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Gerry Dulac's Steelers chat: 05.05.22
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Gerry Dulac
10:24
OK, kids, we're doing this a day later than normal, but all that does is give everyone an extra day to come up with more questions. We'll start our chat in about 20-25 minutes so get ready....
10:51
OK, here we go kids....
Henry in Blawnox
10:51
Austin biggest steal in Steelers draft?
Gerry Dulac
10:52
He might be. I like the choice. I like his speed, the fact he caught a lot of balls the past two seasons as a pure wideout and the fact that two of their top 4 picks were WRs to help restock that position.
Nostradamus Your are not
10:52
Gerry, time to step up your game, first the Miles Jack prediction, then your pre-draft take on QB draft.  Come on man, what is your encore?
Gerry Dulac
10:53
To somehow get people to spell Myles Jack's name correctly.
Henry in Blawnox
10:53
Hey Gerry - is it time to cut Tuitt and his almost $14M cap hit?  I honestly feel bad for his situation, but its either time to commit to work or get cut - my job would be sympathetic if i was in the same situation, however, lets be real i would've had to report back to work after a year. Do you agree?
Gerry Dulac
10:53
Henry, he's played 21 games in three years. That's not what you would call dependability.
ElCid97
10:54
Do you think Mitch lasts a season as our starter? Or if Pickett isn't the starter on opening day, he will be at some point during the season?
Gerry Dulac
10:55
That's what we're going to find out. I know this, if Trubisky is the starter -- and I expect that -- he will be in a difficult position. The minute he throws a bad pick or has a bad game, the fans will be howling for Pickett
TXSteeler
10:55
ol, we get you really didn’t like picking a QB - but what I’m the world makes you think you know better than a FO and Scouts who have been extremely successful at this? And before you say “the rest of the league didn’t want a QB” you don’t know that 1 you have no idea who would have taken Pickett and when if the Steelers passed.
Gerry Dulac
10:57
Yes I do. And, I never made it about any one QB, nor did I ever say they wouldn't draft a QB. What I have always said is it would be a waste of a No. 1 pick if they drafted a QB. And it is. This is an above average football team that needs more help than taking a QB (let alone two) from an average class.
SteelTheOne
10:57
Gerry, have you heard anything from coaches or front office staff about Buddy Johnson? He was incredibly productive at Texas A&M but fell completely off the radar last season. Aside from Myles Jack (admittedly a great pickup), ILB still seems to be pretty thin. Thanks.
Gerry Dulac
10:58
You know, I don't have a recent update, only because there has been nothing going from which to obtain an update. But I know they weren't exactly enamored with what they saw last year but are willing to give him a second year to see how he develops/improves
SMF
10:59
Hi Gerry:  Thanks for the Chats, No one really mentions it, but my hats off to Tomlin for his complete curve ball fake media show that he was all in for Malik Willis.  Very, very well done…...virtually every so-called pundit fell for it hook, line, and sinker.  Was this his best Houdini act?
Gerry Dulac
10:59
Other than a quick disappearing act from the postseason, yes.
Justin
10:59
While it's way too early to grade the draft, I was disappointed we didn't add another Defensive Tackle.  Do you see the Steelers adding any or going with what we have?  Not much behind Alualu.
Gerry Dulac
11:02
I doubt it. Is not that they merely need another defensive tackle -- they have plenty of bodies -- they need a young, quality defensive tackle, someone who can be the next Cam Heyward or Stephon Tuitt. You don't typically find those on the third round or lower. The Steelers tried to trade up in the first round, but it should have been for Jordan Davis, not for Kenny Pickett, which they were prepared to do. By the time Pickett was still there at 16, the Steelers could have traded down in the draft and still landed him.
Steeler in Virginia
11:02
How much young Ben do you see in Pickett's game? And do you think the Steelers' experience bottling up Lamar Jackson - a very mobile QB with questionable accuracy - led them to shy away from a similar QB in Willis?
Gerry Dulac
11:05
I am certainly not about ready to compare Pickett to Roethlisberger in any form. Ben was the third QB taken -- and it turns out, the best QB -- in arguably the best QB class ever drafted. When it comes to number of Super Bowl victories, it is the best QB class ever drafted. And I don't think their ability to defend Lamar Jackson had any effect on Willis' position. If anything, the problems Jackson presents enhanced the Steelers desire to get a mobile quarterback.
