Katharine Lotze/Getty Images Pittsburgh Steelers’ strong safety Terrell Edmunds warms up ahead of a game in 2019.
Yesterday I highlighted how PFF’s NFL Podcast described Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey as a (barely) average center, hence his inclusion on PFF’s ‘All-Average Team.’ For what it’s worth, Pouncey wasn’t the only Steelers’ offensive lineman who came up during the course of the podcast: Alejandro Villanueva warranted mention at left tackle, as did recent free agent acquisition Stefen Wisniewski, who plays guard.
But one member of Pittsburgh’s defense came up during the second half of the discussion, that being safety Terrell Edmunds, who the Steelers drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft (28th overall).
Terrell Edmunds ‘Should Have Been a Fifth- or Sixth-Round Pick’
The podcast’s co-hosts, Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson, began their dialogue by arguing that Edmunds should have been nothing more than a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick.
“So if you had him in the fifth or the sixth [round], like we did, he’s probably outperformed that, [as] he’s become a solid, average starting player. But if you drafted him in the first you missed, because he’s only an average starting guy that you can get anywhere,” Palazzolo said.
“So he definitely shouldn’t have been a first-round pick, but he probably shouldn’t have been a fifth- or sixth-round pick either, where most people had him,” Monson added. “So like I’m saying, no matter where you were pre-draft on him you were probably wrong. And after the fact, we have been focusing so heavily on ‘he’s not good enough to be a first-round pick,’ [which] probably undersold the fact that he’s become an average safety.”
AFC North Teams Will Combine to Travel Fewer Miles than the Seattle Seahawks in 2020
On a completely different note, here’s an interesting statistic that seems to highlight a competitive advantage for all of the teams in the AFC North.
According to research conducted by CBS Sports, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals will combine to travel only 27,878 miles in 2020. By comparison, the Seattle Seahawks will fly 28,982 miles, by far the most travel miles in the league.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers are scheduled to travel 22,228 miles in 2020, the second-most miles in the NFL, followed by the Los Angeles Rams, at 22,004 miles.
The aforementioned Ravens will fly the fewest miles in the NFL at 6,420 miles, with the Steelers second-fewest at just 6,600.
The Seahawks’ travel challenges are a result of matching up with both the AFC East and NFC East, necessitating trips to Buffalo, Miami, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., plus a trip to Atlanta, which means five separate forays to the Eastern time zone, with none of those games coming back-to-back.
At the other end of the spectrum, Baltimore’s longest road trip comes in week two, when the Ravens play at Houston. Pittsburgh’s longest road trip comes in week nine, when the Steelers travel to Dallas to take on Dak Prescott and the Cowboys.
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Steelers’ Terrell Edmunds: Strong Safety on PFF’s ‘All-Average Team’