The NFL awarded the Steelers a 6th round compensatory pick for losing Brice McCain in free agency last year. A jaded fan might react: “Woopie an extra pick at the bottom of the 6th round.”
- Such attitudes would be little more than ignorant bliss.
Steelers.com reminded Steelers Nation that Hines Ward, Mike Vrabel, Amos Zereoue, Willie Colon and William Gay were compensatory picks. They could have added Daniel McCullers, and Kelvin Beachum were compensatory selections (so was Dri Archer, but most people on the South Side would probably rather forget that.)
- A 6th round pick might sound ho, hum, but Antonio Brown was a 6th round pick.
Vince Williams, Willie Williams, Leroy Thompson, Greg Lloyd and Dwayne Woodruff were all 6th round picks. Those men serve as powerful reminders that good players are on the board in every round, and that no draft picks should be considered “throw aways.”
But that’s not the real value of the Steelers 6th round compensatory pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Real Value of the Steelers 6th Round Compensatory Pick
The fact that the Steelers got a compensatory pick is good, because before that they were looking at going into the 2016 NFL Draft with only 6 picks, having traded away their 5th pick to get Brandon Boykin and their 6th round pick to get Josh Scobee.
- By definition, 7 picks is better than 6 picks in any draft.
But the real value that the Steelers 6th round compensatory selection gives Pittsburgh is something else: Flexibility. Ben Roethlisberger is 34 years old. Under Todd Haley Ben Roethlisberger is playing the best football of his life, and his game is not showing any drop off.
Moreover, Ben Roethlisberger has weapons that Terry Bradshaw never dreamed of. And that is no disrespect to Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Franco Harris or Bennie Cunningham.
- But if Ben’s game isn’t showing any signs of wear and tear, perhaps his body is.
After playing nearly every snap in 2013 and nearly every snap in 2014, Ben Roethlisberger had to be relieved by Michael Vick or Landry Jones on four separate occasions in 2015. This could just be the law of averages at work, or it could be the collective toll of all of the punishment Roethlisberger has taken beginning to make its presence felt.
Either way, the lesson is clear:
- Ben Roethlisberger is closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it.
Steelers Nation should expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to field a Super Bowl caliber offense in 2016, as for the Steelers defense? Well, that remains a work in progress. As Tony Defeo indicates, Keith Butler deserves praise for his first season.
- The Steelers defense performed far better than anyone had a right to expect.
Even those who thought that things could be better (like this site), lacked the courage to say that the Steelers defense would be better. But if the Steelers defense was better than expected, it still wasn’t Super Bowl caliber. Anyone who saw the Denver Broncos smother the Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers should immediately understand.
- Kevin Colbert must strengthen the Steelers defense in the 2016 NFL Draft, and he needs players who can deliver fast.
And that’s where the Steelers 6th round compensatory pick comes in. For the first time since the NFL adopted its compensatory draft pick system in 1993, compensatory picks can be traded. Having a 6th round picks gives Kevin Colbert the freedom to consider some wheeling and dealing during the draft.
Sure… the last time two times the Steelers traded up they picked Shamarko Thomas and Alameda Ta’amu. Neither man worked out.
- But neither Shamarko nor Ta’Mau is indicative of Kevin Colbert’s record in trading up.
Colbert has traded up twice in the first round. The first time he moved up in 2003 and picked Troy Polamalu. The second time it was to pick Santonio Holmes. One is a future Hall of Famer, the other was the Super Bowl XLIII MVP.
Steel Curtain Rising will leave it to the draft nicks to decide if the Steelers “should” or “should not” trade up in the 2016 NFL Draft. But the Steelers 6th compensatory pick makes trading up a much more viable prospect.
