Bittersweet day to see him no longer playing in Pittsburgh. Hope he makes the most of this opportunity. Best of luck, James!
James Conner signs with Arizona
- Thread starter HailToPitt725
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I’d have to imagine the starting position is up for grabs since Kenyan Drake left for Las Vegas.
You can thank me for that. Whenever he tweeted about something related to the next team I always replied to got to Arizona and play for the Cardinals!!! Including both he and the Cardinals team on the reply. So, clearly I am the Friggin GOAT SMF when it comes to James‘ career.
Pretty sure Edmunds will be their starter this year, but unlike the Steelers, the Cards typically give carries/catches to 2 backs per game. Though Kyler Murray steals all the TD runs.
There is certainly quite a pipeline from Pittsburgh to Arizona
I wish him well. James has represented himself, his family, and Pitt with strength & class.
Seems like a tandem situation between Conner and Chase Edmonds.
Do the Steelers now draft a RB in rounds 1 or 2? Their backfield is scary now... Snell, MacFarland, Ballage, and Edmunds...yikes.
I think so. Either Harris or Etienne in round one (Miami may snatch Harris before the Steelers pick) or UNC’s Williams in round two. Regardless of the sequence, I’m thinking they make RB and OL a priority.
They need help at LB too. Best available OL, RB or LB. That's why I would be OK trading adding another pick.
Conner, Fitzgerald, Stephens-Howling, Breaston, Reggie Wells, Gerald Hayes, Ken Whisenhunt, Bruce Arians, Russ Grimm
Basketball - Cam Johnson, Sean Miller, Herb Sendek
Football - Todd Graham, Rich Rodriguez (ok WV but close enough)
Baseball - I knew a girl who dated a AZ Diamondbacks player so that counts
I wish him luck but I'm also glad that he's no longer a Steeler. He needs to go somewhere where he can compliment another talented back or two. He was expected to shoulder the load here and that was never going to work given both his running style and injury history.
Agreed, trading down this year wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. Can’t recall the last time they did it, though.
I don’t think taking a running back in the first round is ever a good thing. As much as I like etienne, I’d rather they pick up a rb in later rounds or trade down for more picks. If an OL is on the board that is worth taking in the first then they should go after it. The Steelers have always been good at finding talent in later rounds. They don’t have a lot to spend under the cap. A RB in 1 will be costly. The team has a lot of needs and depth across the board is a big one.
Is anyone else tired of all the mock drafts on every sports network? It’s ridiculous.
I don’t necessarily disagree- I’d prefer them to go offensive line- especially since you can get good production out of guys in later rounds or even undrafted. However, I just think that’s what they’re set on doing.
Bingo. And most RB can't make their own yards. Look at how bad Saquon was behind the Giants OL last year pre-injury (and NOBODY we would get would be close to him, including Najee).
RB production is easy to replace when you have all of the other pieces together. Hell, Jacksonville had an UDFA last year that cleared 1,300 yards from scrimmage. Miami had two guys - one a 7th rounder, one a UDFA - that averaged over 4.0 YPC. We're better off taking a position of need and one where you get a significant discount compared to what's available on the market (especially OT and CB) rather than making the RB position expensive. Hell, we could probably trade a 6th round pick for Ke'Shawn Vaughn (now buried in Tampa), who was very close to, if not better than, Javonte Williams was in college.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Lineman here...RB’s don’t make their own yards.
Other than Shady and Alvin Kamara, I pretty much agree.
I agree that if any of the top linemen are available you have to take them over a running back.
However, to say "a RB in 1 will be costly" isn't actually true at all. No matter what player the Stillers pick he is going to get almost the exact same contract, both dollar-wise and in terms of length. NFL draft picks have slot values assigned to them, and if you spend more on one guy you have to find someone else to take less. And no one is going to take significantly less than their pick is "valued" at.
The guy that the Stillers pick (assuming that they stay at 24) is going to get a contract worth a total of around $12.5 million with a signing bonus of around $6.4 million.
Last year's 24th pick, Cesar Ruiz of the Saints got a contract worth $12.6 million with a signing bonus of $6.8 million. The year before the 24th pick was Josh Jacobs of the Raiders. He got an $11.9 million contract with a signing bonus of $6.7 million.
Last year's 24th pick, Cesar Ruiz of the Saints got a contract worth $12.6 million with a signing bonus of $6.8 million. The year before the 24th pick was Josh Jacobs of the Raiders. He got an $11.9 million contract with a signing bonus of $6.7 million.
