By now, if you pay any attention whatsoever to the NFL, you've seen mocks of the draft that will take place later this week. In fact, there are a number of web sites out there that are built entirely around mocks of the yearly event that lasts just three days in April.
The Steelers? They'll do their own version of a mock draft on Wednesday as they do their final preparation for this year's draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday. But the Steelers' mock draft will be different from ones you see all over the Internet.
Other teams might try to guess what their counterparts will do in the NFL Draft. The Steelers trust what they themselves will do more than anything else. And have for the past 10 years or so.
"We've done away with the mock drafts," Kevin Colbert said Monday in a pre-draft press conference along with Mike Tomlin. "It was a waste of time because we're just going to pick them as we pick them. It's a simple process. We're going to have 20 guys and we know exactly how we'll pick them. We'll determine that Wednesday. We'll have that final approach. It's one through 20.
"We're not going to vary from it. The only thing that will vary is if we're going to trade up or trade down. There's really no guessing to it after Wednesday. We'll have a specific order Wednesday afternoon. The only thing that would change on Thursday is if we trade up or trade down."
It's a different approach than trying to guess exactly what other teams are thinking. The Steelers are focused on what they want to do and how they see things, not necessarily on the outside noise.
"In doing so, you kind of cover all of the potential scenarios," Tomlin said.
So instead of putting other teams and what the Steelers think will happen with a particular pick, they make the pick based on how they have the players ranked.
"We put ourselves first and we pick a player and now that player is gone," Colbert said. "Now, we put ourselves second and so on and so forth. We'll go past 20. If we trade down, we know that if we go to 28, who is it? We'll know because we've already done it."
It's a process that they use when deciding whether they want to make potential trades, as well.
Many teams use a draft pick value chart first used by Jimmy Johnson when he was coach of the Cowboys. It's since been modified by teams to adjust for the fifth-year option on first-round picks and other new factors, but the Steelers do things differently.
"We don't use a chart. We know other teams do use a chart," Colbert said. "We know that when we call them, they're going to say, 'That doesn't match our chart value.' That's fine. But we have to spend what we want to spend if we want a certain player. It goes back to demand if teams are trying to trade up with us. We don't follow a chart. We know what they're saying, and that's up to them, but we'll make up our own value."
There are several reasons for that. Depth of a certain position in the draft is a big one. Position need is another.
"What we look at is if a certain player that we would take at, say, five, is available at 10, then we would say, 'You know what, this guy is coming to where he's available,'" Colbert said. "'We might want to think about going up to get him, because he probably won't get to 12.' But it's not the teams because we're guessing what other teams are thinking. We value what we believe."
"It's just like the mock discussion," Tomlin said. "Our desire to move is based on the value on our board as opposed to how they might be positioned on someone else's board."
So yes, the Steelers are reaching out to other teams about potential trades. Colbert said he had his scouts start reaching out to other teams Monday and that other very informal conversations have already taken place.
But any potential moves wouldn't be made until the draft begins.
"We can't get firm answers because you don't know what you'd be trading up for and teams don't know who they're trading away from. So, until you get close, you could have some ideas -- this team is interested in coming up, this team is interested in going down -- until you actually get on the clock, those things will not happen."
But there are scenarios in which the Steelers wouldn't move down no matter the return.
"We'll identify a group of players we wouldn't trade away from no matter what," Colbert said. "If they were available to us at 20 and someone came to us, we've already determined that we're taking that player."
• Given everything that happened in the past couple of years with players on social media, Colbert and Tomlin were asked if they've changed how they evaluate that aspect of things when judging players.
"We try to monitor everything as much as we can," Colbert said. "There's extensive background checks. The league does background checks. We get our own opinion. We might hear about a guy who doesn't have a great reputation, but when you sit down and talk to him, you come away with a better feeling. The opposite is true, too. This guy comes in with a pristine character reference and you say, 'I'm not so sure that adds up.'"
• The Steelers' roster currently includes 74 players. The team can have as many as 91 players on its roster. The Steelers have a roster exemption available for international player Christian Scotland-Williamson, a tight end from England. The Steelers do not get a roster exemption this year for linebacker Ryan Shazier.
• Colbert said the Steelers have met with 210 prospects this year. They, however, will pare that down to a list of 150 players they will draft.
• Tomlin said he is comfortable with his current group of wide receivers and the team has high expectations for James Washington, a 2018 second-round pick, in his second year. "We expect great things from James Washington, among others, and we anticipate watching those guys deliver."
• Colbert said there is no position in this year's draft at which the Steelers would not select a player if the value was right. That includes quarterback, where the Steelers have selected Josh Dobbs (fourth) and Mason Rudolph (third) the past two years. "We're never going to close the door at any position because if a great player is available at a position you think you're great at, you're probably going to pass greatness for mediocrity. That will eventually catch up to you."
DALE'S VIEW
Colbert explained the team's draft process to a T. They don't care what everyone else around them is doing. They're going to stick to their board.
Does that lead to some missed picks? Sure. But show me a team that doesn't miss on some guys.
You also could argue that it's worked pretty well, considering the team hasn't had a losing season since 2003. If the NFL took eight teams from each conference to the playoffs each year, the Steelers would be working on a streak of reaching the playoffs 15 consecutive seasons with three Super Bowl appearances and two wins.
As it is, the rules are the rules and they missed the postseason last year.