With the college in-person visits now complete, the Steelers will spend their final days before the NFL Draft putting together their board, they'll rank the players and come up with their list of guys they will take with the 20th overall pick. And they'll continue to rank players down through 150 or so that they have on their main board.
Why only 150?
Some players won't be on their board due to medical concerns. Others won't be on the list because of off-field issues. That's just the way they do things.
And it's also why the Steelers often have their pick turned in as soon as it's announced that they are on the clock. The decisions have already been made. There's no pounding the table or any such thing. That takes place in this final week as the rankings are finalized.
MORE STEELERS
2. The Steelers will most definitely add at least one quarterback through the draft process. They only have two on the roster and will take four to training camp at Saint Vincent College. And with Mitch Trubisky needing all the snaps and work with Mike Sullivan that he can get, Sullivan's new assistant David Corley will have a big hand in working with the rookie on the finer parts of the game. But the rookie could just as easily be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent as he could be a first-round selection. -- Lolley
3. Anyone believing that Corley's hiring means the Steelers will absolutely select a quarterback in the first round ... they might. But this hiring doesn't necessarily signal that.
Corley is a minority coach. And per the tweaks made last month at the NFL meetings to the Rooney Rule, all 32 teams must have a minority offensive coach. The Steelers already have that on the offensive side of the ball. But part of the rule also suggests that the offensive assistant works with quarterbacks or in some other way closely with the offensive coordinator as a way to create more opportunities for minority coaches to rise up through the ranks. Teams receive league funding to help pay the salary of those coaches. The Steelers have often had an offensive assistant who also worked with their quarterbacks. The hiring of Corley simply puts a name to that position. -- Lolley
4. Diontae Johnson wasn't attending the voluntary team workouts earlier this week, leading to speculation that he wasn't doing so because he's upset about his contract status. He's entering the last of his four-year term and will make $2.8 million in 2022, after which he can be a free agent. The Steelers haven't spoken to Bradley Cicala, Johnson's agent. They won't open any talks with pending 2023 free agents until they've taken care of the draft. -- Lolley
5. The number of young wide receivers on their first contract making noise about their pay situation -- Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, A.J. Brown -- all have one thing in common. They were all drafted outside the first round. And they've all played well in their first three years. It's very similar to the Le'Veon Bell contract situation. If you're drafted outside the first round in the NFL, you just don't make a lot of money -- compared to your peers -- in your first four years. And then the team can slap a tag on those players to keep them from hitting free agency. Yes, the franchise tag values are high, but they don't guarantee anything beyond one year. It's a serious flaw in the system. Very few players appreciate having the franchise tag placed on them because it restricts their long-term earning -- unless they're a quarterback. -- Lolley
6. Troy Polamalu routinely skipped the Steelers' non-mandatory OTAs, choosing instead to work out on his own. That's all these sessions are, conditioning and weight lifting. Players can do that anywhere. And before about 20 years ago, they did. OTAs are just a way for the team to track who is putting in work and who is not. Some players have bonuses in their contracts if they make a certain percentage of the workouts. But they aren't mandatory. Nothing is mandatory until minicamp in June. That's when everyone will show up. But that doesn't mean those other players aren't working out on their own. In fact, to not do so would be detrimental their their careers. Players used to show up and use training camp as a way to get into shape. Now, it's expected that they'll show up at training camp in shape. -- Lolley
PIRATES
7. That semi-infamous Sunday lineup that Derek Shelton put out at PNC Park -- the one that put off so many fans because both Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes were left out -- wasn't quite what it seemed, I was told in Milwaukee. One of those two players wasn't feeling well and was a fairly late scratch. As to why that wasn't divulged at the time, or when I brought this up with Shelton this week in Milwaukee, I genuinely don't know. But it's 100% accurate. -- Dejan Kovacevic in Downtown
8. I caught up with Chase De Jong in Chicago, who is, at least by this reporter’s estimation, the first person to reach the majors after spending significant time with Joel Hanrahan and newcomer Dan Meyer as his Indianapolis pitching coaches. I asked how they compared, and De Jong immediately brought up how they are both great communicators. -- Alex Stumpf in Chicago
“Dan is a guy that shows up to the ballpark every day, he’s there,” De Jong said. “He really cares. Hanny’s the same way. Hanny’s a little bit quieter, but both of them, you know they want to help you get back to the big leagues… They just care, man.” -- Stumpf
9. De Jong also mentioned that Hanrahan stays in touch with Pirates pitchers he coached last year (while observing the lockout rules, of course). No surprise there, because he is a players’ coach.
And since it will inevitably come up in the comments, I don’t have any new insight for why he left for the Nationals. I’ve asked around since spring training, and honestly, the Pirates seemed just as surprised by his decision. If he would have been willing to wait in the minors a bit longer, he was likely in line for a major-league job. There just wasn't one available this year. -- Stumpf
10. I wrote in last week’s Insider that Ke’Bryan Hayes’ contact point is deep in relation to the plate, which is why so many of his fly balls and line drives go to the opposite field, where hitters traditionally post worse power numbers. It seemed like an area that he worked on this winter. Talking with an analyst this week, that contact point is even deeper this year. He’s still posted strong offensive numbers early, and being fully healthy is a big reason why. But if you’ve noticed that he still isn’t pulling a lot of fly balls, that’s the reason. -- Stumpf
11. For those curious, starting April 27, Oneil Cruz could be called up without accruing a full year of service time, assuming he doesn’t finish in the top two for rookie of the year. Not saying that it will happen that day, nor that there is any indication that he is getting a call soon. Just a date to keep in mind from a purely numerical standpoint. In that same vein, Roansy Contreras’ optional assignment counts as major-league service time until he hits 20 days in the minors. -- Stumpf
12. I had a league source speculate that Luis Oviedo will probably clear waivers, which wouldn’t be too particularly shocking given that it would mean another team would have to give a Class AA pitcher a roster spot. Still, after tendering him all of last year, it’s surprising to see the Pirates risk losing him, even if it’s just a case of him being a roster casualty, as Derek Shelton put it. -- Stumpf
13. When I mentioned to one of the Pirates' veteran players in Milwaukee inside their clubhouse that the NHL still was locking reporters out, he laughed and said, "That's why they are where they are." Meaning the league's stature in the United States. And he's right. More on that at the bottom of this file. -- Kovacevic
PENGUINS
14. Conventional wisdom among many members of the press and and public in recent months has been that if Kris Letang doesn't re-sign with the Penguins, he's almost certain to end up with Montreal, which is his hometown and where his former agent, Kent Hughes, replaced Marc Bergevin as general manager this winter. Turns out that at least some people inside the industry share that opinion. "That's what we're assuming," said one personnel official of a team based in the Atlantic Division, out of which the Canadiens operate. -- Dave Molinari
15. Even reporters' most reliable, valuable sources tend to respond to phone calls a lot more often than they place them, so it was noteworthy when one came in recently from a guy with a long history of providing accurate information and honest opinions. He didn't offer any hints about potential trades or other personnel moves, but rather reached out to ask why it goes unmentioned that numerous NHL front-office types were hired by Ray Shero during his tenure as GM of the Penguins. A fair question, since that list includes GMs Bill Guerin (Minnesota), Don Waddell (Carolina), Jason Botterill (late of Buffalo, now assistant GM in Seattle), Patrik Allvin (Vancouver), Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey) and Chuck Fletcher (Philadelphia). Shero did a lot of quality work with the Penguins -- his most grievous error was being overly loyal to coach Dan Bylsma -- and identifying good personnel people to work with him was high on that list. -- Molinari
16. Ron Hextall and a contingent of Penguins executives were in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this week for the Penguins' last home game of the season, a 3-0 win over the Bears in which Michael Chaput and Alex Nylander netted goals before P.O Joseph put the game away with an empty-netter. Goaltender Tommy Nappier, who is on an AHL contract through next season, posted a 24-save shutout, the first of his AHL career. No better time to earn a blank sheet than when the big club's brass is in town. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena.
17. Juuso Riikola has been having such a strong season on both sides of the puck in Wilkes-Barre, and is tied for third in scoring on the team with one goal and 33 assists through 49 games. With the lack of opportunity for a call up to Pittsburgh, it'd be understandable if he showed some frustration with his situation this season, but that hasn't been the case. "He is really an NHL hockey player," coach J.D. Forrest told me. "And I can't say enough about his attitude with us. He could take it a few different ways being here as long as he has, but he's been nothing but a good teammate and a good guy in the locker room." -- Haase
18. The Penguins' shootout record of 3-7 and their shootout shooting percentage of 22.9 percent are both tied for the fifth-worst in the league. With just four games left in the regular season and no shootouts in the playoffs, they might not even have another shootout this season. But their performance in the shootouts -- specifically the shooters' inability to convert -- is still something the analytics department has been looking into. -- Haase
19. Just because the trade deadline has passed doesn't mean that teams' pro scouts aren't around anymore. The Panthers, notably, had two scouts in the building on Thursday who aren't typically here. That makes sense, giving the likelihood that the Penguins (or Bruins) run into Florida in the postseason. -- Haase
20. Thursday was Amanda Kessel's first game day in her role in the Penguins executive management program. The program, for which Kessel is the inaugural member, allows athletes to gain experience in a number of different departments within the organization over the course of the year. Kessel shadowed the PR staff during the morning skate and the game, and took some time to chat with Mike Sullivan after the game. -- Haase
21. The NHL's and/or Penguins' bizarre application of COVID guidelines at PPG Paints Arena got even more bizarre in the past week, given broader context.
All of the team's employees, even the unpaid interns, are free to roam anywhere maskless, including media settings. But the TV/radio crew that travels with the team -- including the announcers, who are employed by the team -- were required to wear masks on the charter flights as of earlier this week. And then, ostensibly in response to complaints on that front, AT&T reporter Dan Potash was cleared to remove his mask when doing interviews outside the locker room but was given a setup in which the player stands 6 feet away with a separate microphone. Meanwhile in the media room, where all other interviews are conducted because locker rooms are still closed, masks are required for reporters even though they're seated more than 15 feet away in the front row.
Seriously.
I'm not exaggerating when I share that the only people anywhere in PPG Paints Arena -- and I mean the only people -- wearing masks are the reporters upon entering the media room. Heck, never mind the arena. Anywhere in the city.
Honestly, though, I don't care about the masks beyond reporters being conspicuously singled out. I really don't.
The bigger issue, a million times over, is the NHL's and the Penguins' lack of access to the locker rooms. It restricts who can be interviewed, what subjects can be covered, and here again, it flies in the face of how everything else in the building is now functioning. If a fan's curious to know about anything at all that might be perceived by the team as negative -- lousy goal given up, dumb penalty, etc. -- they'll instead have to settle for whoever happened to score the lone goal in a 6-1 loss. Because that's who'll be brought to that media room afterward.
Meanwhile, across the river at PNC Park and Heinz Field, the city's other two teams, part of leagues that don't operate out of garages, have gone above and beyond to restore full access, and without any apparently petty guidelines for their facilities targeted solely at reporters.
I'm both thrilled and grateful to be allowed to do my job properly when covering both the Pirates and Steelers. -- Kovacevic
