Kovacevic: With circus gone, Steelers turn serious taken in Strip District (DK'S GRIND)

Donte Moncrief at practice in Jacksonville in 2018. - AP

DK'S GRIND

Kovacevic: With circus gone, Steelers turn serious

By Dejan Kovacevic

Mar 14, 2019 • 1:03 am

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The circus has left town, having now officially pitched its tent in Oakland.

The other clown had already left town, and he'll now take a lot less pay for a lot lesser team in New Jersey.

So, we finished with all that?

Wonderful, because the Steelers have work to do, and they don't have much time or cash: Before committing a three-year, $25.5 million contract to free-agent corner Steven Nelson a couple days ago, before committing to a two-year, $10 million contract with free-agent wide receiver Donte Moncrief in the wee hours of this very morning, before Bud Dupree's $9.2 million option became official at 4 p.m. yesterday, before four extensions within the past week -- Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster, Anthony Chickillo, Jordan Berry -- they had an estimated $14.8 million in cap space. Now, depending on how Bud Dupree's option plays out, they might be scavenging for coins under the couch pillows.

I like the Nelson move. I'll get to that in a bit.

I love the Moncrief move:

OK, those are the stats, and those never lie. But this guy's only 25, he's 6-2, 216, and he can fly, having whipped through a 4.40 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine before the Colts drafted him in the third round. Among those 48 catches for the Jaguars in 2018, seven were for 20-plus yards, two for 40-plus yards, and this one for 80:

It's worth stressing that pass was lobbed by none other than Blake Bortles, who was cut just yesterday after five seasons in Jacksonville, notably a miserable 2018. Thus, it's also worth stressing that Moncrief and any receiver in that fold would have been the residual damage:

Put it another way: With Andrew Luck throwing him the ball in Indianapolis, Moncrief caught 84 passes on 141 targets, a 59.6 completion percentage, for 1,036 yards and 14 touchdowns. With Bortles throwing him the ball, Moncrief caught 32 passes on 65 targets, a 49.2 completion percentage, for 518 yards and three touchdowns.

With Ben Roethlisberger?

And a far superior supporting cast?

Time will tell, and it would be absurd to compare him to AB in any way, but that's a fine fit at a fair price.

Still, the fact remains that corner and wide receiver were only two of three glaring needs, and I'd argue they both ranked well behind a dynamic inside linebacker. Which now makes it feel like a foregone conclusion that priority No. 1 will have to be addressed via trade or, far more likely, the NFL Draft.

LSU linebacker Devin White in Indianapolis earlier this month. - AP

Inside linebacker's been the vexing issue ever since Ryan Shazier's injury, and there are three variably realistic options in Shazier's mold in the draft: LSU's Devin White would be a dream, but he'll go top-10. If the Steelers and Bills had completed their Antonio Brown arrangement, it might have been feasible, but it's a big stretch for a team stuck with the 20th pick. Michigan's Devin Bush might be a top-20, but he's no sure thing. And after Alabama's Mack Wilson, projected for early in the second round, the pool plunges in this regard.

Wide receivers are there, too, and the Steelers are pretty good at finding those, as even their most fired-up drafting critics will concede. If anything, coming up with JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second round should buy a decade-long mulligan. On top of that, this class is seen as deep at the position through the second and third rounds.

What should be encouraging for all concerned is that we're talking about one position of need -- and I apply this term literally -- out of 22 starters. There's no shortage of NFL execs who'd throw themselves in front of locomotives for such a scenario.

• Much more on the linebackers from this class in Dale Lolley's recent report from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

• Say what one will about the AB trade and about Kevin Colbert only granting an interview on it to the Steelers' in-house media -- though team-employed reporter Missi Matthews' questions were pitch-perfect -- but give him this: He took the high road.

Here are all three minutes of it:

Understand that every time Colbert mentions something "beneficial to the team," all he's really saying is that they needed to get this nuisance out of here. He could've found a billion ways to get personal, and he chose none.

• I'm not as nice. This would have represented the entirety of my coverage of the AB press conference:

• As for Nelson: I'm skeptical, at least a little, of his four interceptions for the Chiefs in 2018, though only in the context that he was the league's most targeted corner. Otherwise, and more important, quarterbacks had a subpar 76.8 passer rating when throwing his way, completing at only 53.1 percent.

Also, did I mention four interceptions?

OK, good, I did. Unless there's a drastic rule change for 2019, defensive backs not named Joe Haden will still be allowed to put their hands on the ball.

Much more on Nelson in Christopher Carter's Classroom today.

• I'm Team James Farrior all the way on this:

• The anger among the Steelers' fan base ... it's honestly unlike anything I've encountered, and I'm a lifer here.

It's different than the anger for the Pirates, almost all of which is aimed at the front office. This one's aimed at almost everyone. Owner. GM. Head coach. Assistants. Players. And it's to the point that some of the fans legitimately light up when they fail at something, if only because they were proven right.

Can't understand this. At all. But I'm positive that, in even pointing this out, that belligerence will come barreling right back this way.

Anyway ...

• Matt Murray's made nine starts in a row for the Penguins and, no coincidence, the group's performed as soundly and steadily as at any point all winter. Even without Kris Letang.

Enough's enough, though. There are seven games in the next dozen days, and five of them are on the road, beginning tonight in Buffalo. It's essential to get into the playoffs, obviously, but it's also important to get there alive. No matter what Murray does the rest of the way, Casey DeSmith, who hasn't stepped on the ice since Feb. 21, needs to get involved again in some capacity.

• The Sabres won't have Jack Eichel because of an NHL suspension, and they've been blanked two games in a row. As a reminder, the Penguins are four points out of first place in the Metro but also four points out of ninth place in the East. Passing up on points like these can come -- no, should come -- with awful consequences.

• Mark Cuban, the Mt. Lebanon-born billionaire owner of the NBA's Dallas franchise, tore into the NHL's sense of branding in an interview with NBC yesterday, calling the NBA "a superstar-driven league" and the NHL "a league-driven league." He added, "I couldn’t name you who the best player in the NHL is if it’s not Sidney Crosby. I heard someone say Connor McDavid. I don’t know who that is or where he plays.”

Well, this might sound funny coming from someone who couldn't name even a couple of NBA players beyond LeBron James, but Cuban's unquestionably correct in assessing the NHL as he has. People can blame McDavid playing in remote Edmonton for his lack of U.S. recognition, or even that the Oilers remain as rancid as ever. But the fact is the NHL does next to nothing to build up stars. Including Crosby.

Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and the rest who've been in charge in New York for three decades might not like it, but stars sell.

• Keeping two third basemen on a National League roster -- meaning guys who can't play any other position -- makes no sense. I wondered about this heading into spring training and even predicted that, because Jung Ho Kang clearly will start, Colin Moran would need work at first base at some point. Well, halfway through the Grapefruit League schedule, he hasn't played a single inning over there, though, as John Perrotto reported yesterday from Bradenton, they might get around to it before breaking camp.

What exactly are these exhibitions for, if not something like this?

• Two weeks until opening day in Cincinnati, by the way.

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