Revis: 'I thought I was going to be a Steeler'
by Scott Brown


FORT LAUDERDALE – After Darrelle Revis finished runner up to Charles Woodson for the Defensive Player of the Year award a couple of weeks ago I pondered what might have happened had the Jets not taken the former Pitt star one pick ahead of the Steelers in the 2007 draft.

I had a chance to ask Revis following the final Pro Bowl practice how close the shutdown cornerback came to going to his hometown team, and he had an interesting answer.
“They told me they were going to draft me in the 15th spot,” Revis said. “I thought I was going to be a Steeler.”

Revis said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau told him of the Steelers’ intentions to use their first draft pick of the Mike Tomlin era on him if he were still in the board. The Jets jumped one spot of the Steelers with a draft-day trade, denying them the chance to take the kid they had rated as a can’t-miss prospect.

The Steelers didn’t miss on their evaluation of Revis, who further bolsters the argument that Aliquippa is a fertile breeding ground for the NFL.

Revis is already the best cornerback in the world, and he doesn’t celebrate his 25th birthday until July.He can affect a game as much as Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu does, but in a different way.

Imagine what kind of packages LeBeau would have put together with Polamalu and Revis in the same secondary. Imagine where the Steelers would have been this season with Revis considering their cornerbacks had trouble covering their own shadows.
Alas for the Steelers, the closest Revis will come to them is when he fulfills a promise to Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and addresses the Panthers.
That will presumably happen during the offseason at the practice facility that Pitt shares with the Steelers.

“I told Wannstedt I’m going to come up there and talk to the guys and try to make them more studious in the film room,” Revis said.
Think anyone will tune him out?
Me neither.