If Kevin Jones is around for the 11th pick of the draft, there is a chance the Steelers might take him. Here's the take from one scout at this week's NFL combines on Jones:
"Right now, the majority of our scouts feel like Kevin Jones (of Virginia Tech) is the best back in the draft. But there's my hangup with him: You see him break a lot of long runs on tape, but you don't see him break a lot of tackles, you know? He's got some 'long strider' to him, and I'd like to see him running in some tight spots, where he's got to chop his steps more and maybe make a hole for himself once in a while."The scout also talks about Chris Perry, the RB from Michigan whose stock has been slipping and might be a potential second round possibility:
"Another running back I haven't been impressed with, as far as his inside strength, is (Michigan's) Chris Perry. Now he's a guy who is supposed to run hard, right? But I looked at maybe three tapes of him last week and I don't see the explosiveness and the power I thought I would. On the plus side, he has a little more wiggle than people told me he did. He won't run away from safeties or anything, but he does know what to do when he gets into the secondary. I'd just like to see him knocking the linebackers back a little more because, let's face it, he isn't a speed guy. I'm thinking he's about a 4.55 guy (in the 40) and so he'd better get his pads down when he's running. Oh, yeah, another plus is that he's a very, very positive kid and, from what we gather, a real leader."Ramsey a Steeler?
Why Joe Gibbs is dead set on signing Mark Brunell isn't clear. You can talk all you want about veteran leadership, but Patrick Ramsey has proven that he deserves to start in the league. A quick look at the first two-year statistics of John Elway, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey show that Ramsey finished higher in every category than Brunell except rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing TDs. Overall, Ramsey finished behind Marino, Manning and Elway. While the first two years in the league don't necessarily guarantee a successful career, Ramsey's numbers thus far should not only be encouraging, but probably should result in him remaining the starter.
It looks like the Redskins only have to give up a third round pick in the trade for Brunell. Ramsey, through his agent, also discussed the possibility of requesting a trade if Brunell ends up in Washington. One team that would love to have Ramsey is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tommy Maddox will be 33 when the season starts and the Steelers have identified the QB position as a future need. If the Steelers can get Ramsey with having only to give up a second round pick, they should do it. Ramsey has proven he can play, so there's less uncertainty about his abilities at this level than there would be with a rookie QB; and given that last year's second round pick, LB Alonzo Jackson, did not dress for the last 14 games, giving up a second round pick seems like a no-brainer.
Of course Gibbs has stated that he has no intentions of trading Ramsey, so more than likely, the possibilities are remote that the Steelers even get a chance to sniff Ramsey. Either way, it'll be interesting to watch.
