Chris Adamski stories, Page 2
Steelers in ‘great communication’ with Aaron Rodgers — but still eager to add QB in draft
Before either he or coach Mike McCarthy took any questions during the annual Pittsburgh Steelers pre-draft news conference Monday, general manager Omar Khan wanted to get the requisite Aaron Rodgers update out of the way. “I know you guys are going to ask me on Aaron,” Khan said from UPMC...
NFL mock draft: TribLive’s Chris Adamski’s predicts the 1st round in Pittsburgh
With the level of anticipation befitting an official countdown clock not far from the draft stage’s site on the North Shore, the NFL Draft finally begins Thursday in Pittsburgh. Rest assured that each of the 32 teams began their draft preparations for just about as long as the clock has...
Steelers LT Broderick Jones ‘limited’ at minicamp, ‘nothing’s changed’ in neck injury recovery
The Pittsburgh Steelers opened up their voluntary minicamp Monday with starting left tackle Broderick Jones on hand and participating — to a degree. Jones did not play in the final six games last season after he suffered a neck injury, one from which he has not yet recovered fully. “Obviously,...
Amid strong group of safeties, Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman stands out with preparation
Each day during this past season while playing for Oregon, Dillon Thieneman woke up at precisely 5:20 a.m. On Mondays, Thieneman would break down film on an upcoming opponent’s tendencies on early downs and in the running game. One of this upcoming NFL Draft’s top safety prospects, Thieneman’s Tuesday film...
Tennessee CB duo Jermod McCoy, Colton Hood each expected to go in 1st round of draft
Two players at the same position from the same school going in the first round of an NFL Draft is relatively rare. But in a sign of the times in this modern era of college football, Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood never played a game together for Tennessee. Furthermore, McCoy...
Texas Tech’s David Bailey brings resume of production en route to top-5 draft selection
In making a case to be the No. 2 overall draft choice — and first with any degree of drama after Fernando Mendoza goes with the top pick — David Bailey needs to do no more than point to the stat sheet. No one in the country had more sacks...
‘There’s no Pat Graham playbook’: New Steelers defensive coordinator vows to adjust to team’s personnelVideo
Patrick Graham was standing at a podium in a windowless room on Pittsburgh’s South Side early Friday afternoon when he found himself reminiscing to times a quarter century into his past. Recalling his social circle from his undergrad days at Yale, Graham rattled off where some of his best college...
Judged college football’s best defensive player, Jacob Rodriguez fits Steelers profile at ILB
The Chuck Bednarik Award is annually given to the best defensive player in college football. The past two times it’s been given to a true, off-ball (inside) linebacker, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected that player in the ensuing NFL Draft. Could they make it three in a row with Texas Tech’s...
Clemson’s Blake Miller the iron man even among what is a durable, experienced OT draft class
Among the questions asked to draft prospects at the NFL Combine, some are better or more relevant than others. Among the answers from the 300-plus draft-eligible players that late-February week at Indiana Convention Center, though, none was more accurate or concise than what Clemson’s Blake Miller offered when asked about...
Penn State QB Drew Allar, Arizona DB Treydan Stukes hosted by Steelers as official draft visitors
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was among the latest draft prospects hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers for an official visit. Allar joined Arizona cornerback/safety Treydan Stukes as guests at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Wednesday. Penn State’s starter for three seasons and blessed with ideal size and arm strength, Allar...
Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane at the head of this draft class among interior O-linemen
Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane might be one of the top prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft, but he’s just as in the dark about where he might end up as all the fans and other observers following the festivities coming up next week in Pittsburgh. “That’s the hard part...
Players getting paid in college has made evaluations easier for NFL teams weighing draft picks
Make no mistake, the reaction shots from the prospects during recent NFL drafts continue to mirror those of the past. Plenty of hugs from loved ones. Proud smiles. Sometimes, even some joyful tears. Achieving what has been for most a lifelong dream of joining an NFL team still will affect...
Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza brings brains, poise to top of NFL draft board
INDIANAPOLIS If leading Indiana to a national championship — in football — seems improbable, how about what Fernando Mendoza pulled off a few years prior? As a rising high school senior who had been accepted into and committed to attending Yale, Mendoza spurned the Ivy League yet somehow (arguably) upgraded...
Tight ends growing in stature in NFL, but only 1 projected to be taken in 1st round of draft
In the continually evolving, cat-and-mouse world of the NFL, tight ends are having their moment. Teams used two- and three- (and even, at times, four-) tight end sets at rates this past season not seen in almost two decades. Tight ends have gradually been playing more snaps on whole in...
Notre Dame teammates Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price projected as draft’s top 2 RBs
You can’t put a price on love. But Price and Love are inseparable. Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love starred at Notre Dame playing the same position for the past three seasons, so it only felt natural when each was invited to attend the NFL Combine earlier this offseason. “We’re roommates...
New Steelers coach McCarthy hoping to land ‘AFC North style’ QB as draft approaches
Spring might be a time for hope and renewal, and even in Pittsburgh the grass has greened and leaves have returned to the trees as the NFL Draft commences in late April. But when new Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy evaluates football’s most important position while his team is on...
Steelers host 3 draft prospects, including 6-foot-9 tackle Travis Burke
Of all the draft prospects to earn invites to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex this spring, none is bigger than one who was hosted Friday. That’s because no draft-eligible player is taller than Memphis offensive tackle Travis Burke, who was one of three guests of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Burke,who measures 6-foot-9,...
1st-round prospects at safety, wide receiver among those hosted as Steelers draft visitorsVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday hosted a pair of NFL Draft prospects who have been widely considered as possibilities to be their first-round pick. Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon were joined by late-round prospect Marlin Klein — a tight end from Michigan — as those...
No #1 in Pittsburgh: Fernando Mendoza will reportedly skip draft to spend day with family
The show will go on in Pittsburgh later this month. But its marquee star won’t be there. According to a report from ESPN, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza informed the NFL he is not planning to attend the NFL Draft. The Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to the national championship,...
Steelers’ offseason workout program begins with top stars in attendanceVideo
T.J. Watt was there. Cameron Heyward, too. Also spotted were Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Queen, Joey Porter Jr., DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth and many others. A Pittsburgh Steelers offseason program unlike any in almost two decades is underway. And attendance, as judged by the big names, is strong. Voluntary workouts began...
Steelers’ Mike McCarthy, Patrick Graham have options deploying Jalen Ramsey this season
PHOENIX — In looking for clues to how the Pittsburgh Steelers plan deploy their defensive backs under a new coaching staff this season, consider how coach Mike McCarthy answered the first question he was asked about free-agent signing Jaquan Brisker. The first player he mentioned wasn’t Brisker. It was Jalen...
A revamping of the Steelers WR corps is underway under Mike McCarthy
PHOENIX — The Pittsburgh Steelers are going big when it comes to reshaping their wide receivers corps. Literally and figuratively. Two-plus months into the tenure of new coach Mike McCarthy and with four weeks of free agency behind them, the Steelers have moved on from three of the top four...
McCarthy has heavy hand in offense but still values offensive coordinator, QB coach
PHOENIX — He’s a head coach who calls his own plays, and he has acknowledged he “has to be in that quarterbacks (position meeting) room.” In that sense, from the outside, it would seem that new Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy, in theory, wouldn’t even need an offensive coordinator or...
Mike McCarthy excited for Warren/Dowdle Steelers RB tandem, but Kaleb Johnson in limbo
PHOENIX — Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson went to the public high school in Hamilton, Ohio. There’s no indication whether, like new Steelers coach and Bishop Boyle alumnus Mike McCarthy, he was raised Catholic. But that doesn’t mean McCarthy’s message delivered by way of a colorful Catholic analogy won’t...
New grass playing surface for Acrisure Stadium to be laid in August
PHOENIX — The “borderline unplayable” natural grass field at Acrisure Stadium is soon to be replaced. Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II confirmed that a sod farm utilizing a different breed of grass is growing what will be laid at the Steelers home stadium this summer. The playing surface earned...
