First, this little revelation concerning the Steelers basketball roster could offer some clues into who's staying and who's going:
Q: Who are some of the members of this year's team?Very interesting. OK, not really. But it's late February, there's not a whole lot going on, and Ray Lewis won't be in town for another three months or so.
A: The guys we expect to play this year are Willie Parker, Antwaan Randle El, Hines Ward, Deshea Townsend, James Harrison, Ike Taylor, Lee Mays, Chris Hope, Chris Hoke, Brett Keisel, Ricardo Colclough, Max Starks and Charlie Batch.
Second, I had the same thoughts as DJAnyReason after reading this article about Bettis moving to NBC to do NFL games starting next season. It wasn't that he said anything that was all that critical, it just sounds kinda weird to hear him playing personnel guy for the team he just retired from a few weeks ago. Still, I'm guessing he'll be fine -- just look at guys like Rod Woodson, Terry Bradshaw and Merrill Hoge -- all former Steelers who, for the most part, are unabashedly partisan. (OK, Bradshaw had a little tougher go of it, but all's well that ends well, right?)
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Before jumping head long into the silly world of mock drafts, I thought I dredge up this gem from the 2003 Mock Draft Season (courtesy of The Sporting News):
2003 Draft RumorsThis is from the weekly so there's no link, but TSN's mock draft had the Steelers taking QB Rex Grossman in the first round. I remember a lot of people advocating for Grossman at the time. Glad that didn't work out. I didn't realize (or maybe had pushed out of my mind), however, that Pittsburgh had brought Kyle Boller in for a predraft workout. Yikes.
TARGETING: Free-agent SS Lee Flowers will not be re-signed, and FS Brent Alexander will be 32 when the season starts--and he's not very fast. So the priority will be to draft a safety in the first round-Ohio State's Mike Doss, if he's still available, or perhaps USC's Troy Polamalu, a big hitter who can run and cover. The team also would like to find a quarterback to fill the No. 3 spot behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch and eventually challenge as a starter. The Steelers like Florida's Rex Grossman and California's Kyle Boller, both of whom were in for predraft workouts. Boller probably won't be available when the team picks 27th overall, but Grossman might be. If he is, the Steelers would face a tough decision of selecting him or a safety. Should the team go with a safety in Round 1, look for it to take a quarterback in the second or third round. Another area of concern is cornerback, particularly if the team decides it wants to move Chad Scott to safety. Rashean Mathis of Bethune-Cookman might be around late in the second round, and he would be a good fit. And don't rule out Cincinnati DE Antwan Peek, who would be a perfect fit at outside linebacker in the team's 3-4 defense, as a mid-round pick. The team is set with Joey Porter and Jason Gildon, but it needs some depth, and Peek could be groomed as Gildon's replacement.
- Gerry Dulac
If the Steelers had taken Boller in the first round and passed on Troy Polamalu, the ripple effect would've probably resulted in the team winning no more than eight games in each of the last two seasons. And I'm being generous. I'm pretty sure you could replace the word "Boller" in the previous sentence with "Grossman", and the results would be pretty much the same. This just goes to show how arbitrary the whole draft process really is. Obviously, a lot of it is determined through scouting, but at some point, gut feelings, recent workout performances, word-of-mouth, and politics all play a role. I guess we should all say a little prayer of thanks for the Ravens keeping Billick around one more year.
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Now, the moment we've all been waiting for. OK, maybe that's overselling it a bit, but like I said earlier, it's late February, and since no Pittsburgh player has been robbed at a strip club or arrested for being a numbnut in the past 24 hours, this is what we're going with. Since I really haven't given this much thought, I guess the best thing to do is to list a couple of sites that have mock drafts (feel free to list other sites you find particuarly interesting, noteworthy, ridiculous, offensive, ... whatever), and maybe comment on the players mentioned, as well as some other players that might fit the description of what the Steelers are looking for. So here goes:
NFLDraftCountdown.com
WR - Sinorice Moss, Miami
DraftBoardInsider.com
C - Nick Mangold, Ohio State
The Sporting News ($$ registration)
DT - Rodrique Wright, Texas
WR - Greg Lee (2nd round)
CollegeFootballNews.com
RB - Laurence Maroney, Minnesota
Ourlads.com
S - Darnell Bing, USC
Before I get started, I should probably throw this out there: I watch almost zero college football. But I love all the evaluating, poking, prodding, player personnel stuff that goes on in the months and weeks leading up to the draft. I know, it's weird, but every time I try and sit through a college football game, my eyes glaze over after about 15 minutes. Put these same college guys in the RCA Dome running the forty, doing goofy cone drills, or running the gauntlet, and I'm glued to the television. (You know the gauntlet, that receiving drill where QBs stand about four feet away from wideouts as they try and make all these crazy catches while running the width of the field. I wouldn't be surprised if it's right out of American Gladiators -- it's that silly.) What can I say, I like seeing 350 lbs. linemen running around in spandex.
