Pittsburgh Steelers: Round 1 Draft Grade and Analysis
By Dan Thomas
Finally. No more NFL Mock Drafts. No more speculation. No more anticipation. The NFL Draft is now in the books.
Well, at least the first round is in the books.
With the 25th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected cornerback Artie Burns from the University of Miami.
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Let’s get to it.
Why did the Steelers make this pick?: The reasoning behind the pick is obvious. The Steelers have one of the worst secondaries in the entire NFL. In 2014, the Steelers defense finished 27th in the NFL in passing yards per game. In 2015, the Steelers defense finished 30th in the NFL in passing yards per game.
After the 2015 season was over, they lost Antwon Blake in free agency to the Tennessee Titans. They lost Brandon Boykin in free agency to the Carolina Panthers and they cut Cortez Allen. Now, a secondary that finished bottom-three in the NFL has went into the NFL Draft without three of his cornerbacks from the year before.
People might want to argue one or even all three of these players, “weren’t any good” but guess what? Blake started 16 regular-season games for the Steelers while Boykin and Allen at the least, provided depth. Let’s not pretend the Steelers secondary got better or stayed the same with the departure of all three of these players.
Veteran cornerback William Gay (barring injury) will be one of the Steelers starting cornerbacks come Week 1. Gay is a solid and above-average cornerback. At the same time, there is nothing special about him and he is 31-years old.
The Steelers other starting cornerback position is up for grabs.
Currently, they have Ross Cockrell who was a fourth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2014 NFL draft. The Steelers picked him up when he was released a year later but he actually started seven games for Pittsburgh in 2015. He showed some promise and upside. It wouldn’t be a shock if he’s a starter Week 1. Yet, it’s far from a guarantee.
They have Senquez Golson who was a second-round pick by the Steelers (56th overall) in last year’s NFL draft but he missed the entire season due to a shoulder injury/operation. After seeing zero game action his first season due to the injury, he is basically a rookie heading into the 2016 season. Other than those two players, there is no other cornerback on the roster that can realistically start in Week 1.
That is why the Steelers selected Artie Burns in the first-round.
Was it a good pick?: Only time will tell but it certainly wasn’t a bad pick and it’s nothing anybody should be upset about.
Burns was projected to go late in the first-round of the 2016 NFL Draft and that is where the Steelers selected him. If the Steelers were targeting the cornerback position in the first-round, they took the best one available. Some people (myself included) preferred Clemson’s CB Mackensie Alexander more than Burns but at the same time, the Burns pick can’t be argued.
There is much more to players coming out of college than tape, awards and production. It’s about how they translate to specific schemes at the next level, their maturity and overall fit for a team.
The Steelers scouting department basically said, “Burns is a better fit for us than Alexander”. You won’t hear an argument from me.
Let’s not forget, no other team took Alexander in the first-round or attempted to trade up from the second-round to select him. Is it possible other teams also valued Burns as a better prospect than Alexander? Probably.
The one disappointing part about the pick was the event that took place right before the Steelers pick. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Houston’s William Jackson III with the 24th pick in the NFL Draft.
Personally, I believe if Jackson was on the board when the the Steelers were up, they would have jumped all over him. Instead, their division rival drafted him one pick before them. Not only does it hurt to see a player many wanted get drafted right before the Steelers but to make matters worse, it was the Bengals.
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What can we expect out of Burns?: The kid is very raw. He is only 20-years old but he has good size (6’0) and speed (4.46, 40-time). Those are two things a NFL coach can’t teach.
He was a two-sport athlete at the University of Miami in football and track. Now that he’s with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he just has to concentrate on football and not on school or track. This should be a big benefit for Burns and the Steelers because although his overall workload might not decrease, it gives him an opportunity to focus on one specific area of his life.
He might not be a starter right out the gate but it wouldn’t be a shocker if he emerges as a starter at some point during the season due to the lack of competition. Either way, he still needs a lot of coaching and isn’t quite, “NFL ready”.
Let’s not forget, the University of Miami has pumped out some solid NFL prospects over the last few years with Duke Johnson, Lamar Miller, Phillip Dorsett, Allen Hurns, Ereck Flowers and Olivier Vernon to name a few.
It isn’t a mistake that Burns was drafted this high.
Draft Grade: B
The Steelers filled an area of need and at the same time, they didn’t reach for a player. As mentioned before, William Jackson III would have been a better fit because he’s more “NFL ready” but he was selected right before the Steelers.
When you watch the tape on Burns two things jump out right away: He’s aggressive and he has a lot of swagger to him. At the cornerback position, that is exactly what you want: Somebody that is confident in his abilities and isn’t afraid to take a chance.
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Burns has the athletic ability, build and mindset a team would want in a starting cornerback but has to work on his technique. Good coaching could turn this kid into a legitimate NFL starter but expectations should be tempered in year one.