May 20, 2025 • 19 mins
Labs and Tom talk about the Steelers schedule before getting into this week's questions
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upferman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola labs.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We already knew the opponents, but we have dates and
times now mostly times. What was your favorite part of
the schedule release? I think I have a guess.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Well, no holidays, exactly.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
What I was going to say. No Christmas, no Thanksgiving,
thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
No New Year's even, right, I mean yeah, because New
Year's is a part of it too now definitely, And
you know, I know that there's some angst maybe about
how early the buye is, but I mean buys are
(00:53):
like really good pizza, you know, I mean it's always good,
no matter when you eat it.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Just getting the weekend off.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, really so. And the other thing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's strategic this year, coming back from a trip across seas, right.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And yeah, you know there's something to be excuse me,
there's something to be said for that and the other thing.
And this has been kind of a recent development since
they you know, went to seventeen games in the with
the preseason the way it is, you get a bye
after the last preseason game, too, true. I mean there's
(01:38):
like ten days I think if you open on a Sunday,
and your last preseason game is a Thursday. You get
like ten days. That's a bye. And so that's another
good thing for those of us, you know, living in
dormitories and stuff who are old men and not college
students anymore. So yeah, I you know, but hey, talk
(02:02):
to me in mid to late November and I'll be
moaning about something. So I mean, that's that's just part
of it to me. I mean, it's always you know,
there's always something to like about it, there's always something
to complain about it. You know, just get through it
and hope for the best.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And the NFL and their schedule maker certainly didn't waste
any time to get on with the drama when it
comes with the Steelers schedule. A nice little reunion with
Justin Fields that we know for sure will happen in
Week one, health permitting, but potentially also another reunion with
a quarterback that might be playing here in that other
team in New York.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, and you know the Seahawks game, you know that's
a reunion.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So revenge is going to be served early on this schedule.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I think, you know, the NFL has a fairly decent
flair for the for drama, and I mean, you know,
no can argue with their ability to create it and
capitalize on it. So yeah, I'm sure if you looked
around at other team schedules there would be other things
similar to that in just about every schedule. It's Major
(03:13):
League Baseball call it now rivalry week. Yeah, that's play
the Yankee Philly.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Is that rich rivalry?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, sir, it wasn't exactly evenly contested this most recent time.
Let's put that.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
No, it was not the only other thing I wanted
to run by about the schedule before we get to
the questions real quick, is it's it's not as late
as it was last year getting things going with the
AFC North, but it is still pretty late with the
AFC North. Not until after that buy in week six
when you play the Cleveland Browns. Are you a little
surprised by No. September three?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I know, I think that the league likes that, you know,
unless unless it's a standalone game in the first four weeks.
You know, one of those Thursday night games, you know
that like the Kickoff Classic or whatever that's called the
Thursday Night Game, or one of the Monday night early
Monday night games. You know, they showcase those a lot
(04:09):
of times, but if it's not one of those games,
I think they like to save the division games for
later builds the drama. You know, you don't want to,
you know, shoot all your bullets too early, because then
you got nothing for the latter part of the season,
because there's probably it's believed that there's enough natural enthusiasm
(04:34):
at the start of a season that you don't have
to create anyone anymore necessarily with matchups, you know, I
mean or division games. You save those because when you
if you have teams playing division games later in the season,
if one team is ahead, they can lose the lead,
if another team is behind, they can make it up,
(04:56):
and so that creates that natural tension and drama. I think,
you know, when the weather turns cold.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Let's get to this week's batch of questions. Our first
one comes from Bob Moore's from Colbert Washington. When the
Steelers acquired Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett went to the Eagles,
there were quite a few reports that he left on
other than good terms with the front office. My question is,
considering the Browns have five quarterbacks on their depth chart
(05:24):
and the fact that omar Con said he wants to
take four into training camp. If the Steelers don't acquire
Aaron Rodgers or another vet, is there any world where
they would look to add Picket back to the roster.
I saw that coming as the question was unfolding, like
a train just coming to hit me. I was like, no, please,
(05:44):
don't go where I think it's going.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I mean, seriously, I cannot imagine a realistic scenario, can you.
