Pittsburgh Steelers 2015 Draft: The Good, the Bad and the Baffling

The 2015 NFL draft has wrapped, with the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting eight players over the three-day event.

The Steelers managed to address some significant areas of need while stocking up on depth players and developmental talent—the kind of draft the Steelers, and every NFL team, wishes to have.

But that doesn't mean that the Steelers' draft went completely smoothly. Here is the good, the bad and the baffling to come from their 2015 draft.

Good: Steelers Grab CB Senquez Golson in Round 2

At first glance, Mississippi cornerback Senquez Golson seems like a curious pick for the Steelers to make in Round 2. He's just 5'9" and 176 pounds. That kind of frame can often be a liability in the NFL, especially given the size of some of the league's better receivers and tight ends.

But Golson plays much bigger than he is, thanks to a physical style of play, a strong vertical leap and impressive speed. As such, he totaled 136 combined tackles, 16 interceptions and 19 passes defensed in four years at Ole Miss, with 10 of those interceptions coming in 2014.

The ball-hawking Golson was also Pro Football Focus' fifth-ranked cornerback in the draft class, based on opposing quarterback rating. As Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted, not only is Golson "the top playmaking [cornerback] in the draft," but he's also just one inch shorter than longtime starter William Gay, who has been successful in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers had a need at cornerback and addressed it early with a player who fits their style and can improve their takeaway ratio. Golson should make a quick on-field impact as a rookie.

Bad: Being Leapfrogged by Baltimore for TE Maxx Williams

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It's not bad, in and of itself, that the Steelers lost out on Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams. After all, they managed to snag another promising tight end in Round 5 in Penn State's Jesse James. 

It's just how it happened and who ended up with Williams that has to burn a bit for the Steelers. Their primary AFC North rival, the Baltimore Ravens, jumped up in Round 2 to No. 55—also known as the pick right before the Steelers'—to take Williams.

Now, Round 2 may prove to be too high of a spot for Williams as his career plays out. And Round 5 may prove to be a place of immense value when it comes to the Steelers' selection of James. They were not shut out of the tight end sweepstakes with the Ravens' move and, as it appears now, have come out no worse for wear.

But to have a draft target poached by their most hated rivals is not what the Steelers had been expecting to happen this year. For that reason only was losing out on Williams bad for Pittsburgh.

Baffling: LB Bud Dupree Falling All the Way to No. 22

Thanks in part to a run on offensive linemen in Round 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up with the steal of the round when they grabbed Kentucky outside linebacker Bud Dupree at 22nd overall. 

Dupree, one of the draft's best pass-rushers, wasn't expected to be available after No. 20 or even 15. Instead, his slide was the Steelers' gain, with the team adding a much-needed outside linebacker to a stable that had been, until the draft, quite thin.

Now he will battle for snaps with James Harrison, Arthur Moats, Jarvis Jones and even fellow rookie Anthony Chickillo, who was taken in Round 6. Dupree totaled 247 combined tackles in college, with 37 tackles for a loss and 23.5 sacks. 

A player that productive, with such a high ceiling, rarely falls that far into the 20s on purpose. The draft just managed to shake out in a way that benefited the Steelers, though it was quite baffling to see Dupree just sitting there waiting for the Steelers' call when he could have easily gone far earlier.

Good: Steelers Snag Underrated Pass-Rusher Anthony Chickillo in Round 6

For some teams, Miami defensive end/linebacker Anthony Chickillo is a tweener, a man without a home whether on the defensive line or as part of a linebacking corps. For the Steelers, however, they saw a situational pass-rusher who could actually play snaps in his rookie season.

Chickillo totaled 124 combined tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks as part of Miami's defensive line rotation. For the Steelers, according to Dale Lolley of the Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporter, Chickillo will be an outside linebacker. 

Given the Steelers' thinness at the position, it is not surprising they double-dipped at outside linebacker this year. And while Chickillo is a Round 6 selection, that doesn't mean he's a long shot to make the roster. As linebacker coach Joey Porter said after the team made the pick, per Chris Adams of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "You can never have enough pass-rushers the way the game is played now."

The Steelers were not content to just throw darts at the board in later rounds or to take fliers on players who may or may not make the roster. Instead, they focused on positions of need throughout Day 3 and came away with five solid players, Chickillo included.

Bad: Steelers Select WR Sammie Coates in Round 3

Former Auburn receiver Sammie Coates could ultimately have a fine NFL career for the Steelers. He has at least one year, if not two, to develop since Markus Wheaton won't be a free agent until 2017, which means that the Steelers may not have to consider replacing him until then. But for now, the pick of Coates in Round 3 doesn't seem to be the best use of the team's resources.

Coates totaled 82 receptions for 1,757 yards and 13 touchdowns at Auburn. Though CBS Sports' Dane Brugler says he is "[a] physical specimen with his size/speed combination" and "has freakish ability," there are significant drawbacks to his game, particularly his hands. 

Brugler reports that he "is more of an athlete than polished pass-catcher right now" and that his "overall focus and reliability at the catch point is a question mark as he struggles to consistently track and secure with too many drops on his resume." As such, he "shouldn't be relied upon to be anything more than a raw vertical threat as a rookie and might never be anything more unless NFL coaching can harness his athletic traits."

With that many question marks surrounding his ability to develop, the Steelers might have been smarter to choose a different receiver with less on-field risks or another position altogether. Coates could prove to be an asset for the Steelers, but it's going to take some time for him to get there.

Baffling: Who Can S Gerod Holliman Be in the NFL?

The Steelers have clearly been in the market for a safety. They aren't in a crisis mode, per se, given that Mike Mitchell should have a bounce-back year after recovering from two torn groin muscles that required offseason surgery, Shamarko Thomas could emerge as a starter, and Will Allen is on the roster to provide veteran depth.

And the safety position wasn't a deep one in the 2015 NFL draft, likely scaring the Steelers off from taking a marginal player in a round too high. But the safety they did take, Louisville's Gerod Holliman, is somewhat of a question mark as far as his NFL-level talent.

He could prove to be a steal. But he's going to need some help with his technique for that to happen. He is certainly a ball hawk. He has 14 interceptions in his two-year collegiate career, all of them coming in 2014, which led the NCAA. He even won the Thorpe Award last year, given to college football's top defensive back.

But Holliman struggles as a tackler. As CBS Sports' Rob Rang puts it, he is an "unreliable tackler due to inconsistent angles and technique as a hitter" who "drops his shoulder into ball-carriers occasionally to deliver the emphatic knockdown but doesn't wrap his arms securely and therefore some of his attempts slide off." This must be corrected for him to be worthy of a Steelers' starting job.

Granted, "Holliman possesses awareness, agility and hands," which is a good start. But whether or not he can fine-tune his technique to the point that he can take the field in 2015 and make an impact is a mystery. On one hand, his freelancing missile-style of play reminds one of Troy Polamalu; on the other, he's a young player without much experience and must rein in certain traits before he can be a true stud in the secondary.