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Of Pittsburgh’s eight remaining rookies, half are in line to start Week 1 in Buffalo. Not too shabby for the Steelers 2021 draft class.
The first depth chart of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 season was revealed on Monday. Of the five remaining rookies, four are in line to start Week 1 in Buffalo. Not too shabby.
One observation from the Steelers first official depth chart post-cuts is that their rookie center was relegated to reserves.
One observation from the Pittsburgh Steelers first official depth chart post-cuts is that rookie center Kendrick Green is not the starter. Instead, second-year lineman J.C. Hassenauer earned that right.
Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, Green worked with the Steelers first team during the preseason, but was not impressing the brass.
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Short of going out to find a more talented center, Hassenauer has the experience head coach Mike Tomlin wants from a player at such a critical position — at least to start the season. Hassenauer was part of the Steelers 2019 practice squad and signed to a one-year deal in March. In place of the injured Maurkice Pouncey, Hassenhauer was sufficient in four starts last year.
Things can always change with 13 days until the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their 2021 season in Buffalo — but it’s doubtful.
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The Steelers finally have their entire 2021 NFL draft class signed.
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Congrats to @The_fridge53 on signing his contract with the #Steelers! pic.twitter.com/KASsgBy2Xm
— Jason Bernstein (@Clarity_JB) July 20, 2021
When the Pittsburgh Steelers meet up to start training camp this week, they will have their entire 2021 NFL draft class signed and ready to go. According to Green’s agent, Green signed his contract Tuesday.
Green is in line to be the starting center for the Steelers on opening day. Longtime center Maurkice Pouncey retired rather suddenly after the 2020 season leaving a definite need at center. The Steelers drafted Green out of Illinois in the third round of the 2021 draft and although his experience at center was limited in college, the Steelers hope he can be the next great Steelers center.
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Of the nine players in the Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 draft class, only offensive lineman Kendrick Green remains unsigned.
Of the nine players in the Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 draft class, only offensive lineman Kendrick Green remains unsigned.
No need to fret, though — there’s still plenty of time.
If Green is not yet signed by Pittsburgh on August 10, a notice sent to NFL clubs from the player personnel department this week states the following:
If a Drafted Rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2021, and may sign a Player Contract only with the drafting club until the day of the Draft in the 2022 League Year.
It’s not likely this scenario will come into play for Green and the Steelers, but it’s nevertheless an intriguing policy.
Unsigned rookies can participate in offseason activities, including upcoming Steelers training camp, as Green has been. There’s no telling why he hasn’t been signed, but one possibility is that his exact role is undefined. Camp should be an excellent indicator as to whether the Steelers believe Green will be a starter beginning Week 1 or if they’ll make him wait it out behind J.C. Hassenaur or B.J. Finney.
Perhaps the most probable reason for the holdup is that Green’s agent, Jason Bernstein of Clarity Football, is waiting to see how the contracts of other players drafted in a similar spot shake out. Only two players selected in the third round — Dyami Brown of the Washington Football Team and Nico Collins of the Houston Texans — have signed their deals.
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Rookie offensive lineman Kendrick Green gets the call that life-changing call from head coach Mike Tomlin.
Watching these moments where the newest members of the Steelers family get the call from Mike Tomlin never fails to choke us up. This one is no different.
Illini football posted a video of when offensive lineman Kendrick Green’s phone rang and his new head coach was on the other end.
A smile immediately came to Green’s face when he heard Tomlin’s voice no doubt asking him if he was ready to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
What Green said to Tomlin was beeped out, but I think it was, “Let’s fudging go”.
It’s such a happy moment that rookies will remember for the rest of their lives.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, Kendrick!
@The_fridge53… it's Mike Tomlin… @steelers | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/TTetakydbl
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) May 1, 2021
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The Steelers select former Illinois guard Kendrick Green.
The Pittsburgh Steelers select former Illinois guard/center Kendrick Green in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Stick with Steelers Wire for updates
Do you want the Minnesota Vikings to draft Illinois guard Kendrick Green in the 2021 NFL draft?
Though the Vikings bring back both of their starting guards from 2020, the team could very well need to upgrade both spots in the upcoming NFL draft.
Minnesota struggled to protect the quarterback from the interior of the offensive line this past season. Starting left guard Dakota Dozier has re-signed, but he might just be a depth play at this point. There’s also Ezra Cleveland, the starting right guard from 2020, who the Vikings could move to left tackle with Riley Reiff’s departure.
So it makes sense that plenty of Vikings fans are looking at guards in NFL draft simulations. PFF has a draft simulation and the outlet reported that Illinois guard Kendrick Green has been a fan-favorite among Minnesota fans doing draft simulations.
Green is quick off the line and can pay multiple positions. He was listed at 6-4, 315 pounds in college. NFL.com currently has Green projected as a third-round pick. PFF gave Green a 93.6 zone blocking grade, so he fits with what the Vikings’ offensive line scheme in that sense.
Green could come in and start right away, especially if Mason Cole is not a starter at either of the guard spots. Although, there is a possibility that Minnesota would want more of a sure-fire bet at guard, so maybe the team opts to land one earlier in the draft.
In what could be an important draft for Arizona’s future, here are some ideal scenarios for the Cardinals.
This could be a pivotal draft for the Arizona Cardinals, one that could make or break their future.
Right now, they have the pieces in place to make it to the playoffs, but there are still holes that they need to fill. While it is true that they can still fill some holes in free agency and have cleared some recent cap space to be able to do so, they still need to have a solid draft to round everything out.
With that in mind, here are, barring any trades, an ideal seven-round scenario for Arizona (and let’s hope this turns out as well as this one):
It’s a over a week past free agency and the Jags roster is improved. However, they still have a lot of needs to address in the draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer and his staff have wrapped up one of the most important parts of his first season as an NFL head coach, and that’s the first week of free agency. Typically, that’s the timeframe where the most significant additions are made to the roster, and also the point where fans and the front office can gauge the team’s biggest needs heading into the draft.
In early January, we assessed the Jags’ needs heading into free agency. With the free agency additions made over the last week-plus, we’ve now re-evaluated those needs to give fans an idea of what the Jags can do in the draft.
From their biggest needs to their minor ones, here is how we’ve ranked the Jags’ needs heading into the draft:
Jags Wire James Johnson and Phil Smith go over their newest mock for the Jags as the first week of free agency is over.
In this week’s episode of “Bleav in the Jaguars,” Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and myself started things off re-ranking the Jacksonville Jaguars’ needs now that free agency has been ongoing for over a week. Overall, there were eight needs discussed though some weren’t as pressing as others.
Afterward, we dove deeper into the recent mock draft released on Jags Wire this week. It’s one that knocked out all eight of the needs we discussed before hand and utilized all 10 Jags selections.
The full episode can be heard below in the media player, while our archived episodes can be revisited here.
Feel free to subscribe to “Bleav in the Jags” via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.
