3. 2011 Cameron Heyward (31) DE Ohio State
The former Ohio State Buckeye has gotten better the more he’s played, with his best season coming in 2015 when he put up 7.5 sacks and 53 tackles. He’s gotten to be a vocal leader on that defensive line, and has helped that unit get better from when they seemed to hit rock bottom when they were 0-4 to start the 2013 campaign. In his four seasons he has 15 sacks for the Steelers, and many think he’s only going to keep getting better which is great news for the Steelers.
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Mario
April 29, 2015 at 8:38 pm
Nothing spectacular. Shows Tomlin should let Cowher pick for him this year!
DrGeorge
April 30, 2015 at 8:56 am
Timmons and Heyward are the real deal; DeCastro is solid if not spectacular; Shazier excels when he’s healthy; Pouncey ends up in Ben R’s lap too often to be the best center in the NFL, especially since his knee surgery, but he is serviceable. Hood was for all practical purposes a second round pick and a mistake, and Jarvis Jones and Mendenhall are journeymen talents.
Yet, over all, Tomlin’s picks haven’t been remarkably worse than many other NFL coaches. If Tomlin has a fault, it is not his picks per se, but his tendency to become emotionally invested in his picks and continue to start them when other players are clearly better. Hood, Mendenhall and Pouncey are in this category. Jarvis Jones probably is too; he shows no flashes of brilliance even when healthy; but his frequent injuries make it difficult to assess his true abilities at this level, and he deserves another season to prove himself.