Mendy
11:05
Hi there Gerry, if you had to take an estimate, how do you think Kenny Pickett's career will turn out?
Gerry Dulac
11:06
I have no idea. Kenny Pickett is a nice kid and I'm sure he will have a nice career. But he will be under a ton of pressure to play in the same town where he was a college hero. And to replace a HOF QB.
Tim
11:06
Was there a player on the board that the Steelers brain trust passed on that you were surprised they didn’t select ?
Gerry Dulac
11:09
Not really, not surprised. I thought they might be inclined to take Georgia's other DT, Devonte Wyatt, whom one former NFL head coach told me would be a better fit for the Steelers than Jordan Davis. That's what I thought they should have done when Davis was gone. But, knowing what I know now, that was never going to happen with Pickett still on the board. The only good news is they didn't have to give up more draft capital and do something even more questionable (dumb?) like trade up to get him.
Utah Jim
11:10
Is Pickett’s ceiling really that much different than Trubisky’s?
Gerry Dulac
11:10
That's what we're going to find out
ElCid97
11:10
When they say Leal needs to bulk up by fifteen pounds to play, does that translate to him being the D-Line version of what we saw of Kenrick Green last year? Too small and easily pushed around?
Gerry Dulac
11:12
He needs to bulk up a bit to play inside. Hey, Leal might not be a bad pick. Might be a good pick. But he wasn't the type of player the Steelers needed to help their run defense. And, like I said, you typically don't find Cam Heyward or Stephon Tuitt on the third round or lower
Salvador
11:12
Hello Gerry! Hope everything is great at your side.  know OTAS will just start in 2 weeks but with the FA we signed, the youth movement in the Offensive side in the Draft + Brian Flores acquisition and Austin promotion the team seems more replenished. Are we going to see this year a change like the first year of Cowher's tenure ?? or more of latest 4 ?
Gerry Dulac
11:14
Honestly, I don't see any kind of dramatic one-year turnaround. But, let's not forget, they have been to the postseason each of the past two years so it's not like they are some type of bottom-feeder. Cowher inherited some very average non-playoff teams when he became coach in 1992. This team is not like those.
Utah Jim
11:15
They had the worse rush defense in the league last year and play in division with heavy run teams Cleveland and Baltimore not to mention Joe Mixon who ran for over 250 yards against them last season. Why do they refuse to get someone to play NT and is Tomlin the most stubborn coach in the league?
Gerry Dulac
11:17
Four teams ran for over 200 yards, most in the league. They were only team to allow an average per rush of 5 yards. No team came even close to allowing as many runs of 20+ yards (24). You think they need help, especially when their starting DL averages over 32.3 years old??? Uh, yeah
Alex
11:18
I think 2021 and the 2022 draft really put the steelers in a good spot moving forward.   Remember, no on though this years draft would turn them into a SB team.   Next year they can pound OL, DL and DB in the draft.   And THEN be a SB type team for 2023 and beyond.   Plus, they have lots of money to spend next year, even after they sign Minkah.
Gerry Dulac
11:18
Now there's a positive outlook. But I will point up they did a lot to "pound" the offensive line in free agency.
Alfonso
11:18
Pay the man for the Draft Grade! ¿Any interesting FAgent DT , within reach ?  Never retire
Gerry Dulac
11:19
I kinda like this guy!
Tom M.
11:19
I was in agreement with your thoughts to not take a QB. But, after seeing how the draft played out with Davis and the best WRs off the board, who would you have taken?
Gerry Dulac
11:19
I might have been inclined to take Devonte Wyatt
Edward A
11:19
I've seen a bunch how the Steelers got one over on the Ravens with the Austin pick, but I think the Ravens got the bigger one over Pittsburgh in the third.  Do you think it may have been wiser to grab Travis Jones in 2 and see what happened at WR in 3 and 4?
Gerry Dulac
11:21
That's what happens when you draft a QB in the first round and not address what you really need. If they take a WR in the first round, then they could get Travis Jones in the second and not let the Ravens get him in the third. And, if you really wanted a QB, the Steelers had at least three of those guys with a No. 1 grade, meaning they could have had one of them in the third round.
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