Here's this week's email bag with Chris Kucharski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Everyone's jumping on the 'draft Philip Rivers with the 11th pick' bandwagon, but I'm still holding out. Here's the Q & A I found most interesting:
Q: What if Roethlisberger and Rivers are both there at the 11th pick? Which one do you think the Steelers pick? I heard rumors that they are in love with Rivers. Do you think that the Steelers are going to draft a corner in the 2nd round and OTs in a couple different rounds to get some depth in that OT position?I agree with most of what Chris writes, but I have to disagree here. I think Ike Taylor will be a really good CB in the NFL, but that means that the Steelers only have two good corners. CB or OT is a much more pressing need in the immediate future than QB. And two concerns I have about Rivers is that he throws sidearmed and he can't throw the deep ball (not to mention he's taken 75% of his snaps out of the shotgun). Just because he's the third best QB on the board doesn't change the fact that he still might be only the 25th player in the draft.
Chris: The buzz around town is that the Steelers like Rivers. However, don't always believe the buzz. I still think someone is going to take Roethlisberger in the top 10 so Rivers should be sitting there at No. 11 and the Steelers would heavily consider him. And why not. He took his team to four bowl games and was the MVP of all four. He was also MVP of the Senior Bowl. He has the pedigree and besides his unorthodox throwing motion, he is everything you want in a QB. The closer this draft gets, the more I think the Steelers are thinking QB. How the draft plays out will determine who they get.
As for the later rounds, the Steelers have to draft a tackle in the second round. I know corner is a need too, but I am convinced Ike Taylor can play in this league. He just needs a chance.
They could still look at the CB position in the third round.
