Pittsburgh Steelers: GM Kevin Colbert 'Loves' Michigan's Jabrill Peppers
Looks like University of Michigan's Jabrill Peppers is getting a lot of love in the lead up to the draft.
NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala has reported that Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert "loves" what he sees in Peppers and she said the team is planning to use the 30th overall pick on the defensive back if he's still one the board when they are on the clock.
Kinkhabwala also added that the Steelers will probably use several high picks to address their problems at pass defense even if they miss out on Peppers.
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Peppers is versatile enough to play either safety or linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), and a National Football Conference (NFC) executive has even compared him with Steelers legend Troy Polamalu. That's the highest of compliments. Can he fill the void Polamalu left behind at strong safety? He's clearly not on that level yet. However, he does have a lot of potential.
"The ultimate Swiss Army Knife on the collegiate level, and will likely play a hybrid role on the next level that allows him to blitz, cover and chase, Peppers' draft value will be helped by his return ability and that is a role he should maintain throughout the earlier stages of his career. While Peppers doesn't have the production teams expect from first-round defenders, he should benefit from a role that is more clearly defined on the next level," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein said in his scouting report.
He has impressed a lot of people with his play at Michigan, but Steelers.com's Bob Labriola doesn't like the idea of drafting Peppers in the first round because the team already has two starting safeties. Instead, Labriola said the Steelers should use the 30th overall pick on a player who can contribute right away.
Peppers has yet to come to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit, but the team still has a couple of weeks to check him out.
