Tim Benz: Surfing through NFL Draft medical info may be even more important for Steelers than many other teams

In advance of the NFL Draft, Alabama center Landon Dickerson has been called “almost the perfect Steeler.”

Anyone who has tracked the draft knows what that “almost” surrounding him is.

It’s not his talent. Or athleticism. Or pedigree. Or attitude. Or leadership. Or the obvious fit he’d be at pick No. 24 for a team that’s trying to replace Maurkice Pouncey at the position.

It’s his long history of knee and ankle injuries that dogged him throughout his college career in Tuscaloosa and previously at Florida State.

Similar concerns exist for Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley. He’s a very talented cornerback. After losing Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton in free agency, the Steelers may be tempted to take him if he slides down the first-round draft board to them.

But why is he sliding? A knee injury and multiple back surgeries at Virginia Tech, that’s why.

Then there’s Najee Harris. As if enough questions weren’t present about taking a running back in the first round, he had a bothersome ankle after his final college season at Alabama. It doesn’t appear to be serious. But every team — especially the Steelers — would like to know as much as possible, I’m sure.

And that’s a big problem with the draft process in 2021 — the acquisition and analysis of clear, consistent medical information on prospective draftees. With no NFL Combine in 2021 due to coronavirus concerns, teams have had to be more diligent when it comes to getting medical information on players.

“Last year when the pandemic hit, we had already gone through the combine,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said Monday. “This year, we had to do this without a combine. Last year we didn’t have pro days; this year we had pro days. So it’s been a real different, challenging kind of a road … Without a combine physical, we had to go about it in a completely different manner. I know (head athletic trainer) John (Norwig) and our docs did the best they could under the circumstances. Hopefully, we got the information we need.”

The way Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin described the process, team doctors almost functioned the way coaches do in the pre-draft process.

“In the coaching ranks, we had to use our relationships to gather information and have a certain level of trust in those relationships,” Tomlin said on Monday. “It’s the same from a medical standpoint. Our training staff and medical professionals have relationships around the country and had to lean on those relationships like I’m sure medical professionals in other organizations did.

“We trust them. We trust their expertise. We trust their relationships and the people that they trust. I think that’s one of the things that the circumstances force you to do is rely on the expertise and the connections and the relationships of those around you.”

It’s not as if the Steelers or the other NFL teams are flying entirely blind. In place of a combine, the league did welcome roughly 150 players to Indianapolis for medical exams during the first weekend in April. But that’s less than half of the overall draft talent pool.

“The remainder of it, it’s all remote, and it was done in different parts of the country,” Colbert said. “We have our fingers crossed that we will have as good of information as we can, but it was a huge process for (National Invitational Combine director) Jeff Foster and his folks at the National Invitational Combine to formulate.

“So we did basically remote physicals for the entire 328 players.”

Keeping “your fingers crossed” — a phrase Colbert used on a few occasions in this context — is not what you want to do with the medical health of a first-round pick.

Someone late in Round 3? On Saturday? Maybe. But I’d imagine this year more than ever, teams may shy away on a 50-50 call on a player who has injury issues and let someone else take a chance.

How much that impacts the likes of Dickerson and Farley — maybe even Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields who has been forced to manage epilepsy since he was a child — will have to be seen.

But this is yet another angle to add to the questions surrounding who the Steelers will pick Thursday night. Especially if medical concerns push talented players down toward their target range of the first round.

Charlie Potter joins me for Wednesday’s podcast. He covered Dickerson and Harris and the rest of the Crimson Tide for BamaOnLine.com and 247Sports. We’ll talk about those two players, quarterback Mac Jones, offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, and a host of other Alabama players who may be of interest to the Steelers and the rest of the NFL.