I mean seriously, you're you're here every day. I mean
you know what I mean, you're paying attention, You're Do
you think that you would they would go back or
any team would go back in that situation.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I put it, I think the fourth quarterback is going
to be whereing number eight? But I definitely don't think
it's gonna be Kenny Picktt.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But yeah, no, I you know, I if if if
a player decides that he wants a fresh start, uh
you know. I remember Dan Rooney always used to say
this back in the days when you know, Three Rivers
Stadium was still in use and the Steelers' offices were
(06:39):
on the ground level of Three River Stadium and the
entrance into the Steelers executive offices were really big. Excuse me.
Wooden doors heavy and Dan Rooney always used to say
those doors open out, they don't revolve. So I mean he's, uh,
(07:05):
you know, not in charge, I think, but I think
a lot of the general principles are still in No,
they didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Replace those doors. Those doors are still the same end
to the facility.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I've seen them, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Bob Pirott from Newtown, Pennsylvania. Derek Harmon is listed a
defensive tackle, but most people speak of him as playing
defensive end with the Steelers, and most of the highlights
I've seen of him, he's lined up in the a
gap and creating a great push into the backfield. Could
he possibly play nose tackle because he looks to be
(07:38):
hard to move or stop creating a force to have
it to deal with in the center of the line.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm gonna be honest here with Bob, I don't pay
a whole lot of attention or get hung up on
you know, where they're lining up and the you know
he's he a two gap player, is he a technique,
a four technique? You know, all of that kind of stuff,
And certainly not with a rookie, because I don't know
(08:07):
that all of this is necessarily etched in stone. Yet
you know, and besides the defensive packages and personnel groupings
and stuff, guys line up in different spots, especially along
the front, and I think, you know, the Steelers are
gonna even want to try and do that more, you know,
in terms of like moving TJ. Water around and guys
(08:28):
like that. That's my opinion, just to make things, you know,
more of a moving target for the opponent. So you know,
don't get hung up on a lot of that stuff
what he's listed as how outside people are talking to him,
talking about him in terms of his position. You know,
whether Ross Tucker or whoever you know doing a hot
(08:51):
podcast now thinks you know, you know, he's a four
technique or a two technique. I mean, who cares, you know,
I mean, I I just hey, look, nineteen seventy four,
the Steelers developed a defensive front that came to be
the scourge of the NFL and really kind of catapulted
(09:14):
that defense to that great run at the end of
the season and through the playoffs. In Super Bowl nine,
it was called the stunt for three, and in that formation,
Joe Green lined up at an angle right over the center. Okay,
Did that make him a nose tackle? Does anybody that
(09:34):
does it matter? Does anybody care about it? Except maybe mctinglehoff,
the Viking center who got his butt kissed all through
the Super Bowl. I mean, if you're not that person,
you know, I don't. It's just a term. It doesn't
really necessarily mean anything in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
What a great name, mctinglehoff.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You don't remember him?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
How can I yet? Of course?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Okay, I know you're I know you're young.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
But you know Keith Miller from Campton, North Carolina. I
know nothing is final yet, but with the recent trade
of George Pickens and the projected compensatory picks, it looks
like next year we have the following picks a first rounder,
a second rounder, three third rounders, two fourths, two fifths,
two sixth and a seventh. This raises many questions most
(10:28):
picks in one year ever. Are they loading up to
replace players on an aging defense, loading up to trade
for a high draft pick? Do they need five or
six new starters? Is this a short term or a
long term plan? That was a lot of questions.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Okay, I'm going to try and deal with some of
the straight for straight forward ones. First Okay, the steal.
If all of those picks come through, that's twelve picks.
You know, is it the most ever? Well, let me
just you know, remind people who always ask these, you know,
(11:08):
franchise history questions. You know, the Steelers have participated in
every NFL draft that has ever happened. Okay, and there
were drafts that had since nineteen thirty six when this
business started. Twelve rounds, seventeen rounds. I mean, it went
as high as thirty thirty two rounds in a draft.
So you know, is twelve picks their most ever in
(11:30):
a draft? Probably not. And I'm not going back to
look all those things I think you're saying, but asking
if the question is if twelve selections is the most
ever in a seven round draft, the answer would be yes.