... With that disclaimer out of the way, let's get to it. First, NFLDraftCountdown.com has Pittsburgh taking Sinorice Moss with the 32nd pick. I tend to agree with Henigin, who said last week that the Steelers probably wouldn't take Moss because he's a "U" guy. (By the way, the last time Pittsburgh drafted a guy from the University of Miami, it was T Leon Searcy in the first round of the 1992 draft.) And given that Pittsburgh has plenty of other holes to fill, brining in Moss seems like a wasted pick -- at least as a first rounder, anyway.
The NFL Network's draft guy, Mike Mayock, currently has only Ohio State's Santonio Holmes getting a first round grade. (Of course, this will all change as the Combine comes and go, and teams start having players workout individually, but look, you're going to have to suspend reality a bit to get the most out of this exercise. Well, either that or do some yoga and a couple of bong hits, Ricky Williams-style. It's up to you). And he has Moss third on his list (and currently a second round pick) after Oregon's Demetrius Williams. Yeah, before the Senior Bowl, I had never heard of Williams either.
Two other names worth mentioning here are Pitt's Greg Lee, and Notre Dame's Maurice Stovall. Both WRs are big (Lee's 6'1", Stovall is 6'4") and some scouts think that both need to prove they can get open down the field. I'm less enamored with height than I once was, and in fact, I think it's often overrated, but that doesn't mean you should totally rule out big guys. It just means that you shouldn't overpay for them. Which leads nicely to my next point. Roethlisberger's former college WR, Martin Nance, will be drafted this spring, and he's a big target (6'4"). Again, there are some questions about his ability to get open down the field, his willingness to go across the middle, and his work ethic. It's great that he's really tall, but unless he can get open, who gives a crap? Then all he's good for is the off-season travelling basketball team (see above). And for all of those people who think that Ben needs a big receiver he feels comfortable with (and that used to be me last off-season when I was hoping the Steelers would re-sign Plax), he already has one: Heath Miller. And he seemed pretty comfortable throwing to Hines, and as the season progressed, Randle El and Wilson.
And one more thing: Walter Young, the 6'4" 215 lbs. wideout, is entering year number three with the Steelers ... all on the practice squad. Every summer the coaches talk about how much Young has improved, and every summer he gets cut and ends up back on the practice squad. One more example of how height isn't the end-all be-all. Just in case you needed a reminder from three sentences ago.
We've discussed here the merits of somebody like Michael Robinson or Jeremy Bloom, and I'm guessing we'll have a better idea of where these guys might be available based on their performances at this week's Combine.
... DraftboardInsider.com currently has C Nick Mangold going to the Steelers. I've gone back and forth on this, and if it happened, I would probably be fine with it, but it's worth noting that only three centers have been taken in the first round in the past 10 years. And if either Hartings re-works his deal, or Okobi moves into the starting job, I'm not sure it makes sense to draft a backup in the first round when there are potentially other team needs. (By the way, as I was re-reading some of the old Sporting News', I came across a training camp update from 2003 that mentioned how well Okobi looked, and how he impressed a lot of people with his play in 2002, when Hartings missed five games with balky knees. Yeah, I forgot about that too.)
... Of the mock drafts listed above, I think I like TSN's the best (at least as far as first round picks go). Again, I would have no idea who Rodrique Wright if I saw him walking down the street, but based on one scout's opinion, he seems like a good fit for the Steelers.
(Another potentially meaningless sidenote: as I was strolling down Memory Lane -- predraft Steelers style -- year after year, one theme seemeed to trump all others: "Pittsburgh needs to draft a defensive end!" Every year, like clockwork, you could expect to read it. Maybe it's because they forgot to update that paragraph from one year to the next, or maybe somebody actually thought it was a legitmate need, even after watching Aaron Smith and Kimo Von Oelhoffen have solid seasons the last 3 or 4 years. Whatever. I actually think this year, could finally be that year. Unless the Steelers re-sign Keisel and/or Kimo, of course. Then I can change my mind.)
