Steelers’ Kevin Colbert: NFL draft is strong in Rounds 2, 3
The Pittsburgh Steelers have three picks between Nos. 52-83 in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft that begins Thursday. According to general manager Kevin Colbert, that’s a good spot to be in.
“This is a draft in which you can feel real good about the players you get in (the second and third rounds),” Colbert said Monday from the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex in the annual pre-draft news conference with coach Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers’ own picks in the second and third rounds are Nos. 52 and 83. They acquired the No. 66 pick from the Oakland Raiders as part of the Antonio Brown trade.
Colbert’s view is there is enough talent in the Nos. 40-100 range that there is not as much value associated with “moving up” in the draft because a good player still will be available.
That, of course, works both ways. Prospective teams calling the Steelers to acquire their picks probably won’t be offering as much.
“There’s a good number (of quality players available), so that might drive the price down, in our opinion,” Colbert said. “Not following a chart, we may say, ‘Well we like that guy, but he will probably be available with our second third-round pick as opposed to the first third-round pick, so let’s just let it play out.
“If there’s a good number, it may lessen the value. If there’s not a lot available in Rounds 2 and 3, sometimes that price goes up (in other years).”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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