The Steelers are going to regret letting James go in free agency. The injury rap is bogus, he missed one game to injury and two to Covid last year. Covid is Covid. The vast majority of starting RBs in the NFL were injured last year and many of them had capable offensive lines, we don’t. Under coach Canada I believe we will finally move away from a pass happy Offense and a dated cow bell running strategy, but we do not have the players to execute right now. If the draft is not productive, the running game will be the Steelers fatal flaw. Where Conner is going to be missed most is his leadership in the locker room, no rookie is going to replace that and we may have to buy our way for a adequate replacement. Best of luck James, you are already missed!
You're arguing my point for me. Every rookie pick gets paid the same no matter what position you take. But not every position gets paid the same. The fact that rookie picks have slotted contract values demands that you draft with an eye toward cost over replacement.
Think about cost over replacement value. A starting OL on the free agent market is worth $16-20 million. A starting RB is worth $5 million. Pick 24 gets paid about $3 million no matter what position it is. So you can save $10 million by taking an OT at 24 instead of saving $2M if you took a RB.
I agree with your value prospect
I don’t think joe is advocating for a rb-
Just the cap hit and salary is draft position dependent
pittdan77
Athletic Director
I think the only problem with this is who they'll be able to draft at that position. You really want someone who will play this year. Rashawn Slater might be the best shot. Versatile and can play center at a high level. Can also plug in everywhere else. Not crazy about some of the tackles that will be there and guards are easy to find. If he's gone, then I don't know what happens. We all know that Tomlin loves LB's and CB's early.
Slater might be a top 5 pick so he definitely won't be there at 24. I'm not sure about the other guys but I know the Steelers need an OL and this draft has a lot of them. There are some good corners, too, but I'm not sure if any of them make it to 24. Pass rush would be fine, too.
I really, really don't want them to take a RB prior to addressing the line. Just seems like a backwards strategy IMO.
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I understand where you are going with this, but that $16-$20m lineman is a proven high level pro bowler in his second contract. They are drafting at 24, so probably will get a good OL prospect, but likely not someone who fits the mold you're talking about.
RBs get chewed up and spit back out, which is why they usually aren't getting huge second contracts. If they have a shot at getting the best RB in the draft vs. say the 6th or 7th best OL, I don't think that's an easy decision. Especially if they want an impact this year. A guy like Eitienne or Harris could have a huge impact on the offense when coupled with the weapons they already have.
If I was the Steelers I would try and trade down and take the best guy available at OL, RB, or LB. Try to pick up another 3rd round pick.
If you're not even contemplating that a guy will be a high level player into his second or third contract, you've already lost me on taking that dude at 24. RBs are so replaceable, you're better off spending as little as you can (including draft capital) on them for 3 years and then pressing reset. I think it makes no sense to take a guy at 24 that will maybe play at a high level for 4 years if he doesn't get hurt.
That said, I do think that you're right in a lot of ways. And I think the Steelers are already "all in" on this year so I expect them to take the RB. But from a value-proposition standpoint, the decision to do so is objectively wrong.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Seeing a lot of late first or second round projections for him. Guess we'll see but I agree with you, I think a RB at that position would have to be a HOF guy.
If we go by recent history, it will be a defensive player and probably a LB.
I wouldn't have a problem with OL, but I don't think they're drafting with the thought of saving money/cap space over the long run. They're going to take who they think is the best player and helps them win.
The guy at the Athletic just did a full seven round mock draft. He had Slater going 8th to Carolina. Mel Kipper did a mock yesterday that had him going 13th and said that could be a steal. If he lasts to 24, the Stillers would be idiots not to pick him.
He won't last to 24.
Actually for the most part it doesn't. If it did, you'd pick a quarterback, because if he turns out good he'd be worth $20+ million and you'd be paying him $3 million. It would give you, by far, the best cost over replacement.
But of course if you draft a guy who isn't any good or that your team doesn't need simply because of what value he may provide over replacement before too long you are going to be drafting guys whose rookie contract averages well over $3 million per year.
I mean sure, if you think that one of the running backs and one of the offensive linemen are both likely to provide you with the same value then you can/should take replacement cost into account. But if not, you have to pick the guy that you think is more likely to be better.
BTW, both Kiper and the Athletic guy have the Stillers picking Harris. I actually think that the way that Kiper has the draft playing out is the only way that the Stillers should consider picking Harris. He has all the good offensive linemen getting picked before 24. He has Jenkins going 20 and then the next lineman not getting picked until 39 (Dickerson). If the Stillers have guys rated similarly (and of course there is no guarantee that they do) and the picks fall that way, you simply cannot take a guy that you have rated around 40 with the 24th pick simply because you need a guy at that position. If that happens you take something else in the first round and pick a lineman in the 2nd.