The only year that comes close would be nineteen ninety nine.
The Steelers had eleven picks in that seven round draft. Okay,
(11:54):
Now for all those other questions, I think you know,
we're gonna have to wait and see how it plays out.
I don't know what they're gonna do with those picks.
It could be anything you're mentioning. It could be things
that you're not mentioning. So and remember more than one
thing can be true at the same time. So again,
(12:15):
as I said, I can tell you that it is
going to be the most picks in a seven round draft.
But the other stuff, I mean, let's wait and see.
That's the fun part of it. Who knows, maybe some
of those get used this offseason, you know, before this
before we go to camp, or before the you know,
(12:40):
before the September seventh game at the Jets. So you know,
I don't know. What I can't say about that though,
too is you cannot trade potential compensatory picks until you
actually have them, but you could trade your own draft
choices in that list that hall.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Matthew maguire from ear Pennsylvania, which draft class stands out
to you as the most underrated in Steelers history? I
like that question.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Okay, the nineteen seventy four draft class, we get it.
You know, four Hall of Fame players drafted five total
with the undrafted rookie signing of Donnie Schell. That's you know,
the greatest, okay, But after that, I look at nineteen
seventy one. That was a great draft class in its
(13:28):
own right. There was only one Hall of Fame player
in that draft. Only you know that was Jack cam
As opposed to the four drafted in seventy four. But
then there were a total of seven players added in
those seventeen rounds who combined to win twenty four Super
Bowl rings during the nineteen seventies. So there you go,
(13:50):
those picks, those players who accounted for those super Bowl
rings in the order they were picked picked. Frank Lewis,
wide receiver, Jack Camp I'm the Hall of Fame. Linebacker,
Jerry Mullins starting guard, Dwight White, member of the Steel Curtain,
Larry Brown two super Bowl rings as a tight end,
(14:10):
two super Bowl rings as a offensive lineman. Ernie Holmes
another member of the original Steel Curtain, and Mike Wagner.
Not a bad not a bad haul.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I guess they did all right. Mike Roberts from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
What are your thoughts on the George Pickens trade?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Boy, this is a polarizing thing, huh in terms of
fan reaction or fan and or media reaction. Uh. My
opinion is you got a second day pick in the
twenty six NFL Draft. Okay, this is a player who's
going into the final year of his rookie contract and
(14:50):
he's never been voted to a Pro Bowl. I think
that's pretty good. You know, Uh, Steelers fans, some media,
you know, they watch maybe they were a training camp
and saw George Pickens do some you know, spectacular things
in practice, watched different parts of games where he did
(15:10):
spectacular things in games. But you know, he's going into
the last year of his contract and he's not the
kind of player who got voted to a Pro Bowl.
And I'm not even gonna deal with all the other
stuff that happened on TV. But look, here's an example.
Buffalo traded Stefan Diggs to Houston in April twenty twenty four.
(15:35):
Stefan Diggs was coming off four straight seasons in which
he went over a thousand yards receiving, and he's voted
to four Pro Bowls and once was a first team
All Pro. Okay, so Buffalo sins Stefon Diggs and a
sixth round pick in twenty twenty four and a fifth
round pick in twenty twenty five in exchange for a
(15:55):
number two pick in twenty twenty five. So in other words,
that's also a second day pick. That's what you get,
you know, So I think that was a pretty good
trade in terms of what you got in return. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
And the other thing I would add too, is, you know,
you talk about him going into his final year of
his deal, and there was just really no prospects of
signing him to a second contract, no real momentum in
that direction. So it was going to be use him
in a lame duck year and then lose them. And
we've seen the track record of George in non lame
duck years. I think we can kind of fill in
the blanks on what that would have looked like.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, and that's the thing, I mean, the whole narrative
about well, he could a play. He would have been
a good tandem with DK metcalf a one two punch,
and maybe he sets himself up, you know, for an
even bigger contract. And hey, I was one who said
that that would be the best case scenario, you know
(16:55):
that that's the way he would look at it. But
I can also understand people within the organization thinking that
that was unlikely. And so yeah, it's as I said,
I think it's a pretty decent return.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Our final question today comes from Todd First from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
What are your expectations for wide receiver Roman Wilson this year.