And let's just assume that Pittsburgh's only able to sign either Keisel or Kimo (but only one), Wright could be, at least on paper, a solid pick (I suppose you could use the "at least on paper" defense for most draft picks, but I'd quickly point out Scott Shields, Will Blackwell, and Alonzo Jackson as exeptions). Anyway, Wright's listed at 6-4, 306 lbs. and runs (or, at one time, ran) a 5.00 - forty. One major concern -- at least if you're drafting this guy -- is that he's been labeled as an underachiever. But hey, Trai Essex went into the draft with the same problem last year, and look at him now. Well, maybe not right now -- he's in lockup -- but after he gets out in a couple of days. Look at him then.
... CollegeFootballNews.com has RB Laurence Maroney going to Pittsburgh and, yeah, I'm pretty much against taking almost all running backs in the first round. As an organization, you end up overpaying for production you can find cheaper, later in the draft (and you knew I was going to say this: or through free agency). Remember the 2004 draft, when all people could talk about was Kevin Jones and Steven Jackson? Both are nice players, but certainly aren't significantly better than some running backs taken after them. Unless you can convince me that the Steelers are about to draft the next Jim Brown, I think taking a running back early is a waste of money.
... Finally, Ourlads.com likes the Steelers taking S Darnell Bing first. Interestingly, Mike Mayock talked about defensive backs last Friday (and linebackers too -- see below) and the only safety he currently has as a first rounder was Ohio State's Donte Whitner (and part of that was because he thinks Texas' Michael Huff will be better as a cornerback). He's 5'11", 205 lbs., fast, a great tackler, and apparently likes to knock the crap out of people. By the way, Mayock currently has Bing going in the third round.
...CollegeFootballNews.com is also listed on the FOXSports site, but for some reason, FOX hasn't thought to update the link. Currently, they have the Steelers taking OLB Ernie Sims from Florida State. dirtwinston mentioned D'Qwell Jackson last week, and when Mayock discussed this group of linebackers, I thought he was going to stark making out with his draft board. He has Sims listed second behind A.J. "I make Dan Morgan look normal in comparison" Hawk, followed by Chad Greenway and then Jackson. Sims is a junior listed as 5'11" 226 lbs., and purportedly runs in the 4.4 - 4.5 range. (I find that almost impossible to believe, and if it's true, I've got one word for you: safety. Seriously, think about that for a minute. If the Steelers were able to get Sims, and successfully convert him to safety, in their base defense they would have SIX linebackers on the field [I'm including Troy here] who can all cover tight ends, with both of the safeties being pretty good against most slot receivers. And oh yeah, the unit is fast as crap -- especially if Keisel stays -- and like to hit people in the mouth. OK, now I'm psyched -- I gotta go watch Karate Kid while listening to the theme from Rocky.)
OK, the Shuttle's landed. Back to Sims: Mayock compares him to Derrick Brooks and Jonathan Vilma -- two guys who are undersized, but you wouldn't know it from watching them play.
D'Qwell Jackson plays inside, but much like my No Need to Draft a Center argument above, I think the same holds for the ILB position ... at least in the first round. Still, as long as we're here, we might as well talk about it. Jackson is 6'0", 227 lbs, which makes him an inch taller and a few pounds lighter than Larry Foote, who, by most accounts, is undersized. Mayock thinks Jackson could play either inside or outside in the NFL, but there's no way in hell he can play outside in the 3-4 unless he's willing to pack on 25 lbs. Still, Mayock loves the guy, and thinks he will be an impact player at the next level. With this draft being so deep at linebacker, the Steelers might be better off addressing other, more pressing needs, early and getting a linebacker later, especially if it's of the converting-a-DE-to-OLB variety. Although, I will say this, Jackson might be the easiest guy in the draft to nickname: DQ. Whenever he lays somebody out, you can just say, "Man, that dude got 'DQ'd'". Yeah, I know, I'm a genius.
Feel free to add your thoughts, or other mock draft sites that can help waste the time from now until the actual draft. Also let me know if you've seen any of these guys play, and any thoughts you might have on how they looked. And also don't forget -- this will all change next week, after the Combine, and the week after that, and every week leading up to the draft. Personally, I think NFL-types do that on purpose just to keep things interesting. And that's fine by me.
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