With the 121st pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State safety Doran Grant. He is now the third Buckeye player selected in this year’s draft after the Jets picked Devin Smith and the Broncos picked Jeff Heuerman yesterday. Grant’s biggest knocks against him have been size and speed. He’s certainly improved in the latter area and a great performance at the NFL Combine in the 40 yard dash quieted some concerns about his speed. While he is a little undersized for NFL standards, he makes up for it with his great leadership and athleticism. Grant has been a great contributor in the Buckeye secondary and a big part of why the Buckeyes’ secondary was one of the most feared in college football last year. He should be a great option off the bench right away and with the right scheme maybe even a starter at some point this season. While he won’t be at the level of Troy Polamalu who just retired for Pittsburgh, Grant should be a nice contributor in the Steelers’ secondary.
Here’s a taste of your newest player Steeler fans:
The Steelers are well-known to take Buckeyes in the draft in recent years. Here’s Pittsburgh’s secondary coach Carnell Lake on picking Grant:
He is a very tough player and is going to help out on special teams because of that. – Carnell Lake on Doran Grant
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 2, 2015
Grant started all 15 games last season for the Buckeyes and was second on the team in interceptions with five total. He also totaled 63 tackles for the season. In the semifinal championship game against Alabama in the playoffs last season he held top five draft pick and Alabama wide receiver Amari Copper to zero catches when guarding him. So Grant certainly has a ton of upside and should make a fine addition to the Steelers.
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