuJu dominated the Pac12. James did all sorts of stuff in the ACC. Cam was firstteam SEC. I was first-team SEC.
“It was a lot of guys who had success at the college level. It’s pretty cool to see how we’ve all progressed. Obviously, we all have different roles right now. But we’re all making an impact wherever we can on the field.”
Watt, Smith-Schuster and Conner just aren’t helping the Steelers win — they’re looking like they might be some of the best picks of 2017, period. Only No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett has more career sacks than Watt. Garrett has 16; Watt has 14.
Smith-Schuster has by far the most receiving yards of any player taken in the draft. He has 1,589 yards in 20 career games. Five receivers were selected before SmithSchuster, including three among the first nine picks of the draft. Those three combined — Tennessee’s Corey Davis, the Chargers’ Mike Williams and Cincinnati’s John Ross — don’t have as many receiving yards as Smith-Schuster.
The only running backs that have more career rushing yards than Conner are Kareem Hunt, Alvin Kamara and Joe Mixon, and they all saw much more playing time than Conner as rookies.
Injury report
Roethlisberger (finger/ coach’s decision), defensive lineman Daniel McCullers (ankle) and offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert (knee) did not practice Tuesday. Receiver Ryan Switzer (ankle) was limited as was receiver Antonio Brown, who was merely being rested on the short week.