Steelers 2009 Draft Board

Addressing the Needs

Going into this draft, the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers needed to address the fact that both the offensive and defensive lines were thin on depth. They also needed to replace the depth at WR and CB lost due do free agent departures. They did all of that in the top three rounds.

With their first pick (32nd overall), Pittsburgh selected DE Evander Hood from Missouri. Nicknamed "Ziggy", Hood played DT in school but in the 3-4 scheme, they are saying he will play on the end. Hood is described as an athletic player whose stock really improved in his senior season. By all accounts, he is a class guy too. He certainly said all the right things, talking about how excited he was and how he wanted to learn all about the team's storied history. This was a smart move given how old the starters (and even the backups) on the D-line are.

The Steelers then did some trading and ended up with three third round picks while giving up their second and fourth rounders (it was reported that they tried and failed to move up in the second round). With their three third round picks, they took G Kraig Urbik from Wisconsin, WR Mike Wallace from Ole Miss, and CB Keenan Lewis from Oregon State. Urbik is 6-5 and is versatile, which means he may play somewhere else besides guard. The Steelers desperately need offensive linemen and while I would have liked to see them take more than one in the top three rounds, at least they got Urbik. Wallace is fast receiver (he ran a 4.33) who may provide an explosive weapon for the offense. The report on him is that he is not the strongest guy and may not be adept at playing every down (at least not anytime soon), but all we really need right now is a guy who can catch and make plays when there are more than two receivers on the field. Lewis has good size for a DB. If his name sounds familiar to you Pitt fans, it's because he killed us in his last game - the thrilling 3-0 Sun Bowl this past New Year's Eve. He had 4 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception in that game. Here's hoping he repeats that performance often in the NFL.

The Steelers picked up another CB in the 5th round. Joe Burnett was a good cover guy and returned kicks at Central Florida. The team also nabbed a RB named Frank Summers in the 5th round. He is a big back who will likely be the replacement for Gary Russell. Pittsburgh rounded out its draft with DT Ra'Shon Harris, local boy A.Q. Shipley (Penn State sucks), and TE David Johnson. The two additional linemen once again shows that Kevin Colbert feels that they are lacking at those spots.

So the draft is behind us and now the days of debating will begin. Here is what never changes year after year: you absolutely cannot assess a draft until a few years later. For those of you who play fantasy football, think about how you feel right after your draft is over. You are either happy about the steals you got, really unsure about some of your high picks, or some combination of both. But it's not until the season plays itself out that you find out how you did. The NFL draft is no different. All I know is this: the Steelers needed certain positions, and they got those positions. The Steelers have a really proven track record of drafting quality players, and most of these guys seem to fit their style. That's about all you can ask for at this point. Hopefully this draft will pan out and the Steelers will be able to continue to build off of their winning tradition.

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