Should expectations be in line with the first year rookie
since Roman wasn't able to play any games in his
first year.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You know, I don't let me say this. I think
if we're looking for a comparable, you know they do
that with before the draft. You know, a kid coming
in as part of the draft class, when he's being evaluated,
whoever's evaluate him evaluating him will say this is his
comparable and compare him to a guy in the league. Okay,
(17:49):
So a comparable I think for Roman Wilson in the
situation that Todd is describing would be Calvin Austin the
third Okay, Austin was a fourth round pick in the
twenty twenty two NFL Draft, also a receiver, and he
missed that whole season because of injury. Okay, he didn't
play as a rookie. But when he came to camp
(18:11):
in twenty twenty three, you know, I think he had
a little bit of a leg up on the other receiver,
the other new receivers there. You know, he had been
to camp, even though he didn't necessarily participate that much,
he had been around the team. So he had a
feel for what the NFL is the day to day,
you know how that all unfolds living like that, when
(18:34):
your free time is, when your work requirements are, you
know that kind of stuff. A lot of you know,
that's an adjustment that he didn't have to make his
second season. So that's where I would put Roman Wilson
kind of and then after that, he's going to go
to camp. Hopefully he's healthy and stays healthy so that
(18:55):
he can show what he can do and be on
the field enough to be coached and respond to coaching
and improve and then we see what happens. So I
don't have any expectations. My hope is that he is
healthy and stays healthy to do what I just said.
You can stay on the field, get coached, and react
(19:17):
to that coaching. Then we see what he's got.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Well, Roman Wilson can take his first steps in that direction.
Next week, we have OTAs starting for your Pittsburgh Steelers
in a couple of weeks of that leads right into
mandatory mini camp, So things are going to start to
ramp up a little bit here in the off season
for the Steelers in the weeks to come. But we
always stay ramped up, and we'll be back next week
(19:40):
with another edition of the show. Get your questions into
Labs now and maybe you'll hear them on a future
edition of Asked and Answered.
This is asked and answered questions with Tom Upferman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola labs.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We already knew the opponents, but we have dates and
times now mostly times. What was your favorite part of
the schedule release? I think I have a guess.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Well, no holidays, exactly.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
What I was going to say. No Christmas, no Thanksgiving,
thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
No New Year's even, right, I mean yeah, because New
Year's is a part of it too now definitely, And
you know, I know that there's some angst maybe about
how early the buye is, but I mean buys are
(00:53):
like really good pizza, you know, I mean it's always good,
no matter when you eat it.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Just getting the weekend off.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, really so. And the other thing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's strategic this year, coming back from a trip across seas, right.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And yeah, you know there's something to be excuse me,
there's something to be said for that and the other thing.
And this has been kind of a recent development since
they you know, went to seventeen games in the with
the preseason the way it is, you get a bye
after the last preseason game, too, true. I mean there's
(01:38):
like ten days I think if you open on a Sunday,
and your last preseason game is a Thursday. You get
like ten days. That's a bye. And so that's another
good thing for those of us, you know, living in
dormitories and stuff who are old men and not college
students anymore. So yeah, I you know, but hey, talk
(02:02):
to me in mid to late November and I'll be
moaning about something. So I mean, that's that's just part
of it to me. I mean, it's always you know,
there's always something to like about it, there's always something
to complain about it. You know, just get through it
and hope for the best.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And the NFL and their schedule maker certainly didn't waste
any time to get on with the drama when it
comes with the Steelers schedule. A nice little reunion with
Justin Fields that we know for sure will happen in
Week one, health permitting, but potentially also another reunion with
a quarterback that might be playing here in that other
team in New York.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, and you know the Seahawks game, you know that's
a reunion.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So revenge is going to be served early on this schedule.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I think, you know, the NFL has a fairly decent
flair for the for drama, and I mean, you know,
no can argue with their ability to create it and
capitalize on it. So yeah, I'm sure if you looked
around at other team schedules there would be other things
similar to that in just about every schedule. It's Major
(03:13):
League Baseball call it now rivalry week. Yeah, that's play
the Yankee Philly.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Is that rich rivalry?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, sir, it wasn't exactly evenly contested this most recent time.
