Colbert, Tomlin on Steelers Process for Creating Draft Board
The Pittsburgh Steelers have many options for them to take at the No. 20 pick Thursday night in the first round of the NFL Draft. They could take the best player available or they could take a lesser player that could fill a need for them, whether that be at quarterback, offensive line or elsewhere.
Monday, Steelers general manger Kevin Colbert discussed how the team goes about drafting a player in the first round and how free agency has made this draft much easier.
“We always have approached it the same way,” Colbert said. “When free agency began, obviously that creates some situations where you try to fill in certain holes through that period. As coach [Mike Tomlin] mentioned we did some of that and anytime we have draft preparations, two players are close. If you have strength at one position and not another and the players are close, you obviously will take that player where your strength isn’t as good. Again you’ll make a huge mistake if you reach down, down low in your developments and on your boards for players that aren’t quite as good because what looks like a position need at a certain time can change instantly and we have to recognize that and just try to take the best players available if it’s not close.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin responded to a question asking him about prolific Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis and how he said he won’t be able to take him at No. 20 since he will be gone by that point. He said that the team puts together a board and that they aren’t so worried about what other teams are doing and more so on what the Steelers are planning to do draft wise.
“You know we always talk about not speculating on what others are going to do because it’s fruitless if you will,” Tomlin said. “We’ll put together our board here in the next 24 to 48 hours in totality and as they come off, they come off. We’ll see what’s available to us and we’ll ponder some of those possibilities: staying up, moving down, etc. But we just like our process and we focus our energies on what it is that we do and less so about the potential of what others might do.”
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