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On The Clock: Pittsburgh Steelers
March 15, 2009 9:30 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
Team needs: Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, cornerback
The Steelers would be thrilled if Cal center Alex Mack dropped to them at the end of the first round.
Dream scenario: An ideal scenario for the Steelers would be for them to have a smorgasbord of offensive linemen available with the final pick in the first round (No. 32 overall). The NFL draft tends to have teams make a run at certain positions in spurts. But if linemen such as Cal center Alex Mack, Oregon center Max Unger or a quality tackle such as Michael Oher of Mississippi somehow make it through the entire first round, Pittsburgh would have a happy war room right off the bat. The Steelers retained their entire front five from February's Super Bowl 43 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, which has drawn some jeers in Pittsburgh. But depth is sorely needed as the Steelers let go of veteran linemen Kendall Simmons and Marvel Smith. There is very little competition behind the starters and that position always faces the uncertain prospect of injuries.
Plan B: The second step wouldn't necessarily be a bad one: Pittsburgh can simply take the best available player. The Steelers have done it many times before, drafting players they don't need right away but will later develop into solid players. It would help the most of Pittsburgh did so on the defensive line, which is aging but still has quality starters such as Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton. Cornerback may also be a sleeper position to take on the first day after the loss of starter Bryant McFadden. Pittsburgh is confident in William Gay but certainly needs additional corners behind him and the aging Deshea Townsend to serve as backups and play on obvious passing situations.
Scouts Inc.'s take: "If I was a betting man, I would say the Steelers are going to go with an interior offensive lineman. But it certainly wouldn't shock me if they went with a defensive lineman. If you look at their defensive line, they're all 30-plus. And it takes those guys with the 'five technique' time to learn. None of them ever do it in college. So it takes a couple years of grooming. If you look at how successful they've been, I think Brett Keisel was a seventh-round pick and Aaron Smith was a fourth. So they didn't come in the league right away and handle that job. It's time to get young blood in to learn from the guys, rotate in and take snaps here and there. Two years ago when Aaron Smith went down, their season completely crumbled. So that position might be their No. 1 need. If they can find a legit d-end to teach, that would be ideal. But those guys don't grow on trees.” -- Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc.
Who has final say: General manager Kevin Colbert makes the final calls on Pittsburgh's 53-man roster and will do so during the draft on April 25-26. But there will be group input from head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff as well.
[espn:czq8ggnt]3976437[/espn:czq8ggnt]
March 15, 2009 9:30 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker
Team needs: Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, cornerback
The Steelers would be thrilled if Cal center Alex Mack dropped to them at the end of the first round.
Dream scenario: An ideal scenario for the Steelers would be for them to have a smorgasbord of offensive linemen available with the final pick in the first round (No. 32 overall). The NFL draft tends to have teams make a run at certain positions in spurts. But if linemen such as Cal center Alex Mack, Oregon center Max Unger or a quality tackle such as Michael Oher of Mississippi somehow make it through the entire first round, Pittsburgh would have a happy war room right off the bat. The Steelers retained their entire front five from February's Super Bowl 43 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, which has drawn some jeers in Pittsburgh. But depth is sorely needed as the Steelers let go of veteran linemen Kendall Simmons and Marvel Smith. There is very little competition behind the starters and that position always faces the uncertain prospect of injuries.
Plan B: The second step wouldn't necessarily be a bad one: Pittsburgh can simply take the best available player. The Steelers have done it many times before, drafting players they don't need right away but will later develop into solid players. It would help the most of Pittsburgh did so on the defensive line, which is aging but still has quality starters such as Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton. Cornerback may also be a sleeper position to take on the first day after the loss of starter Bryant McFadden. Pittsburgh is confident in William Gay but certainly needs additional corners behind him and the aging Deshea Townsend to serve as backups and play on obvious passing situations.
Scouts Inc.'s take: "If I was a betting man, I would say the Steelers are going to go with an interior offensive lineman. But it certainly wouldn't shock me if they went with a defensive lineman. If you look at their defensive line, they're all 30-plus. And it takes those guys with the 'five technique' time to learn. None of them ever do it in college. So it takes a couple years of grooming. If you look at how successful they've been, I think Brett Keisel was a seventh-round pick and Aaron Smith was a fourth. So they didn't come in the league right away and handle that job. It's time to get young blood in to learn from the guys, rotate in and take snaps here and there. Two years ago when Aaron Smith went down, their season completely crumbled. So that position might be their No. 1 need. If they can find a legit d-end to teach, that would be ideal. But those guys don't grow on trees.” -- Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc.
Who has final say: General manager Kevin Colbert makes the final calls on Pittsburgh's 53-man roster and will do so during the draft on April 25-26. But there will be group input from head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff as well.
[espn:czq8ggnt]3976437[/espn:czq8ggnt]
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