A Letter From the Editor: Balancing character and talent in NFL player acquisition
In the National Football League, when you are talking about player acquisition, you are talking about doing so in a variety of ways. There is the NFL Draft, free agency, and even trades. The avenue of player acquisition doesn’t matter, but when an organization is preparing to pull the trigger on getting a new player, a tough question has to be answered.
How do we assess this individual as both a player and person?
In other words, how does their character match their overall talent?
This delicate balance is different for every organization in the NFL. Some of the 32 NFL teams weigh one over the other, and there are both success stories and massive failures if one category is outweighed by the other.
A team doesn’t want a roster full of choir boys, but at the same time don’t want to worry about their team getting themselves into issues off the field which could jeopardize the team’s overall plans.
When you look at the recent history with the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’ve seen both sides of this equation. There was a stretch of years where the Steelers were enamored with skill, not worrying about any type of red flags which popped up from a character standpoint.
Drafting Martavis Bryant out of Clemson, Le’Veon Bell out of Michigan State, and Antonio Brown out of Central Michigan epitomized the high upside players who also brought red flags with them. Looking for more recent examples, the drafting of George Pickens out of Georgia would fall directly in line with the above examples.
While Mike Tomlin is absolutely lauded for keeping some of these players in check, it hasn’t always worked out that way.
Free agent signings like LeGarrette Blount could also be considered in this equation. He was a proven veteran, but also had a sordid history in the league since entering the NFL following his famous punch vs. Boise State after his Oregon Ducks were upset in 2011.
This isn’t to consistently bash the Steelers for missed opportunities, because for every LeGarrette Blount there is a DeAngelo Williams who was signed in free agency and was both productive and a model citizen. Likewise, there are a number of draft picks who matched the talent profile and the high character background which make them great acquisitions to the team.
Ultimately, player acquisition is a complete evaluation process. Are uber talented players who come with red flags worth the headache? Mike Tomlin has shown he is able to reign some of these players in, but you have to ask yourself if the proverbial juice is worth the squeeze.
On paper you’d think having a coach like Tomlin, an organization like the Steelers and an opportunity to make millions of dollars in your career would help put even the biggest question marks on the straight-and-narrow, but it doesn’t always work that way. This offseason the Steelers are poised to be active in both free agency as well as acquiring players in the 2025 NFL Draft. While procuring as much talent as possible is the priority, keeping character in the visual frame is also important.
I’d be foolish if I didn’t suggest how the Steelers organization, for as stable as they are in their history, has long leaned more towards talent than anything else. The 1970s dynasty was riddled with players who had sordid pasts, and run-ins with the law. Could you imagine if Twitter/X was around when players like Dwight White and John “Frenchy” Fuqua were around? How about a more recent example? Greg Lloyd, who dominated the mid-90s for the Steelers, was known for his off-field chaos in local establishments. How about Joey Porter Sr. and his Las Vegas escapades and the early 2000s Steelers? James Harrison was accused of domestic abuse in 2008, the same chargers were brought against wide receiver Cedrick Wilson that same offseason. Wilson was cut almost immediately, and Harrison remained as the chargers were dropped.
Do I need to even open up the can of worms that were Ben Roethlisberger’s issues off the field? I think those are well-documented and a reason many NFL fans still despise No. 7 to this day, despite him seemingly changing his ways as a man and father.
All of these examples illustrate just how fine the line is between talent and potential character issues. Sometimes, like in Roethlisberger’s case, you have no idea what might happen with a prospective player during their career. It is impossible to predict, but good organizations vet these players for not just talent, but also character.
As the 2025 league year awaits the entire NFL, it will be key for the Steelers to avoid further headaches, but still acquiring players who can help transform their roster into a winning team with lofty aspirations.
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason.
