While it's known to take at least a couple of seasons to determine the worth of an NFL draft pick, it's interesting in the immediate aftermath of the draft to parse all the conjecture and rhetoric and determine which teams did well based on need and value and which teams missed the mark.
It seems, based on a slew of post-draft reports and quotes, the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Kevin Colbert may have pulled a fast one on Ozzie Newsome and the division rival Baltimore Ravens.
In the first-round, the Steelers were reportedly targeting cornerback Trae Waynes via a trade up. When Waynes was selected by the Vikings with the No. 11 selection, the Steelers chose to stay at No. 22, eventually going with former Kentucky pass-rusher Bud Dupree in a move that, per the Baltimore website, ruffled more than a few purple-tinged feathers.
"Newsome cringed. The room groaned a little. Dupree was a guy we were willing to take at 26."
With Dupree off the board, the Ravens went with wide receiver Breshad Perriman, one of only three players left on their original first-round "wish list," per the Baltimore team website.
There's no doubting that Dupree would have looked good as a member of the Baltimore pass-rush and it was certainly a coup for the Steelers to land him so late in the first, but perhaps the most interesting part of the draft for the two division foes unfolded in the second-round.
The Ravens, reportedly concerned that the Steelers - who many thought would be seeking an heir apparent to Heath Evans - would select former Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams, traded up a few spots ahead of division rival Pittsburgh and selected Williams.
Only, to hear Colbert tell it, Williams was not a player the Steelers were interested in, meaning Newsome may have unnecessarily committed extra resources to landing a player he could have sat tight and collected at No. 58.
"In difference to what was reported, Senquez was targeted to be picked in the second round," Colbert said, via NFL.com. "Without a doubt, we were going to come out of that round with a corner, and it was never a discussion. In fact, we tried to trade up to secure Senquez Golson, just to set the record straight."
So, if Colbert and the Ravens website are to believed, the Steelers got the best of the Ravens not once, but twice at the top of the 2015 NFL Draft.