Let's put that.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
No, it was not the only other thing I wanted
to run by about the schedule before we get to
the questions real quick, is it's it's not as late
as it was last year getting things going with the
AFC North, but it is still pretty late with the
AFC North. Not until after that buy in week six
when you play the Cleveland Browns. Are you a little
surprised by No. September three?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I know, I think that the league likes that, you know,
unless unless it's a standalone game in the first four weeks.
You know, one of those Thursday night games, you know
that like the Kickoff Classic or whatever that's called the
Thursday Night Game, or one of the Monday night early
Monday night games. You know, they showcase those a lot
(04:09):
of times, but if it's not one of those games,
I think they like to save the division games for
later builds the drama. You know, you don't want to,
you know, shoot all your bullets too early, because then
you got nothing for the latter part of the season,
because there's probably it's believed that there's enough natural enthusiasm
(04:34):
at the start of a season that you don't have
to create anyone anymore necessarily with matchups, you know, I
mean or division games. You save those because when you
if you have teams playing division games later in the season,
if one team is ahead, they can lose the lead,
if another team is behind, they can make it up,
(04:56):
and so that creates that natural tension and drama. I think,
you know, when the weather turns cold.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Let's get to this week's batch of questions. Our first
one comes from Bob Moore's from Colbert Washington. When the
Steelers acquired Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett went to the Eagles,
there were quite a few reports that he left on
other than good terms with the front office. My question is,
considering the Browns have five quarterbacks on their depth chart
(05:24):
and the fact that omar Con said he wants to
take four into training camp. If the Steelers don't acquire
Aaron Rodgers or another vet, is there any world where
they would look to add Picket back to the roster.
I saw that coming as the question was unfolding, like
a train just coming to hit me. I was like, no, please,
(05:44):
don't go where I think it's going.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I mean, seriously, I cannot imagine a realistic scenario, can you.
I mean seriously, you're you're here every day. I mean
you know what I mean, you're paying attention, You're Do
you think that you would they would go back or
any team would go back in that situation.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I put it, I think the fourth quarterback is going
to be whereing number eight? But I definitely don't think
it's gonna be Kenny Picktt.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But yeah, no, I you know, I if if if
a player decides that he wants a fresh start, uh
you know. I remember Dan Rooney always used to say
this back in the days when you know, Three Rivers
Stadium was still in use and the Steelers' offices were
(06:39):
on the ground level of Three River Stadium and the
entrance into the Steelers executive offices were really big. Excuse me.
Wooden doors heavy and Dan Rooney always used to say
those doors open out, they don't revolve. So I mean he's, uh,
(07:05):
you know, not in charge, I think, but I think
a lot of the general principles are still in No,
they didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Replace those doors. Those doors are still the same end
to the facility.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
I've seen them, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Bob Pirott from Newtown, Pennsylvania. Derek Harmon is listed a
defensive tackle, but most people speak of him as playing
defensive end with the Steelers, and most of the highlights
I've seen of him, he's lined up in the a
gap and creating a great push into the backfield. Could
he possibly play nose tackle because he looks to be
(07:38):
hard to move or stop creating a force to have
it to deal with in the center of the line.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm gonna be honest here with Bob, I don't pay
a whole lot of attention or get hung up on
you know, where they're lining up and the you know
he's he a two gap player, is he a technique,
a four technique? You know, all of that kind of stuff,
And certainly not with a rookie, because I don't know
(08:07):
that all of this is necessarily etched in stone. Yet
you know, and besides the defensive packages and personnel groupings
and stuff, guys line up in different spots, especially along
the front, and I think, you know, the Steelers are
gonna even want to try and do that more, you know,
in terms of like moving TJ. Water around and guys
(08:28):
like that. That's my opinion, just to make things, you know,
more of a moving target for the opponent. So you know,
don't get hung up on a lot of that stuff
what he's listed as how outside people are talking to him,