This will always be a factor at any level of sporting competition, so it’s more about how well an organization can handle that in comparison to other franchises. If you look at a lot of the “problem” players who played under Tomlin and then left the Steelers to play for another team, there’s a precipitous drop-off in production and/or sanity. Just look at AB, Bell, and Bryant as recent examples. Tomlin was able to keep those guys as accountable and focused as he possibly could have before each of them imploded on other teams. Tomlin handles this much, much better than most other coaches in the league, despite what a lot of people think.
This is true, and no one can knock Tomlin for his ability to keeping those type of players in line. He isn’t perfect, no one is, but he has done a great job.
My question is should the Steelers rely on his ability to do this, or think more about character in their evaluations?
I would go another direction all together. I’d rather see them pursue an identity and find guys whose skillset fits. I just tend to take it for granted that they can get a lot out of guys who are a headache, and I trust them to move on when necessary.
They continue to run zone schemes when the starting RB and a lot of the linemen would probably be better suited to a gap scheme. They continue to keep a 3-4 philosophy on defense, but draft DL that would probably be better in a 4-3 philosophy.
I fully support Tomlin since they want to keep him, but I’d like to see a concerted effort to get guys that fit what you want to do.
I know there are a lot of people upset about the lack of “big change”, but I think there’s going to be a big shift in the personnel they pursue. It might, or probably will, take longer than just this offseason for things to align, but I think they will. They brought Weidl in for a reason.
I’d also like to see the draft just go BPA at every pick. They have a draft board, and I hope they stick to it. They seem to have been chasing need for quite a few drafts now. (I do think they’ve drafted well since Colbert left though.) Get the best guys. They can work the rest of the roster out through trades and FA.
Well that’s how it’s worked in the Draft, BPA. Folks love to get upset that they didn’t take Creed Humphrey but there is a reason he went in RD 2. The first thing I will hear from so many is: “Well you should have taken him RD 1”, that is a joke of a line if there ever was one. Not a chance in the Bluest of all Blue you know what would that pick have flown with the fanbase. I know how you people react and it’s easy to say now but back then the whole fanbase would have gone off the deep end and they know it’s just that these fans will never admit it.
When it comes to drafting folks always say take BPA but when a need has to be filled BPA goes right out the door. You can’t have it both ways people, pick 1 or the other not both. Here’s a legit question for anyone who wants to answer: Does any fan have access to the Steelers Draft board? How bout the scouting reports they do? It’s easy for fans to read scouting reports from say a Daniel Jeramiah or a Bucky Brooks or even Mel Kiper but you have Kahn, Weidl, Tomlin and the rest of his scouting staff observing film, talking with as many players possible and making there reports based on all that to give them an idea of who to draft and what to look for.
Take for instance the DL class right now: Every comment you read up on says Mason Graham is the Top DL in the class but you have 32 teams who can easily say otherwise cause they have everything Fans don’t and for some fans not all of them it annoys them but my advice would be “Do your part better than the team does, otherwise quit your complaining”.
I go back to a question I asked: BPA or Need? Ya can’t have both cause it will more headaches than you would like.
What do you mean “you people”? I haven’t said a word about who they should have drafted over who they did. I also never claimed to know their draft board or the process behind it. Clearly that’s very privileged information.
I literally just said it seems (to me) like they’ve been drafting more for need than BPA over the last few drafts. (I also said I think they’re drafting well under Khan.) I don’t believe you can ever have it totally just one way or the other, but you can surely lean toward one more than the other. Yeah, if a guy that’s 6th on your draft board comes up, and the 5th guy is still there, but the 6th is at a position of need, then maybe you go with number 6. That’s a line they have to walk. I don’t get paid for those decisions. I’m speaking in generalities. I’m not ever going to say “Man, I wish they would’ve drafted so and so when they had the chance.” That is just revisionist and doesn’t mean much to me.
I’m going to use the Eagles as an example. Their last couple of drafts have had some high picks at positions that people wouldn’t really say were needs at the time. That’s okay. The guys were clearly high on their list. They then moved the perfectly good player that was there, in favor of the really good young guy they just got. (i.e.- Seumalo) They have been building on BPA for a little while now. You can get returns on the guy you’re replacing, especially draft picks, to help you build even more through the draft. The Patriots were really good at this too. You can fill the holes you still have through FA. Chances are that a FA is going to be able to contribute more than a lower round rookie will that season.
