Steelers draft scouting report: Nose tackles
We’ve already ranked the Steelers draft needs. If you haven’t read that article, click here.
Now it’s time to talk about some of the players that the Steelers may potential select in the upcoming draft.
In our ranking of the team’s needs, I stated that I thought that offensive guard is the most important need on the team. However, I believe that the most pivotal need may be at nose tackle, so I’m going to start by talking about players that we might select there.
Let’s start with……..
Dontari Poe – Readers who read the comments on this blog know that I lived in Memphis for most of this century. I am a huge Memphis Tigers fan. I follow them very closely. So I was surprised when there was widespread demand among Steelers fans for the team to select Dontari Poe in the 1st round if he’s available. I don’t know many Memphis fans who thought that Dontari was a 1st round pick when we were watching him play.
I understand that Poe did great at the NFL Scouting Combine. However, players don’t do bench presses during NFL games. Nor do they run around cones. Nor do they do vertical jump. Nope, what they do is play football. And I’ve watched Dontari Poe play football. And never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that he’d be a top 15 NFL draft selection. In fact, I probably would have been shocked if anyone had told me that he’d be selected before the 3rd or 4th round.
In my opinion, Poe is a risk as a 1st round pick, and he’s a HUGE risk as a top 15 pick. But he certainly has potential.
Josh Chapman – Chapman reminds me of a young Casey Hampton. He’s “too short” for the position, standing only 6’1″. He comes from a dominant program. And he’s a proven run stuffer.
Chapman played nose tackle for the national champions. He was coached by Nick Saban. Nobody has to guess whether he can play in a 3-4 defense. He’s already done it.
Unfortunately, he suffered an ACL injury, and that’s caused him to drop in draft ratings. With Casey Hampton already recovering from an ACL injury, some might ask, “why would the Steelers select another nose tackle who is also recovering from and ACL injury?” But remember, he played through the injury. He only missed one game due to it.
Picking Chapman in the 3rd or 4th round will prove to be a steal.
Hebron Fangupo – The Steelers had Fangupo in Pittsburgh for a visit already, so they’re obviously considering him. Like Josh Chapman, he’s a bit short, standing only 6’1″. But I believe that leverage is a big part of winning at the line of scrimmage, and the low man usually wins. So I don’t have an issue with a player being a little short, if he’s also strong and athletic. Fangupo is very strong, and reasonably athletic.
The problem that I have with Fangupo is that he’ll be a 27 year old rookie. I want somebody who can man the position for the steelers for the next 10 years (like Casey Hampton did). With Fangupo, a team will likely only get 5-6 years out of him. Hampton is only 34, and he’s looked old for the past 3 years. So in 5 years, Fangupo will already be the age where Hampton showed noticeable aging. I’m going to assume that it will take him at least 1 year to learn Dick LeBeau’s defense. That means the Steelers would only get 4 good years out of him. That’s a problem.
Akiem Hicks – Hicks is another potential nose tackle that the Steelers brought to Pittsburgh for a visit. Hicks is large and athletic. But he will definitely be a project.
After being heavily recruited by LSU coming out of junior college, he lost his eligibility due to recruiting violations. He was forced to go north of the border and play for Regina in Canada. So he has very little playing experience, and even less against top rated talent.
He has the girth to be an effective NT, but he also has the athleticism to move outside and play 3-4 defensive end. He played both defensive end and defensive tackle in college.
Alameda Ta’amu – Ta’amu is a big-bodied samoan who is also thought of as one of the top NT’s in this year’s draft. However, the Steelers didn’t bring him in for a visit. He put up decent number at a good program. From that standpoint, he may be ahead of everyone but Josh Chapman.
Nicolas Jean-Baptiste – He’s not getting as much coverage as some of the other potential draftees at nose tackle. But he’s among the most ready of the group. Like Chapman and Ta’amu, he played in a good conference, and faced reasonable competition each week. The Big 12 will never be confused with the SEC, but it’s probably better than the Big East or the Conference USA. And it’s definitely better than playing for Regina in Canada (see Akiem Hicks).
