05-13-2020, 12:38 PM
I'll never understand the hype or the faith some have in Fred Johnson. Could he be decent? Maybe. Maybe now. Maybe later. Maybe never.
The guy went undrafted. Strike one.
***Yes, undrafted players can become decent players, but that likelyhood is greatly reduced.)
The guy gets cut in his rookie season, after only 6 games. Strike 2.
***Yes, sometimes you can grab decent players off waivers. But he wasn't a cap casualty, an injury concern, or a malcontent. He was a rookie, who out of FIFTY THREE choices, was chosen to be put on the block.
So we've got a guy that 32 teams, including our own, who passed on this in the draft. Then you've got a guy, who after going undrafted, gets cuts 6 games into the season...
Does any of this scream "We need to count on this guy for this year" ???
If he's not good enough for the Steelers to stash on the bottom of their roster then how is he good enough to plug into a legitimate role here? And which team is a better judge of talent; The Bengals or The Steelers? Or the other 30 teams that didn't draft this kid?
I mean, if you want to hope that he develops and that we found a diamond in the rough then that's fine. But remember, he was a "project" coming out of college. That can take time, and given what I've written above, it's a project that everyone else didn't deem that likely of paying dividends.
So, yeah, you can keep on the bottom of the roster, develop him. Get him some snaps in preseason, have him active for some games. But to just think that, "Yeah, this guy is someone who we can count on for 2020 to play a significant role" is pure insanity.
You cant count on guys like Fred Johnson yet, just like we shouldn't have counted on Michael Jordan to come in and start after Boling retired. Counting on UDFA waiver wire claims and 4th round rookies is just asking for problems. It's almost guaranteeing below-average play at the position.
Fred Johnson, Jake Dolanga, Cody Core, Jordan Evans, Ryan Whalen... Some of you all read way too many fluff pieces about how these guys "flash" in camp, and expect big things.
If Fred Johnson sees significant PT this year then we most likey have significant problems. Quit hyping this guy up because he looked "not that bad" in one meaningless game (for both teams). Fred Johnson is a complete unknown and a question mark. Period.
The guy went undrafted. Strike one.
***Yes, undrafted players can become decent players, but that likelyhood is greatly reduced.)
The guy gets cut in his rookie season, after only 6 games. Strike 2.
***Yes, sometimes you can grab decent players off waivers. But he wasn't a cap casualty, an injury concern, or a malcontent. He was a rookie, who out of FIFTY THREE choices, was chosen to be put on the block.
So we've got a guy that 32 teams, including our own, who passed on this in the draft. Then you've got a guy, who after going undrafted, gets cuts 6 games into the season...
Does any of this scream "We need to count on this guy for this year" ???
If he's not good enough for the Steelers to stash on the bottom of their roster then how is he good enough to plug into a legitimate role here? And which team is a better judge of talent; The Bengals or The Steelers? Or the other 30 teams that didn't draft this kid?
I mean, if you want to hope that he develops and that we found a diamond in the rough then that's fine. But remember, he was a "project" coming out of college. That can take time, and given what I've written above, it's a project that everyone else didn't deem that likely of paying dividends.
So, yeah, you can keep on the bottom of the roster, develop him. Get him some snaps in preseason, have him active for some games. But to just think that, "Yeah, this guy is someone who we can count on for 2020 to play a significant role" is pure insanity.
You cant count on guys like Fred Johnson yet, just like we shouldn't have counted on Michael Jordan to come in and start after Boling retired. Counting on UDFA waiver wire claims and 4th round rookies is just asking for problems. It's almost guaranteeing below-average play at the position.
Fred Johnson, Jake Dolanga, Cody Core, Jordan Evans, Ryan Whalen... Some of you all read way too many fluff pieces about how these guys "flash" in camp, and expect big things.
If Fred Johnson sees significant PT this year then we most likey have significant problems. Quit hyping this guy up because he looked "not that bad" in one meaningless game (for both teams). Fred Johnson is a complete unknown and a question mark. Period.
