The Steelers' scouting department has gone through some recent changes, and two former players have been confirmed as additions to the staff.
In the latest episode of the team's multimedia series, 'The Standard,' it was shown that Ike Taylor and Merril Hoge were added to the scouting department in October.
Taylor has been open about his addition to the scouting department in the past, but Hoge's addition hadn't been publicized. The former running back spent nearly 30 years as a television analyst for ESPN, staying in tune with the game by watching and studying film over the years.
Hoge has been hard at work at the Combine and various pro days. As a former player, Hoge knows how to look for certain traits that can help identify players that can make the successful leap from college to the NFL.
"How will he transition to the National Football League is the real challenge for everybody," Hoge said. "How do they play the game? How do they truly play the game, and does it translate to the next level, and being able to evaluate that. Things you can't teach and things you can teach is the ultimate goal of what you're looking for."
Unsurprisingly, Taylor focuses primarily on scouting cornerbacks, which is critical in this particular draft. There can't be too many hands on deck regarding that position. Regarding Hoge, he said he's evaluating all positions and will have scouted between 200-250 players by the time the draft comes around.
Taylor and Hoge join two other former Steelers players in the scouting department: Mark Bruener and Chidi Iwuoma, who both serve as college scouts. Having former players in the scouting department is a wrinkle the Steelers truly value.
"Whenever you have former players around, when you talk about certain things and you talk about other players, they have a perspective that we on the personnel side might not have," Omar Khan said. "They played the game and they see things a little differently."
"There's just something unique about that player perspective, and it's something I find very valuable, not having that myself," said director of college scouting Dan Colbert. "They know what it's like to be in that locker room, and they can kind of be that last puzzle piece to help you figure out the team chemistry part of things."
Hoge and Taylor now join a team of scouts that will aid Colbert and director of player scouting Mark Sadowski in building the big board with Andy Weidl, who ultimately has the final say in how it's laid out. Then, come draft night, Khan, Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II will make their final decisions.
