I've covered 16 of the last 17 Steelers draft weekends. Rare have been the occasions where I walked away from the facility after the first round and said: "I don't get what they are thinking."

Sometimes I've preferred one player over another. Other times I valued taking a player at a different position. But rarely have I thought both and been surprised at certain players that were left on the board.

Yesterday, that's how I felt as the Steelers stood firm at pick No. 28, didn't move up and took Terrell Edmunds, a safety from Virginia Tech.

I rarely saw evaluations suggesting he's talented enough for the first round, I don't see the need for a first round safety and I saw a number of superior players bypassed to take this player.

So, yeah, aside from that I loved the pick.

Here's what some others thought:

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport called the pick "a stunner."

And Ryan Shazier delivers a stunner. At No. 28 Virginia Tech S Terrell Edmunds goes to the #Steelers .

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2018

Mel Kiper called Edmunds' selection a "head scratcher."

"Virginia Tech's Terrell Edmunds was my eighth-ranked safety. Eighth," Kiper said. "And the Steelers took him at No. 28 overall. There's no doubt that he's physically gifted like his brother, Tremaine, who went 12 spots ahead of him, but the tape doesn't show a first-round player. In fact, I thought he might be underrated as a versatile safety who could play in the slot. But that's when I thought he was more likely to go at the end of Day 2. This is another head-scratcher."

Luke Easterling of the DraftWire.com also used that phrase, and gave the pick a "D."

"This was a real head-scratcher," Easterling wrote. "With safeties like Alabama's Ronnie Harrison and Stanford's Justin Reid still on the board, the Steelers opted for the second Edmunds brother of this year's first round. While he's indeed a big hitter with a physical playing style, Edmunds still has far too many rough edges to smooth out in his game before he's ready to be a quality starter at the next level. The Steelers needed a defender who would make an immediate and sizable impact here, and they got somewhat of a project instead."

NFL Media's Bucky Brooks, a former scout, is a little less harsh.

Big surprise from the @Steelers . Edmunds didn't carry consensus 1st-round grades but he was a solid 2nd-round pick. With so many safeties rated on that 1st/2nd-round borderline, Edmunds is not necessarily a reach. #NFLDraft

— Bucky Brooks (@BuckyBrooks) April 27, 2018

Ross Tucker of Sirius XM seems to be on board.

Told you guys Rashaad Penny and Terrell Edmunds would go before Lamar Jackson, Guice, & Harold Landry.

— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) April 27, 2018

Jason La Confora of CBS is one of the few who likes the pick.

Wrote a lot about Terrell Edmunds being a guy who could shock people and go first round. If Evans o Vanden Esch are there, its them. But I love this pick. Edmunds was always going top 40ish

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2018

Pro Football Weekly doesn't:.

We hate to do it because it was such an incredible moment with Ryan Shazier, but #Steelers picking Terrell Edmunds No. 28 overall in #NFLDraft earns C-. Here's why https://t.co/ok3THDFu6Q

— Pro Football Weekly (@PFWeekly) April 27, 2018

The fan reactions are all over the place.

Some think the positive reaction to Ryan Shazier walking out to make the pick is overshadowing the questions surrounding the pick itself.

All of the Shazier coverage, which don't get me wrong was an incredible moment, is really masking how bad the Steelers first round pick was. They may have been able to get this Edmunds guy in the second round.

— Stani (@HipHopWhiteBoy) April 27, 2018

Here's an optimist.

As a Steelers fan, I'm happy with Terrell Edmunds. That'll help us stifle deep threats in a way we haven't had before. Personally I think we need to work on stopping the run, but this is ok.

— Tyler Melvin (@tylmel) April 27, 2018

Gotta love the always popular passive-aggressive hockey fan hot take.

Not quite sure what the Steelers are thinking or doing drafting Terrell Edmunds with the 28th overall pick but at least the Penguins won. If there's one person you can depend on as a Pittsburgh sports fan it's Sidney Crosby.

— Zev (@zevcontis) April 27, 2018

"It's a reach" guy checks in.

I am a fan of Terrell Edmunds the player, but I don't like the pick there. That's a reach. They could have waited until the second to pick him, and probably even the third with the puck they got from the raiders.

— Pinto Bogart (@PintoBogart) April 27, 2018

This dude is channeling the Penguins "other brother" school of thought.

I wonder if the Steelers just wrote 'T.Edmunds' thinking they were getting the really good LB and not the S Love my Hokies tho

— Karl Hovey Jr (@KarlHoveyJr) April 27, 2018

Needless to say, Pittsburgh fans are going to need to be "won over" by this selection because the public has some negative preconceived notions. No problem there Terrell, that's easy to do. Just ask Antti Niemi and Jon Niese.

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