I’m here just expressing some ideas on team building philosophy; things I think might be cool if the team explored. I’m not really criticizing anything beyond some of the personnel usage of guys that were already there. Even that, I think, is evolving, so it’s more of a commentary on the past few years than it is a current criticism. It seems like you’re lumping me in with some other people you have a problem with. I’m not sure what point of view, that I actually expressed, is giving you an issue here.
Okay I’ll clarify. A majority of people act that way. BPA and Need is a fine line but most folks chose to want it both ways. I used the Creed Humphrey pick as a prime example of BPA vs Need. Many Steeler Fans you talk to will repeatedly say “They should’ve taken Humphrey in RD 1”, what those same fans fail to realize he wasn’t a 1st Rd pick for a reason.
It’s easy for fans to look at how KC took Creed and made him who he is today but is there any evidence among those same fans to say that if he were taken by another team in RD 1 that Creed is talked about the same way he is now? Obviously no but try telling that to Steeler Fans.
See when the really good Fans bring up past mistakes of other teams, Steeler Fans get defensive and brush it off with a snide comment of “I don’t care what other teams do”. Sure they don’t “care” but when another team hits on a Draft Pick that another team has and does real well these same folks come back yelling and screaming “THE STEELERS SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THAT GUY”.
I said that most fans want both BPA and Need but it’s hard cause it don’t work that way and that you basically have to chose 1 or the other and most Fans, not saying you don’t want it that way.
I do know where you’re coming from. I don’t like to look back at what other teams did all that much except in more general terms. This team built themselves this way, resulting in this. Stuff like that. If I wanted to go down that other road, then Dan Marino should have been a Steeler and they should have at least 3 more rings. Haha. I don’t hold one lineman against the Steelers, especially when they have always been good at drafting centers.
Both myself and Shannon White said before the 2021 draft we wanted Creed Humphrey in the 1st round. Would have loved that pick. They almost ended up with Christian Darasaw as he fell and was taken one pick before the Steelers. What you are forgetting is Creed Humphrey was still on the board in Rd 2 and the Steelers picked Freiermuth over him. That’s the real story with Humphrey- that they didn’t take him in Rd 2.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. It’s that they didn’t draft Humphrey in the second when he was still on the board. Personally I don’t get worked up over who they pick. I have no control over it.
Bingo Dave, have an extra rec! He was easily the BPA in round 2, and IS one of the best centers in the league. Definitely round one worthy then, and round one worthy retrospectively.
Give me the BPA! There are so many holes on this roster you’d be foolish not to take the best guy.
Easy to say but harder to do. I’ll put you in charge of the Steelers draft for this year(not literally but figuratively) your turn to pick and you look at your board and you have a need at DT and Mason Graham is on the board but also at that time Emeka Egbuka is on the board, what do you do?
There’s obvious need at both positions, so you definitely go BPA here either way. Even if McMillan is still on the board you go Graham. I don’t presume to know the Steelers board, but Graham is probably well above any WR in the draft as a BPA pick. He’s considered by a lot of people as the best DL in the draft and will probably be a top 10 pick. I think the choices are more subjective in the bottom half of the first round as compared to the top 10-15 guys. Also, just saying BPA is good, but by what metric? There’s no universally accepted list of who is better than anyone else. I think the decision gets harder when you’re facing a guy at a needed position, but a guy falls to you that isn’t at one of those positions.
I’ll just say this: If someone… like say… Josh Simmons or Tyler Warren, just for example, were to fall to 21 by some strange magic, then I would hope they take him and figure it out afterward. Tackle and TE aren’t that high on the list of need to me, but I would be loathe to let a guy that good slip past me in the draft.
That’s what I’d like to see.
Easy, take the D lineman.