Despite playing a 3-4 defense with the Fighting Irish and being a Heisman runner up at the linebacker position, I'm not sure just how great of a prospect Te'o is, at least for the Steelers. Te'o needs to have a dominant defensive line in front of him because he has a problem getting off of blocks to make tackles. If Te'o has space he can make plays in both the pass and run game. The Steelers defensive line is not great or even very good at this point and I would actually prefer the Steelers to aim for a defensive lineman over an inside linebacker.
There's a couple of reasons I'm not a fan of drafting Te'o.
* The Steelers have Lawrence Timmons, who should have made the Pro Bowl at inside linebacker and they just paid him a boat load of money. Timmons is their best linebacker and the Steelers could always bring back Larry Foote for a cheap price. Foote probably still has one year left in him. The Steelers also spent a third round pick on Sean Spence last year so I would like to see how he looks this year. Inside linebacker is a need but it's far down the list of needs for this franchise.
*Do the Steelers really need any more distractions? With the anonymous Steelers player calling out LaMarr Woodley for being a lazy fat-ass, Ryan Clark calling out the locker room, James Harrison's contract situation, sociopaths like Mike Wallace and Osama Bin Mendenhall (Rashard Mendenhall), the last thing the Steelers need is a big camp distraction.
Te'o's fake dead girlfriend is a distraction and not a good one, especially considering that Troy Polamalu has some kind of ties to it. Reagan Maui'a of the Arizona Cardinals once told ESPN that he and Polamalu met Te'o's fake dead girlfriend Lennay Kekua, who Te'o said died of leukemia. Maui'a has since come out and said that Polamalu had nothing to do with the story. But the media would still make the Steeler's camp a bigger circus than it already has become in the past years, Te'o would be pouring salt on a wound.
*The Steelers have much bigger needs than inside linebacker. The Steelers need help on the defensive line, offensive line, tight end, running back, wide receiver, etc... A lot is going to depend on who the Steelers cut and who they bring back. it's also going to depend on who's on the draft board. This a great year for offensive lineman like Alabama's guard Chance Warmack. If he's on the board it's a no-brainer. The Steelers could then cut Willie Colon, saving some good cap money, and then have one of the most talented offensive lines in the NFL with Mike Adams, Warmack, Maurkice Pouncey, David Decastro, and Marcus Gilbert. North Carolina's guard Jonathan Cooper is also one of the better guard prospects in some time, he could be available at 17 as well.
The Steelers also need a pass-rushing outside linebacker whether they cut James Harrison or decide to bring him back for one more season. The Steeler's defense is built around getting to the opposing team's quarterback. They didn't do that last year. Fat Woodley had four sacks, a career low. Harrison didn't do that much better and both of them were injured for most of the year. Damonte Moore and Jarvis Jones are two outstanding prospects who continue to drop in the NFL mock drafts for various reasons. If either of them are at 17 it's a no-brainer. Oregon's Dion Jordan and BYU"s Ezekial Ansah are also no-brainers at 17.
Lastly I think the Steelers need to draft a running back in one of the first two rounds whether Mendenhall stays or goes. Hopefully he goes. Chris Rainey didn't pan out on or off the field. Baron Batch is a Twitter legend (lol) but hasn't proven anything and I highly doubt he'll be anything but a third stringer. Isaac Redman and Johnathan Dwyer are career backups. I love Eddie Lacey from Alabama who ran over Te'o and Notre Dame all night long but I can't see him going at #17. I think the Steelers should wait until the 2nd round and draft a running back there, the best one available.
In the end I just don't think Te'o is a good prospect for the Steelers at all. He has some issues and the Steelers do as well, two negatives don't make a positive in football. Sorry Te'o.
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