When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment was born… Unpopular Opinion.

There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the narratives floating around. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.

Next up is putting too much stock in the underwear olympics…

The NFL Scouting combine is not as important as many think⁠

This week the NFL will invade Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana for the NFL Scouting Combine. For nearly a week over 300 draft prospects will go through medical evaluations, interviews, and on-field drills and hopes of being selected by one of 32 NFL franchises this April in the 2026 NFL draft.

Although this is a huge opportunity for these athletes, there is also danger in taking too much stock in the combine. While it’s a great opportunity for some of them to get noticed, how they perform in the underwear olympics should not affect their overall draft prospects more than the on-field tape they have put out throughout their collegiate career.

When it comes to a lot of NFL teams, they admit what they need to get for the combine. The two most important things when it comes to players are their medical evaluations and their interviews. When it comes to fans, we are enamored by the NFL‘s coverage of the on-field drills. But there is something that I’ve been saying for years when it comes to this event…

Beware the combine superstar

There have been a number of players who tested off the charts and shot up a draft boards only to become key “misses“ when it came to evaluating said draft years later. While the combine is one tool in evaluation, the tape should trump anything that happens on the field in Indianapolis.

There is one thing that the NFL combine influences more than anything. Players suddenly emerge as potential superstars and other others who were once thought to be high draft picks start to plummet down boards. Ultimately the combine affects one thing more than anything else…

Mock drafts.

That’s right, it’s actually the narrative around players that gets affected more by the NFL combine then where teams actually plan on taking them. Yes, there are some teams that may be enamored by someone who had a outstanding performance at the combine, but most of them are not drastically changing their draft boards based on what happens this week in Indianapolis… or at least the on-field drills. Obviously if there are character or injury concerns that are discovered this week, that’s going to influence things so much more.

This does not mean to combine as a fruitless endeavor. For these players, if they can get noticed by their performance, it may make teams go back and reevaluate the tape when it comes to their potential placement on their draft boards. Ultimately, the combine is something hyped more by the league office to keep the NFL relevant throughout the entire calendar year than it is the ultimate determination of where a player fits in a team’s hierarchy of draftable players.

To hear the latest Unpopular Opinion podcast, check it out in the player below. Thank you for checking out this podcast most every Sunday morning during the Steelers offseason.