Cincinnati Pro Day Takeaways: Steelers All In on Another QB
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CINCINNATI -- The Pittsburgh Steelers were well represented by eight personnel at the Cincinnati Bearcats Pro Day, which was expected given that the team has been hot on the trail scouting quarterbacks over the past week. I was fortunate enough to be standing front and center with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the scouting event.
Desmond Ridder's Live Arm
During the Summer scouting period, Ridder's arm looked strong on tape, as he possesses the ability to fit the ball into tight windows and can make any throw necessary on the field.
I followed him all over the field to watch him warm up, where the ball flew off his hand and whistled through the air with nice rotation. Throughout his live throwing session for scouts, he displayed that arm strength over and over, most notably on his final Pro Day throw which is becoming somewhat of a traditional way to end a QB's Pro Day session these days.
All Eyes On #9
We will stick with the theme of QB here once again. It's not a surprise that the Pittsburgh organization was going to be doing their due diligence on all of the NFL Draft's top quarterbacks, and Ridder was no exception.
The Steelers spent a ton of time speaking with him at his Pro Day. He spoke to Tomlin at least twice in the bubble that I saw and he spoke with Colbert at least three times. Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and offensive coordinator Matt Canada watched him as he warmed up prior to his throwing session.
If you're just judging interest by the amount of conversation and number of eyes on him, the Steelers were the favorite yesterday. All of this comes after Ridder and several Bearcat players had dinner with Tomlin the night before.
Ridder's Overall Performance
Ridder's throwing session had the bubble buzzing. It was certainly the main event of the afternoon.
He got off to a really strong start, hitting his first ten or so throws, most of which were underneath and in the intermediate part of the field, with every pass hitting the receivers in stride.
Shortly after that, he missed a flat route to Jerome Ford that was just too low for the back to haul in. He missed several deep ball throws, all of which just simply had too much air underneath them, and there was a stretch towards the end where four of five passes hit the ground.
There were a couple shots to the end zone, about 25-30 yards in that were especially pretty. His lone miss was a bit too high for Alec Pierce.
Overall, it was an inconsistent showing as you don't like to see this many incompletions against air (at least ten by my count). His throwing session was much like his tape in that he shows the flashes of arm talent necessary to be a starting NFL quarterback mixed in with some accuracy issues.
Accountability and Presence
This might seem insignificant to some, but I found it notable and am sure that at least one NFL team did, as well. Every pass that Ridder threw that hit the ground, he would immediately yell out that's on me", "that's my fault" or "my bad" to the intended receiver.
Ridder drove a beautiful deep post route that was on the money, only for Pierce to drop one that hit him in stride, right in his hands. Ridder approached him on his way back to the huddle to pat him on the back and gave him some words of encouragement. At the next level, it's imperative that the quarterback take accountability when things go poorly, which Ridder did yesterday unprompted.
Ridder commands the room very well and called out audibles and protections for teams prior to a couple throws. He was extremely loud for the entire field to hear. While I'm not completely sure if this is per the course for a normal throwing session, it seemed notable and caught my attention.
Mike Sullivan and Jordan Palmer
I figured that Sullivan would be in attendance given the amount of attention that they have paid to the quarterback position this cycle. What was particularly interesting was just how much time he spent speaking with former NFL quarterback and QB guru, Jordan Palmer.
Ridder has been working with Palmer this offseason, specifically focusing on quarterback mechanics. Sullivan had a very lengthy conversation with Palmer that lasted over half an hour, where they appeared to go over different throwing mechanics and even looked at some things (presumably of Ridder) on his phone prior to the throwing session.
Perhaps Sullivan and Palmer have a previous relationship and are old pals or Sullivan is just doing his homework. Both guys have made a living working with the position and it seemed notable how long the conversation lasted.
Brandon Hunt, Future Steelers GM
Brandon Hunt has been a familiar face over the last month or so on the recruiting trail and has often been seen in photos working closely with Colbert. This was especially true at the Cincinnati Pro ay as Hunt was practically Colbert's shadow all day.
Both of them carried the same exact notebook, with squares broke out for each player and a place to write down their notes. They both stood next to me during the entirety of Ridder's throwing session, looking on very intently.
Earlier in the day, Colbert was tasked with timing the players ten yard splits during the 40-yard dash, Hunt was directly behind him.
Colbert is seemingly taking him under his wing and preparing for the challenge that potentially lies ahead.
Omar Khan was also in attendance but he spent more time with Mike Sullivan and Matt Canada throughout the day while Hunt was seen almost always with Colbert and frequently next to Tomlin. The Steelers have interviewed more than a dozen candidates for the general manager job but I would be very surprised if Brandon Hunt doesn't get it.
Myjai Sanders' Rebound
The Cincinnati edge rusher decided to stand on his testing results from the NFL combine and did not test at his Pro Day. What was notable, however, was just how much Sanders has bulked up in the past couple of weeks.
When I saw Sanders at the Combine, I was surprised by how slender he was. He weighed in at 228-pounds, down significantly from his listed playing weight in college. It turns out that he was very sick that week, battling a severe illness which caused a ton of weight loss.
Sanders weighed in yesterday at 247 pounds and certainly looked the part. He did decide to participate in on field drills and Tomlin was certainly paying attention to him. After testing well and watching his tape, Sanders certainly feels like a Steelers edge rusher but we'll see if they can afford to spend the draft capital on him given all of their other needs elsewhere.
Bryant's Big Day
Sauce Gardner spent the day in slides, not participating in workouts given his cemented top 10 draft pick status. So, attention turned to Coby Bryant, the other Cincinnati corner who's been a personal draft crush of mine for a while now.
Bryant saw a lot of targets throughout the season with opposing quarterbacks choosing to completely ignore Gardner's side, and the results were very impressive. However, the questions around Bryant were regarding his athleticism and speed.
He seemed to quiet those concerns on Thursday as he reportedly timed a blazing 4.47 unofficial 40-yard dash time. He also looked extremely good in the cornerback drills with Tomlin standing front and center looking on.
Bryant would be an excellent addition to the Steelers secondary on day two of the draft.
Darrian Beavers Shows Out
Darrian Beavers certainly had an impressive showing yesterday. Per Jim Nagy, here were his numbers from the pro day:
- Height: 6035
- Weight: 243
- Arm: 32 3/4
- Wingspan: 81 1/4
- 40-Yard Dash: 4.67/4.70
- Vertical Jump: 39.0
- Box Jump: 10-3 SS: 4.17
- 3-Cone: 6.93
Beavers looked particularly fluid in the linebacker positional drills, as well. There was one coach out in the middle of the field while these were on-going, which was Tomlin. I asked Beavers afterwards if he noticed that Tomlin was out there paying close attention to him and he told me that he definitely did. He said they had the chance to speak a couple of times throughout the day.
Weeks ago, Beavers told me at the combine that he was able to meet with the Steelers in Indianapolis and seemed excited about getting to spend some time with Brian Flores, who's now helping coach the position in Pittsburgh.
Bearcat Character
Media was graciously invited to Cincinnati's spring practice prior to the Pro Day, which was attended by a couple NFL coaches and many scouts, as well. I spent the morning asking people, including those with ties to the football program about different draft eligible players. The feedback that I received wasn't surprising as everyone that I talked to had fantastic things to say about both Ridder and Gardner.
The other popular name that came up a lot was Bryant. One person told me that he wished he could coach the cornerback, who's been at Cincinnati for five seasons, for another five years. Another person told me that Bryant was the best person that he's ever seen come through the program. As a huge fan of his tape, I was elated to hear such high marks regarding his character.
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