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Steelers 2004 Draft Board
Big Ben Strikes One
(4/24) As the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft began to unfold, it became clear that the Steelers were not going to be able to adequately address their two biggest needs - cornerback and offensive tackle. The Steelers lost out on the two top conerbacks (DeAngelo Hall and Dunta Robinson), and the best offensive tackle (Robert Gallery) was long gone by the time the Steelers picked at #11. So they did something very un-Steeler like: they drafted a QB for the first time since 1980. The Steelers were not going to get QB Phillip Rivers (thanks to Eli Manning's little tantrum), so they went with Miami of Ohio QB Ben Roethlisberger. I really love this pick. Roethlisberger is a big QB (6 feet 4, 242 lbs) who has a great arm and huge upside. He was actually projected as the best QB in the draft by some organizations. The big difference between him and the other two guys is that he doesn't have quite as much experience, but that is fine since the Steelers don't need him to start right away anyway. Getting a franchise QB is something the Steelers never do, so I'm glad they took this chance even if it doesn't work out. In the second round, the Steelers traded up to get their CB - Ricardo Colclough from that college football powerhouse Tusculum. The knock on this guy is that he played for a division II school that has never produced an NFL player, so even though he had 15 interceptions in two years, it was against a low level of competition. This draft was pretty deep in corners, and the Steelers wanted this guy so much that they sacrificed their 4th round pick to get him. This pick could go either way, but I do trust Dick LeBeau's judgement above most others. The third round brought the Steelers the OT they needed in the form of Florida's Max Starks. All you need to know about him is that he is 6-7, 343 lbs! The Steelers said that he dropped to the 3rd round because of an injury that has since healed. He is huge and played in a good conference, plus he couldn't be any worse than Todd Fordham! On day two of the draft, the Steelers continued to stock up on players. In the 5th round, they took DE Nathaniel Adibi from Virginia Tech. As soon as I heard they drafted a DE, I assumed he would be one of those guys they would move to outside LB, and sure enough, that's what they're saying. In the 6th round, the Steelers had three picks. They drafted OT Bo Lacy, who played at Arkansas alongside Shawn Andrews (the OT who many thought the Steelers would take in the first round). Apparently they saw Lacy while scouting Andrews and were impressed. You can't have too many tackles on this team. The Steelers also took Stanford's Drew Caylor, who will be a center and longsnapper even though he is listed as a DE. The other pick in the 6th round was TE Matt Kranchick. I only have three words to say about this pick: Penn State sucks. The final pick was 310 pound DT Eric Taylor from Memphis in the 7th round. These draft picks all have one thing in common: they will probably not be ready to play right away (with the possible lone exception of Starks, only because Oliver Ross is a chump). That tells me that the Steelers are thinking that next season will be more of a rebuilding year, and I am OK with that. The Steelers have been dumping veterans this off-season (Brent Alexander, Amos Zeroue, Dewayne Washington, probably Jason Gildon), and they are ready to admit that this team was 6-10 for a good reason.
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