Walter Football 3-Round Mock

**Dee Dub** · 01-16-2013, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by RuthlessBurgher

Always a fun game (and good choices, by the way). I'd probably go something like this:

1. Manti Te'o, ILB, Notre Dame
2. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama
3. Robert Lester, S, Alabama
4. Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford

Improvements right down the middle of our aging defense (where Hampton, Foote, Polamalu, and Clark are almost as old as I am). We were interested in Hightower at ILB last year (but DeCastro fell into our laps and was too great of a value to pass up). Spence showed promise in his first camp, but his knee injury was so brutal that I wonder if he will ever be back to being the same player (particularly for someone whose game is based on speed). Te'o can provide Farrior-like leadership from the middle of our defense (which I think was lacking this year). Williams has the versatility to play NT or DE in a 3-4. What they could do is have Williams rotating at NT with Ta'Amu or Fangupo (depending on Alameda's legal status, of course) and moving McLendon over to DE to rotate with Hood, Heyward, and Keisel. McLendon and Hood could potentially also move inside as well. A well-rounded group up front. We need some real depth at safety (Will Allen turns 31 himself this summer), and Lester can learn from Troy and Clark and develop for the future (I probably would have jumped on Eric Reid in round 2 if the Cowboys hadn't nabbed him one spot ahead of us). Taylor is a solid three-down back. He may not "wow" you like other guys who are oozing with natural ability, but he seems to be a hard worker who can run, catch, and block well. My only caveat is if we don't re-sign Max Starks. If that's the case, I don't think we can go into next season with just Gilbert and Adams and Beachum backing them up. In that case, my 4th round pick would be OT Ricky Wagner from Wisconsin instead. Then I might use my 5th round pick on talented, but injury prone RB in Marcus Lattimore...he has first round talent when healthy, but has torn the ACL's (and other ligaments as well) in both knees in the last 2 seasons (horrible for a RB). For a 5th round pick, it's a worthy gamble that he could surprise and turn into a Willis McGahee type in the NFL following horrific college injuries.

If the Steelers got your first two picks I'd be thrilled. I just dont think Jesse Williams last till pick 48. Everything I read/hear is that he is a first rounder. But you never know. This would be huge for all the players around Williams and Te'o on the Steelers defense. Those two would make the rest better.