In retrospect: how good was the Steelers 07 draft?

[SteelTorch]

Note I said 07.

I was just thinking it over, and it turns out that draft was pretty dang good. We got:

Lawrence Timmons - starter

Lamarr Woodley - Starter

Dan Sepulveda - Starter (would be had he not been injured before this season)

Matt Spaeth - 2nd String TE, active participator and fills in very nicely in Miller's absence

William Gay - proved to be a very capable CB in McFadden's absence


Those are 5 guys right there who actively contribute to the team. But what makes this stand out is that many were calling this a wasted draft (even me for a while). As it turns out, all but a couple are still with this team and will be here for a while. Shows you what I know.

Now, if only Colbert would learn how to draft OL and DL. :tt2

[mshifko]

very good thread...now is when you can begin to start to evaluate a draft class...the only pick i am not crazy about is spaeth, but we run a double tight end set...

however, look at the 3 defensive big time players we got in timmons, woodley, and gay...sepulveda will be a great punter for years to come IMO...

i hope we can look at the 2008 draft class in a few years in similar light

[Jooser]

Good post, this draft class has really strengthened this awsome defense. Hopefully, we can be just as successful bolstering the offense this year.

[SidSmythe]

Just wish McBean would have worked out . . . I thought he had mega potential.

Spaeth has not impressed me . . . he just appears too soft for the NFL and i'd rather have a dominant blocker since we don't throw to the 2nd TE much.

[papillon]

I wasn't crazy about the Spaeth pick either; however, he's bascially a receiving TE, so, lets give him next year which will be his third to see what he turns into. We all may be pleasantly surprised next year when he matures as an NFL receiver. There have been flashes, but, not enough consistency.

Pappy

[frankthetank1]

I wasn't crazy about the Spaeth pick either; however, he's bascially a receiving TE, so, lets give him next year which will be his third to see what he turns into. We all may be pleasantly surprised next year when he matures as an NFL receiver. There have been flashes, but, not enough consistency.

Pappy

i also hated the pick but spaeth has changed my mind a bit. he has great hands and when miller missed a couple games spaeth was great in that role. blocking is technique just like anything and spaeth is very young so hopefully he will improve in that area

[Oviedo]

Spaeth was a solid third round pick. He plays over 50% of the plays in our offense. The fact Ben doesn't throw to him isn't his fault.

I'll take a third round pick who gets into 50% of the plays any draft year.

[Ozey74]

Sepulvda has proven how valuable he is by being injured this year.


:tt2

[Jom112]

Not a bad draft year for the whole division:

Bengals:
Leon Hall - Starter
Marvin White - Starter
Chinedum Ndukwe - Starter

Ravens:
Ben Grubbs - Starter
Marshal Yanda - Somewhat Starter
Yamon Figurs - Solid ST player
Le'Ron McClain - Starter - Pro Bowler

Browns:
Joe Thomas - Starter - Pro Bowler
Brady Quinn - Somewhat Starter
Eric Wright - Starter
Brandon McDonald - Starter

[phillyesq]

i also hated the pick but spaeth has changed my mind a bit. he has great hands and when miller missed a couple games spaeth was great in that role. blocking is technique just like anything and spaeth is very young so hopefully he will improve in that area

I'm also among those who hated the pick of Spaeth at the time. He really showed his value when Miller went down.

Woodley and Gay were both great picks, and Sepulvda should turn out to be a solid contributor for years to come.

It's a shame that the Jets moved up ahead of the Steelers to grab Revis. Imagine Revis and Ike starting, with McFadden, Gay and Townsend available in the nickel and dime packages. That would be a phenomenal secondary with a ton of depth.

Timmons has played ok, but I'm still a bit down on him. He is fast with a decent burst, but I'd expect that as a first round pick in the top half of the draft that his play would demand that the coaches start him full time. He simply hasn't done that yet. Foote deserves a lot of credit for holding off Timmons and forcing the time share, but I still expect more from Timmons.

[Jom112]

Timmons has played ok, but I'm still a bit down on him. He is fast with a decent burst, but I'd expect that as a first round pick in the top half of the draft that his play would demand that the coaches start him full time. He simply hasn't done that yet. Foote deserves a lot of credit for holding off Timmons and forcing the time share, but I still expect more from Timmons.

I thought you guys should have taken Jon Beason instead that year in the 1st.

I will admit though that Timmons has showed some promise this season. He is really quick, we'll see how he does in year 3...

[flippy]

Note I said 07.

I was just thinking it over, and it turns out that draft was pretty dang good. We got:

Lawrence Timmons - starter

Lamarr Woodley - Starter

Dan Sepulveda - Starter (would be had he not been injured before this season)

Matt Spaeth - 2nd String TE, active participator and fills in very nicely in Miller's absence

William Gay - proved to be a very capable CB in McFadden's absence


Those are 5 guys right there who actively contribute to the team. But what makes this stand out is that many were calling this a wasted draft (even me for a while). As it turns out, all but a couple are still with this team and will be here for a while. Shows you what I know.

