Steelers 2005 Draft Board

Steelers Take a Tight End

But will they use him?

With the 30th overall pick in this year's draft, the Steelers selected TE Heath Miller from Virginia. Miller was by far the best TE available in the draft. He had a stellar college career, breaking the ACC record for TD receptions by a TE. We Pitt fans got to witness his talent when he burned the Panthers defense for a 52 yard touchdown reception in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl. This seems like a great pick since it will give Ben Roethlisberger a whole new option on offense.

However, there are some concerns about this pick too. First off, Miller had a sports hernia injury that made some teams nervous. I don't think that will be a big deal. My main concern is not with Miller at all - it's with the Steelers. See, the Steelers have not thrown to the tight end since 1991, when Eric Green was a pivotal part of the offense. They drafted Mark Bruener in the first round of the 1995 draft, then used him as a 6th offensive lineman for the next decade. They signed Jay Reimersma in 2003, but he was a bust. Their last two offensive coordinators - Mike Mularkey and current OC Ken Wisenhunt - are both former tight ends who kept saying how they wanted to use the tight end more in the offense. Depsite all of this, the Steelers STILL have not found a use for this position. Hopefully the selection of Miller will force the issue, because I think he can really help make up for the loss of Plex in the passing game.

Going into the draft, the two other positions where the Steelers needed to add depth was at cornerback and offensive line, and they addressed those needs in the second and third round. With their second round pick, the Steelers took CB Bryant McFadden from Florida State, the same defensive backfield where they picked up starting free safety Chris Hope from. McFadden is described as a physical corner with good cover skills. The third round produced OT Trai Essex from Northwestern, a quick lineman who actually used to be a TE. He is big - 6-4, 324 - and quick, so that sounds like a good mix.

The second day of the draft saw the Steelers aim for more help with the passing game. They picked up WR Fred Gibson from Geogia. Gibson is a sometimes shake receiver but there is one thing you have to really like about him - he is 6'4". The Steelers do not have a tall receiver who can go up and catch the jump balls, so perhaps Gibson will be able to fill that void. The remainder of the picks included an inside linebacker - Temple's Rian Wallace - to help with the depth at that position now that Kendrell Bell and his 30 downs per season are gone. The Steelers also got a guard named Chris Kemoeatu (Utah), because apparently we like drafting players with hard-to-pronounce names. This guy has good size but a bad tendency to kick people in the face during games, something he got busted for doing TWICE in college! DE Shaun Nua (BYU) and RB Noah Herron (Northwestern again) rounded out the 2005 class.

This seemed like a good draft for the Steelers. They filled some needs and obtained some much-needed depth. But then again, every draft looks good at first. It will take time before we can truly assess the 2005 draft.

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