talking about him in terms of his position. You know,
whether Ross Tucker or whoever you know doing a hot
(08:51):
podcast now thinks you know, you know, he's a four
technique or a two technique. I mean, who cares, you know,
I mean, I I just hey, look, nineteen seventy four,
the Steelers developed a defensive front that came to be
the scourge of the NFL and really kind of catapulted
(09:14):
that defense to that great run at the end of
the season and through the playoffs. In Super Bowl nine,
it was called the stunt for three, and in that formation,
Joe Green lined up at an angle right over the center. Okay,
Did that make him a nose tackle? Does anybody that
(09:34):
does it matter? Does anybody care about it? Except maybe mctinglehoff,
the Viking center who got his butt kissed all through
the Super Bowl. I mean, if you're not that person,
you know, I don't. It's just a term. It doesn't
really necessarily mean anything in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
What a great name, mctinglehoff.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You don't remember him?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
How can I yet? Of course?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Okay, I know you're I know you're young.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
But you know Keith Miller from Campton, North Carolina. I
know nothing is final yet, but with the recent trade
of George Pickens and the projected compensatory picks, it looks
like next year we have the following picks a first rounder,
a second rounder, three third rounders, two fourths, two fifths,
two sixth and a seventh. This raises many questions most
(10:28):
picks in one year ever. Are they loading up to
replace players on an aging defense, loading up to trade
for a high draft pick? Do they need five or
six new starters? Is this a short term or a
long term plan? That was a lot of questions.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Okay, I'm going to try and deal with some of
the straight for straight forward ones. First Okay, the steal.
If all of those picks come through, that's twelve picks.
You know, is it the most ever? Well, let me
just you know, remind people who always ask these, you know,
(11:08):
franchise history questions. You know, the Steelers have participated in
every NFL draft that has ever happened. Okay, and there
were drafts that had since nineteen thirty six when this
business started. Twelve rounds, seventeen rounds. I mean, it went
as high as thirty thirty two rounds in a draft.
So you know, is twelve picks their most ever in
(11:30):
a draft? Probably not. And I'm not going back to
look all those things I think you're saying, but asking
if the question is if twelve selections is the most
ever in a seven round draft, the answer would be yes.
The only year that comes close would be nineteen ninety nine.
The Steelers had eleven picks in that seven round draft. Okay,
(11:54):
Now for all those other questions, I think you know,
we're gonna have to wait and see how it plays out.
I don't know what they're gonna do with those picks.
It could be anything you're mentioning. It could be things
that you're not mentioning. So and remember more than one
thing can be true at the same time. So again,
(12:15):
as I said, I can tell you that it is
going to be the most picks in a seven round draft.
But the other stuff, I mean, let's wait and see.
That's the fun part of it. Who knows, maybe some
of those get used this offseason, you know, before this
before we go to camp, or before the you know,
(12:40):
before the September seventh game at the Jets. So you know,
I don't know. What I can't say about that though,
too is you cannot trade potential compensatory picks until you
actually have them, but you could trade your own draft
choices in that list that hall.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Matthew maguire from ear Pennsylvania, which draft class stands out
to you as the most underrated in Steelers history? I
like that question.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Okay, the nineteen seventy four draft class, we get it.
You know, four Hall of Fame players drafted five total
with the undrafted rookie signing of Donnie Schell. That's you know,
the greatest, okay, But after that, I look at nineteen
seventy one. That was a great draft class in its
(13:28):
own right. There was only one Hall of Fame player
in that draft. Only you know that was Jack cam
As opposed to the four drafted in seventy four. But
then there were a total of seven players added in
those seventeen rounds who combined to win twenty four Super
Bowl rings during the nineteen seventies. So there you go,
(13:50):
those picks, those players who accounted for those super Bowl
rings in the order they were picked picked. Frank Lewis,
wide receiver, Jack Camp I'm the Hall of Fame. Linebacker,
Jerry Mullins starting guard, Dwight White, member of the Steel Curtain,
Larry Brown two super Bowl rings as a tight end,
(14:10):
two super Bowl rings as a offensive lineman. Ernie Holmes
another member of the original Steel Curtain, and Mike Wagner.