Now, if only Colbert would learn how to draft OL and DL. :tt2

Still too early to tell but it looks promising so far.

Don't forget to include the UDFAs from that class - Capizzi, Davis, Russell, Stapleton, Dekker

[SteelerOfDeVille]

Note I said 07.

I was just thinking it over, and it turns out that draft was pretty dang good. We got:

Lawrence Timmons - starter

Lamarr Woodley - Starter

Dan Sepulveda - Starter (would be had he not been injured before this season)

Matt Spaeth - 2nd String TE, active participator and fills in very nicely in Miller's absence

William Gay - proved to be a very capable CB in McFadden's absence


Those are 5 guys right there who actively contribute to the team. But what makes this stand out is that many were calling this a wasted draft (even me for a while). As it turns out, all but a couple are still with this team and will be here for a while. Shows you what I know.

Now, if only Colbert would learn how to draft OL and DL. :tt2

Still too early to tell but it looks promising so far.

Don't forget to include the UDFAs from that class - Capizzi, Davis, Russell, Stapleton, Dekker
nice calls....

[100$handshake]

We had some hope for the 2007 draft class even last year despite limited playing time from almost everyone. Everyone agreed Woodley would be a beast a big upgrade over Haggans. Timmons was a big IF but he did show some speed and quickness on ST. Gay was playing well on ST. Sep had an average year as a punter which we would kill for now. Spaeth was iffy.

This year's class hasn't shown the same promise. Mendy might be a star but who knows? Limas has had a very tough year and he'll need to step it up big time next training camp. Davis and Hills are always inactive so we have no clue what to expect from them.

[AkronSteel]

Note I said 07.

I was just thinking it over, and it turns out that draft was pretty dang good. We got:

Lawrence Timmons - starter

Lamarr Woodley - Starter

Dan Sepulveda - Starter (would be had he not been injured before this season)

Matt Spaeth - 2nd String TE, active participator and fills in very nicely in Miller's absence

William Gay - proved to be a very capable CB in McFadden's absence


Those are 5 guys right there who actively contribute to the team. But what makes this stand out is that many were calling this a wasted draft (even me for a while). As it turns out, all but a couple are still with this team and will be here for a while. Shows you what I know.

Now, if only Colbert would learn how to draft OL and DL. :tt2

Still too early to tell but it looks promising so far.

Don't forget to include the UDFAs from that class - Capizzi, Davis, Russell, Stapleton, Dekker

You beat me to it! I was just getting ready to post that!
The contributors that are on the team from this draft class is awesome

Timmons - part time starter
Woodley - starter and stud who makes
Spaeth - contributor to offense as 2nd TE
Sep - punter for the foreseeable future
Gay - steady CB that will probably slide into the 2nd or 3rd spot next year
Russell - short yardage back and regular KR
Stapleton - starting RG for majority of the season

That is seven players that came in last year that are making significant contributions to a 12-4 team (except Sep), not easy to find drafts other than the Giants that are better than that! Nice job Mr. Colbert, another one of those this year and we could be very steady for a long time!! Now get some dang offensive lineman!

[ROLROC]

good post. very promising draft class, for sure. i hope to be reflecting similarly next year regarding mendy, limas, davis, etc. patrick bailey has already made a name for himself this season. our rook of the year...not bad for an undrafted FA from duke.

[Oviedo]

As a footnote it was the first post-Cowher draft and it seems to be better than the previous three under Cowher. 2008 was also IMO a solid draft.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

This is a stupid thread.....

Everyone knows that you evaluate a draft class after the first pre season game, and then maybe again after starters are announced that year.

Waiting this long takes way too much patience. :lol:

[frankthetank1]

i also hated the pick but spaeth has changed my mind a bit. he has great hands and when miller missed a couple games spaeth was great in that role. blocking is technique just like anything and spaeth is very young so hopefully he will improve in that area

I'm also among those who hated the pick of Spaeth at the time. He really showed his value when Miller went down.

Woodley and Gay were both great picks, and Sepulvda should turn out to be a solid contributor for years to come.

It's a shame that the Jets moved up ahead of the Steelers to grab Revis. Imagine Revis and Ike starting, with McFadden, Gay and Townsend available in the nickel and dime packages. That would be a phenomenal secondary with a ton of depth.

Timmons has played ok, but I'm still a bit down on him. He is fast with a decent burst, but I'd expect that as a first round pick in the top half of the draft that his play would demand that the coaches start him full time. He simply hasn't done that yet. Foote deserves a lot of credit for holding off Timmons and forcing the time share, but I still expect more from Timmons.

i remember watching the draft and hoping the jets wouldnt take revis. he is going to be an elite cb in the nfl if you dont consider him one already which could be debateable. i really like what i saw from timmons this season. it is a night and day difference from last season and he is still so young, so its hard for me to not like that pick.

[MaxAMillion]

I hated the idea of trading up to take a punter. Even if it was in the 4th round. I wasn't crazy about drafting a TE that high either but I could live with it. I hope the FO has similar luck with drafting OL this year. I also hope that Hills shows himself to be an NFL starter. That would help with the rebuilding of the OL.