QB Brandon Weeden will turn 28 in October and NT Fangupo will turn 27 in July, G/T Tony Bergstrom will turn 26 in August. I see many people, sites pick them to go in rounds 2 or 3 but would the Steelers really be interested in any of them so early?

With the nose tackles you have Poe, Ta'amu who are 22 and then Chapman is 23 and then Fangupo who will be 27 when Steeler training camp is ready to begin. He is still raw and only started one season. If I am calling the shots I don't draft him until the 5th or 6th round.

I just have a problem with drafting a player who is at an age where he should already be a proven commodity and should be signing his 2nd NFL contract. Instead are you really going to draft a player who is 26,27,28 years old who STILL has to learn how to play and prove himself? By the time that second contract comes up you have a prospect who is on the wrong side of 30 and perhaps on the decline physically.

To me Weeden makes sense because it would be great to have a mature backup for Ben who is still considerably younger than Batch or Lefty. With Bergstrom and Fangupo it only makes sense to me to draft them in rounds 5 or 6.

steelers don't draft old people, especially not early.

i personally haven't suggested drafting any of those guys, but i did not realize they were that old, and i'd guess others didn't as well. good to know. generally i assume true juniors are 21ish, true seniors/redshirt juniors 22, redshirt seniors 23ish. add a year for a JUCO year, but i don't check DOB because most of the sites i check don't display it conveniently. if i really like a guy, i'll hunt down a dob, but otherwise, i make assumptions. Brandon Washington's a true junior, crazy upside! or not!

Scunge...

Agree, I would consider Fangupo late in the draft, but not before the 6th.

Weeden is coming off the board in the 2nd or 3rd, so no the Steelers will not be interested.

I would be ok drafting Fangupo in the 5th. I think he has the 34 experience, size, and strength to anchor at NT earlieer than most guys we would draft, and if we "only" get 5 ot 6 seasons out of him as a starter or even constant backup, then a 5th is a decent investment for that.

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I guess I am just weird because the first thing I do when I see a player that I like, I immediately try to find the red flags. With Fangupo it is the age, with LaMichael James it was the fumbling and character issues (charged with strangulation of girlfriend), and with others it is injuries.

For example, Peter Konz is the top rated center in the draft but if I were a team I would be leery of drafting him in round 1. Call me crazy but a young player getting blood clots in each of his lungs can't be a good barometer for the future. He also had ankle problems and has missed time in each of his 3 seasons. He just seems like too much of a risk for round 1 and I would only touch him in round 3.

The second best center appears to be Philip Blake from Baylor and he will be a 26 year old rookie and will turn 27 in November. Contrast that with Pouncey's age. Pouncey is entering his 3rd NFL season and he will turn 23 in July. Again, if I am GM I don't draft Blake until the mid or later rounds yet you see all of these experts having him go in the 2nd or 3rd round.