Not a bad not a bad haul.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I guess they did all right. Mike Roberts from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
What are your thoughts on the George Pickens trade?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Boy, this is a polarizing thing, huh in terms of
fan reaction or fan and or media reaction. Uh. My
opinion is you got a second day pick in the
twenty six NFL Draft. Okay, this is a player who's
going into the final year of his rookie contract and
(14:50):
he's never been voted to a Pro Bowl. I think
that's pretty good. You know, Uh, Steelers fans, some media,
you know, they watch maybe they were a training camp
and saw George Pickens do some you know, spectacular things
in practice, watched different parts of games where he did
(15:10):
spectacular things in games. But you know, he's going into
the last year of his contract and he's not the
kind of player who got voted to a Pro Bowl.
And I'm not even gonna deal with all the other
stuff that happened on TV. But look, here's an example.
Buffalo traded Stefan Diggs to Houston in April twenty twenty four.
(15:35):
Stefan Diggs was coming off four straight seasons in which
he went over a thousand yards receiving, and he's voted
to four Pro Bowls and once was a first team
All Pro. Okay, so Buffalo sins Stefon Diggs and a
sixth round pick in twenty twenty four and a fifth
round pick in twenty twenty five in exchange for a
(15:55):
number two pick in twenty twenty five. So in other words,
that's also a second day pick. That's what you get,
you know, So I think that was a pretty good
trade in terms of what you got in return. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
And the other thing I would add too, is, you know,
you talk about him going into his final year of
his deal, and there was just really no prospects of
signing him to a second contract, no real momentum in
that direction. So it was going to be use him
in a lame duck year and then lose them. And
we've seen the track record of George in non lame
duck years. I think we can kind of fill in
the blanks on what that would have looked like.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, and that's the thing, I mean, the whole narrative
about well, he could a play. He would have been
a good tandem with DK metcalf a one two punch,
and maybe he sets himself up, you know, for an
even bigger contract. And hey, I was one who said
that that would be the best case scenario, you know
(16:55):
that that's the way he would look at it. But
I can also understand people within the organization thinking that
that was unlikely. And so yeah, it's as I said,
I think it's a pretty decent return.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Our final question today comes from Todd First from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
What are your expectations for wide receiver Roman Wilson this year.
Should expectations be in line with the first year rookie
since Roman wasn't able to play any games in his
first year.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You know, I don't let me say this. I think
if we're looking for a comparable, you know they do
that with before the draft. You know, a kid coming
in as part of the draft class, when he's being evaluated,
whoever's evaluate him evaluating him will say this is his
comparable and compare him to a guy in the league. Okay,
(17:49):
So a comparable I think for Roman Wilson in the
situation that Todd is describing would be Calvin Austin the
third Okay, Austin was a fourth round pick in the
twenty twenty two NFL Draft, also a receiver, and he
missed that whole season because of injury. Okay, he didn't
play as a rookie. But when he came to camp
(18:11):
in twenty twenty three, you know, I think he had
a little bit of a leg up on the other receiver,
the other new receivers there. You know, he had been
to camp, even though he didn't necessarily participate that much,
he had been around the team. So he had a
feel for what the NFL is the day to day,
you know how that all unfolds living like that, when
(18:34):
your free time is, when your work requirements are, you
know that kind of stuff. A lot of you know,
that's an adjustment that he didn't have to make his
second season. So that's where I would put Roman Wilson
kind of and then after that, he's going to go
to camp. Hopefully he's healthy and stays healthy so that
(18:55):
he can show what he can do and be on
the field enough to be coached and respond to coaching
and improve and then we see what happens. So I
don't have any expectations. My hope is that he is
healthy and stays healthy to do what I just said.
You can stay on the field, get coached, and react
(19:17):
to that coaching. Then we see what he's got.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Well, Roman Wilson can take his first steps in that direction.
Next week, we have OTAs starting for your Pittsburgh Steelers
in a couple of weeks of that leads right into
mandatory mini camp, So things are going to start to
ramp up a little bit here in the off season
for the Steelers in the weeks to come. But we
always stay ramped up, and we'll be back next week
(19:40):
with another edition of the show. Get your questions into
Labs now and maybe you'll hear them on a future
edition of Asked and Answered.
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