Not that Pitt players expect to hear their names called tonight. The new format starts tonight. First round begins around 7:30 pm. Friday night has rounds 2 and 3. Then on Saturday morning, the blow through of rounds 4-7.
Dorin Dickerson is expected to be picked sometime on Friday.
• Upside: Is extraordinarily versatile. Played wide receiver, running back, quarterback, defensive back and returned kicks to be heavily recruited out of high school. With 4.4 speed in the 40 and 43 1/2-inch vertical leap, will be a nightmare for linebackers to cover and powerful build makes him hard to bring down.
• Downside: It will be disconcerting to some that he underachieved for much of his college career and was a player seemingly without a position for so long. Blocking, route-running and ball security are all areas in need of improvement.
• Projected round: Third.
Dickerson has seen his stock rise since the season ended. He started out as being a pick that went as late as the 5th round, and now he has been projected as high as the 2nd round. He’s not seen as a traditional tight end, since he lacks the traditional size. Instead, they talk of him as an H-back type player. Someone that becomes a weapon when he gets into space.
The more traditional TE is Nate Byham.
Now, Byham’s pass-blocking skills are the primary reason he’s likely to be taken anywhere from the third to sixth round of the three-day NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night.
“The coaches put Dorin in position where he could really help the team,” Byham said, “and that ultimately made me become a better blocker because I focused on run-blocking more.”
So far, at least 26 teams have expressed interest in Byham, according to agent Chase Callahan.
“Nate is the kind of guy who can step in and play right away because of his blocking abilities. I think a team like Baltimore needs Nate to block the Lamar Woodleys and James Harrisons and help their run and passing game.
“The Jets want to run the ball 30 times a game, so Nate can come in and contribute right away,” Callahan said. “Several teams have a third-round grade, and others have Nate as a fourth- to sixth-round grade.”
That seems to be the rumor. That teams might have to grab Byham earlier than they originally thought.
Finally, the stock of Pittsburgh TE Nate Byham has quietly gone way up in recent weeks. Most scouts I’ve spoken with think he’s a guy who can play in the league 10 years as a No. 2 tight end. However, the teams that thought he was a safe late-round pick at the start of the postseason process now think they might need to take him a little higher than originally thought – in the middle rounds — in order to secure him on draft day.
About the only other Pitt player with the potential to be drafted is cornerback Aaron Berry. He never made Pitt fans forget Darrelle Revis, but I can’t help but think he also suffered because the defensive scheme Pitt ran called for the corners to play off more to prevent big plays, rather than tighter coverage.
Most of the other seniors from Pitt with NFL dreams will go the free agent route.
“Take a Mick Williams or Gus Mustakas for instance — any team that is running that Tampa defense, the 4-3, either of those two guys would fit as undersized, quick defensive linemen who’ve already been coached to play in that system.”
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The same can be said about John Malecki, undersized to play guard but a better fit at center, Adam Gunn, a linebacker with special-teams ability) and wide receiver Oderick Turner.
One other name to listen for is quarterback Bill Stull, who said a number of teams already have contacted him about becoming a free agent if he is not drafted.
“I really hoped Billy would get in a couple of those all-star games because I know what he can do,” Wannstedt said.
One other name that will probably go the free agent way is center Robb Houser.
The Butte County native who helped Durham High reach the Division IV section football playoffs three straight seasons and Butte College lay the foundation for its famed 2008 JCGridiron.com national championship glory has apparently been concerned about other areas in his life lately.
“He has been text messaging me about this ghost inside his house in Pittsburgh, honestly,” said Allen Henman, one of Houser’s former prep teammates and Durham Elementary School classmates. “He and his roommate think they keep seeing something. They talk about it like it’s a pet.”
Er, okay. So he’s a bit distracted. Scott McKilloop thinks he has a chance.
“We ran a pro-style offense and defense at Pitt that translates into the NFL system,” said former Pittsburgh linebacker Scott McKillop, now a member of the San Francisco 49ers and a Panthers alumnus anxious to see if Houser will end up with an NFL opportunity.
“In Robb’s case, he knows what he can do (well) and can’t do,” McKillop said. “That’s a mark of a great player, working around their limitations and also working to improve at the same time.”
McKillop often competed against Houser up close in practice since their positions match up on the field. Recovering fast from a serious ankle injury during his first season at Pittsburgh was another impression Houser left on McKillop.
“He’s a tough player, he came back real quick,” McKillop said. “It shows how he can be depended on to come back in a pinch. That’s important (in the NFL).”
In one final bit of NFL-Pitt related news. I was sent a press release that Darrelle Revis has joined the Ocho Cinco News Network for draft coverage. No I am not making this up. Here’s the press release.
Darrelle Revis as a draft correspondent.
Motorola is the sponsor of OCNN. So Revis is at least having fun.
