Kevin Colbert discusses the ever important debate: To trade, or not to trade for the Steelers?

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GM Kevin Colbert addressed the notion of moving up or down in the 2019 draft.

In the Steelers pre-draft press conference on Monday, General Manager Kevin Colbert addressed the issue of moving around in the 2019 NFL draft.

“We always get asked questions about the trade up and trade down. You know we’re always going to be open to either. Our scouts, the pro guys, will be making their calls starting today to visit with the teams. We talk about it informally throughout the spring, but you never really get firm answers because we don’t know what we’d be trading up for and teams don’t know what they’d be trading away from.”

To sum up his thoughts, Colbert explained when a draft trade would take place.

“Until you actually get on the clock, those things will not happen in any great detail.”

Colbert went on to explain the process for the Steelers making their selection at #20 and if they want to stay put.

“We’re just going to pick them as we pick them. It’s a very simple process. We’re going to have 20 guys and we’ll know exactly how we’re going to pick them. We’ll determine that on Wednesday and have that final approach. It’s one through 20. We’re not going to vary from it. The only thing we’ll vary is whether we’re going to trade up or trade down. There’s really no guessing to it after Wednesday. We’ll know the 20 guys we’re picking in specific order on Wednesday afternoon and when we get to Thursday night that doesn’t change. The only change is trade up or trade down.”

As for what it would take to trade down in the draft, Colbert explained what would happen to keep their pick.

“We’ll identify a group of players that we wouldn’t trade away from no matter what. If they were available to us at 20 and someone came to us with picks, we’ve already determined that we’re taking that player.”

As for determining what value it would take to trade up or what the Steelers would want in return for trading down, Colbert explained why they don’t always go along with what most teams believe.

“We don’t use a chart. We know other teams will use a chart, and we know when we call them that they are going to say it doesn’t match our chart value. That’s fine. They can do that, but in our minds we have to spend what we want to spend if we want a certain player. And we have to demand if teams are trying to trade up to 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 values.”

If you were to read between the lines of what Kevin Colbert was saying about using chart values, the Steelers are aware of what it would take to trade into certain positions. It appears the Steelers plan to use that knowledge along with what they would be willing to give up in a trade in order to determine when they can be serious about making the move if the right player is available.

Colbert also addressed the issue of moving in the second or third round.

“In a given draft, and I think this is one of those drafts, where you can feel real good about players you are getting in (rounds) two and three years. There’s a good number, so that may drive the price down in our opinion.”

Colbert also explained how he values picks which could be used to package a deal.

“I always try to put a name to the face. So we’ll throw in a seventh. Wait a minute, you’re throwing in Brett Keisel. We’ve got to be careful about that.”

Whether or not the Steelers make a move on draft night remains to be seen. With ten selections, the Steelers have the assets in 2019 to attempt to move around at some point over the course of the seven rounds if the right situation presents itself.

So get your popcorn ready…

If you missed the press conference live, you can watch it in its entirety below: