Leaving School/Staying in School

[Oviedo]

Not much on the leaving to help the OL. Sen'Derrick Marks may be good late Round 1 or early 2 DL pick.

Coming out early:
Josh Freeman QB Kansas State
Shonn Greene RB Iowa
Eric Norwood OLB South Carolina
Captin Munnerlyn CB South Carolina
Ricky Jean-Francois DT LSU
D.J. Moore CB Vanderbilt
Sen'Derrick Marks DT Auburn
Vonate Davis CB Illinois
Brandon Mason RB Stony Brook
Andrew Davie TE Arkansas
Mike Goodson RB Texas A&M

Staying in school:

Damian Williams WR USC
Arthur Jones DT Syracuse
Jordan Shipley WR Texas
Jeff Byers OG USC
Brandon Graham DE Michigan
Vince Oghobaase DT Duke
Donald Brown RB Connecticut
Ndamukong Suh DT Nebraska
Colt McCoy QB Texas
Nate Davis QB Ball
Geno Atkins DT Georgia
Terrence Cody DT Alabama
Myron Rolle S Florida State
Mark Herzlich LB Boston College
LeSean McCoy RB Pittsburgh

[SteelerNation1]

Ov,
Isnt this going to be a great OL class? I thought I remembered reading that last April???

[mshifko]

glad to see shady is for sure coming back to pitt...he has a shot at heisman if we can get consistant QB play...

kind of surprised to see damian williams come back after a monster rose bowl...his stock would surely be pretty high after this latest performance

[Steel Life]

I'm waiting to see if Okung (OT, Ok. St.) comes out early...he's my guy if he does.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I'm waiting to see if Okung (OT, Ok. St.) comes out early...he's my guy if he does.
he's a good ball player...

steelernation1, it's a good OT class... the OG class is average at best.

there are as many good OTs in this draft as last year's... actually more, IMO. Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Jason Smith, Eben Britton, Russell Okung and Ciron Black are all potential first rounders.

I also like Jamon Meredith and Fenuki Tupou as potential 2nd rounders... Phil Loadlot is highly rated, but, he's a great run blocker - bad feet. Alex Boone is also a potential day 1 guy - he's an average pass blocker, too.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

btw, if i'm drafting, i draft an OT in the 1st - even if i have to trade up.

Faneca will net a 3rd rounder... i wouldn't have a problem trading away the regular 3rd rounder and coupling it with the 1st rounder to move up a few picks and get a good OT.

with Marvel, Max and Trai all being FAs, I'd pretty much say it's a must.

[Bandito]

Eben Britton is an underclassman OT with late 1st to 2nd round grade. Seen in some draft boards that this year is a great OT class and coupled with the # of OG, we should be able to get 2 great OL. I was leaning toward some of the available FA but I would favor getting OL from the draft unless we can possibly get Jamal Brown which then we would not have to concern ourself with Max Unger, Alex Mack, or Jonathan Luigs. I would love to get Haynesworth but that's definitely fantasizing. :D

Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska NT) may still enter the draft. He stated no but after his bowl performance, he had a change of heart.

[Oviedo]

With our first 5 picks I'd like to see 2 OL and 2 DL. The other pick will have to depend on what we do during free agency, e.g. resign Bmac or sign a LT or resign Starks.

Where we go in Round 1 really depends on whether we can get a LT in free agency or resigning Starks. If they resign Starks or another LT that is a signal he is going to be the starting LT. In that case they will not IMO go OL in Round 1. They will either go DL or CB if they haven't resigned Bmac.

My preference in Round 1 remains Tyson Jackson. He has been a consistent performer ain the best conference in college football.

[SteelerNation1]

I'm waiting to see if Okung (OT, Ok. St.) comes out early...he's my guy if he does.
he's a good ball player...

steelernation1, it's a good OT class... the OG class is average at best.

there are as many good OTs in this draft as last year's... actually more, IMO. Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Jason Smith, Eben Britton, Russell Okung and Ciron Black are all potential first rounders.

I also like Jamon Meredith and Fenuki Tupou as potential 2nd rounders... Phil Loadlot is highly rated, but, he's a great run blocker - bad feet. Alex Boone is also a potential day 1 guy - he's an average pass blocker, too.
Thanks Deville. Like someone else said, this year's FA period is going to be interesting. With 4 olineman FA, what does Colbert/Tomlin do?

Does anyone know what our cap situation looks like in 09? I'd like to imagine we have some space losing Marvel & Max's high #'s.

[Oviedo]

I'm waiting to see if Okung (OT, Ok. St.) comes out early...he's my guy if he does.
he's a good ball player...

steelernation1, it's a good OT class... the OG class is average at best.

there are as many good OTs in this draft as last year's... actually more, IMO. Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Jason Smith, Eben Britton, Russell Okung and Ciron Black are all potential first rounders.

I also like Jamon Meredith and Fenuki Tupou as potential 2nd rounders... Phil Loadlot is highly rated, but, he's a great run blocker - bad feet. Alex Boone is also a potential day 1 guy - he's an average pass blocker, too.
Thanks Deville. Like someone else said, this year's FA period is going to be interesting. With 4 olineman FA, what does Colbert/Tomlin do?

Does anyone know what our cap situation looks like in 09? I'd like to imagine we have some space losing Marvel & Max's high #'s.

If we let both Smith and Starks go (I don't think we will) then we should clear up $10-11M in cap space. I would not however expect a real plunge into free agency because:

1. Need to try to resign Bmac
2. Would be really smart to resign/extend Woodley before he has an insane season and becomes unaffordable.
3. Extend James Harrison before his contract is up next year. This one will be very interesting.

[Steel Life]

I'm waiting to see if Okung (OT, Ok. St.) comes out early...he's my guy if he does.
he's a good ball player...

steelernation1, it's a good OT class... the OG class is average at best.

there are as many good OTs in this draft as last year's... actually more, IMO. Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Jason Smith, Eben Britton, Russell Okung and Ciron Black are all potential first rounders.

I also like Jamon Meredith and Fenuki Tupou as potential 2nd rounders... Phil Loadlot is highly rated, but, he's a great run blocker - bad feet. Alex Boone is also a potential day 1 guy - he's an average pass blocker, too.
Good thoughts DeVille...but honestly, I'd pass on Loadholt because of the bad feet & I have my reservations with his teammate Duke Robinson, who looks like he's never seen a weight room & gonna balloon. It's weird though...I like a lot of the Pac-10 O-Linmen this year, with the exception of Okung. BTW - I really think Alex Boone is a Day-2 guy (3rd at earliest, 4th more likely) who looks real stiff right now.