I’d say Chapman, Ta’amu, and Baptiste are my personal favorites.
1I agree that Chapman in the 3-4th would be good value and that I would prefer to avoid Poe. On Fangupo, I think he still provides good value in the 5th or 6th and could be a starter for a few years or a quality back-up for 7-8 years (ala Hoke). I also like Hicks in the 6th or 7th. Yes, he’s raw but would get at least 1 year to learn and NT is probably the easiest position to learn in LeBeau’s defense.
What about Brockers? He’s a little taller than we like for a NT but he has great strength, can still add some weight/strength, and has a constant motor. I don’t think he’ll fall but I have started to see him listed in the latter part of the 1st round recently. I see him as a raw Shaun Rogers without the attitude problems.
2John,
The funny thing about Poe is that he could be an amazing player if he can get it all together. He’s a unique physical specimen. But I always get concerned when teams draft a player to do something that he’s never actually shown that he can do.
I watched Poe get blown off the line many times. And that was against competition in CUSA. So if he couldn’t stand up to CUSA offensive linemen, what is he going to do against Ryan Kalil, Alex Mack, or Nick Mangold? Particularly when those guys are also getting help from a guard. Will Poe be able to stand up to that kind of pressure?
As far as Michael Brockers goes, I actually like him. But I don’t like him as a nose tackle. Instead, I see him as a guy who I would shift to DE in a 3-4 defense. He’s pretty stout at the line of scrimmage, but he didn’t generate great stats as a college DT. He’s tall with long arms, and he can collapse the pocket in 1-on-1 situations. To me, those are great ingredients for a guy who can be converted into a 3-4 DE.
And BTW, the Steelers can use more depth at DE.
3Don,
Your second paragraph sums up my concerns on Poe. If he’s really that talented you would think he would, at least, be dominant occassionally…rather than a non-factor most of the time.
On Brockers, while he might make a better 3-4 DE, he did play both DE and NT at LSU. I just brought him up since you did mentioned Hicks and he’s a similar tweener.
The Steelers could use more depth just about everywhere. Unless someone falls, I would really like them to trade down on their 1st pick. There is a lot of good talent in the draft but I just don’t see that much of a difference between the late 1st round and the early 3rd.
4John,
I think I need to clarify something. I don’t want people to think that I’m saying that Poe is a complete scrub. He’s not. I could never do what he does. I’m not big enough or strong enough.
However, for someone to be a 1st round draft pick, they need to be special. When I watch certain players, I immediately know that I’m watching somebody special. I immediately know that he’s different than the other guys on the field. University of Memphis fans got to feel that when DeAngelo Williams (now with the Carolina Panthers) was playing for the Tigers football team. We got to feel it when Derrick Rose was playing for the Tigers’ basketball team. Pitt fans got to feel it when Hugh Green played for the Panthers. Or Bill Fralic. Or Dan Marino. Or Tony Dorsett. Or Larry Fitzgerald.
But with Poe, I never felt that I was watching somebody special. Never! Not once! So I’m amazed that people are actually talking about him possibly being selected in the top 10. I guess it pays to be 345 lbs.
I hope he pans out. I really do. But he never showed me anything that indicated that he was a 1st round talent………except for his bench press. And they don’t bench press in the NFL. Just ask Vernon Ghoulston.
5I don’t think you need to clarify anything. I didn’t interpret that you thought Poe was a scrub – just that he has a lot of questions associated with him as to why his workout performance did not translate to on-field performance.
I have nothing against Poe either. I would just really worry if the Steeler’s took him in the 1st round.
6Thanks John. You nailed my point exactly. I knew that you would know what I meant, but I thought that other readers might misinterpret my points.
When I read back over my earlier comments, I thought some of them sounded a bit harsh, so I wanted to clarify that Poe is a hardworking football player who will probably have a long NFL career. I just wish he had shown me more while he was in college to make me believe that he’s worth the 1st round grade that everyone seems to have tagged him with.
7