Black and Gold South

Black and Gold South

Steelers Make Their Picks

By HARVEY "MR STEELER" ARONSON

The picks are in. Having begun the 2008 NFL draft with six overall picks, the Steelers ended up with a magical seven. That's because they made on trade to pick up an extra pick in the sixth 

Mr. Steeler

round. Heading into the process, most experts and yours truly had the Steelers needs at offensive line, defensive end, and running back. It was believed that the Steelers would go O-line with the first pick, and perhaps even the second. But once the big names started falling of the draft board, like Gosder Cherilus, Jeff Otah (who I was happy to see drafted before our first pick), Chris Williams, and Branden Albert then the Steelers decided to go with one of the finest running backs in the draft, and the guy draft guru Mike Mayock had pegged as the best of the class, Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois. The Steelers did need someone to complement Willie Parker, but it was expected that guy would come later. Given the offensive line situation in the first round, this pick made total sense. You can read a full profile on Mendenhall and the rest of the Steelers '08 class in my draft profiles page using the link on the main page of the site.

One thing is for sure about evaluating the entire 2008 class for the Pittsburgh Steelers…there will be veterans fighting for jobs this summer. With Parker leading the way, the Steelers now have Mendenhall, Najeh Davenport, Carey Davis, Gary Russell, and newcomer Mewelde Moore to back him up. No way does Mike Tomlin keep six running backs. So who goes? If I make the decision it is Davenport. I found that he simply was not impressive in relief of Parker. Mike Tomlin has stressed that he wants his team to get "younger" and what better way to do that in the backfield then to keep the youngest men of the group and that excludes Davenport. Outside of Najeh, all the other runners have great promise yet to be tapped.

Another veteran that could be in trouble is Nate Washington. "Nate the Great" is not so great because he is inconsistent. He might make a great grab here and there but the drafting of our surprising second round pick in Limas Sweed might seal Washington's fate, or send him to a fourth receiver status. Ben Roethlisberger wanted a big receiver and Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin granted his wish with the 6'4", 212 pound Sweed. Sweed is coming off a season-ending injury, but he is a good one. The fact that he was still around at pick #53 of the draft made it impossible to pass him by. Teamed with Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and competing for that third role with Washington, Dallas Baker, and an unknown but very large framed Matt Trannon, the battle at St. Vincent's this summer will be classic.

Evaluating the rest of the draft, the Steelers picked up a relatively unknown Bruce Davis in round three. Davis is a defensive end who will be tested as a rushing linebacker and most likely to make the team will have to do it on special teams. Later in the draft, the Steelers selected another linebacker in Mike Humpal from Iowa so those two will come to training camp and present last year's top selection Lawrence Timmons with some serious competition. It's up to Simmons to open some eyes this summer or he could go down as a bust. Not a lot is known about Davis or Humpal, but given the Steelers philosophy and history, we draft for talent and athleticism. So I expect these two will bring to the table just that.

It took until the fourth round for Pittsburgh to finally draft a player at a position we thought would come in the first round. Offensive tackle Tony Hills is a highly regarded player from Texas and he's got the frame to add some bulk (6'6", 305) and I believe he will be a very good backup. I don't expect him to compete for a starting role. In the fifth round, perhaps the most interesting, intriguing, and questionable picks came. That was the selection of Dennis Dixon from the University of Oregon. With Charlie Batch one of the best backup QBs in the NFL, and talented Jared Zabransky behind him, why the Steelers would draft a quarterback might raise eyebrows. That is until you really think the pick through. A very gifted athlete and solid signal caller, Dixon brings to the Steelers a player who can emulate Antwaan Randle-El and Kordell Stewart before him. I believe he makes the team, and I think you'll see him several times in 2008…in trick plays. Slash could be back!

The Steelers closed out Sunday with two final picks in round six, an extra coming via trade between the Packers and Giants and with that they picked up Ryan Mundy, free safety from the University of West Virginia. Before Mundy was Humpal. Mundy will bring some heat to Ryan Clark and Anthony Smith.

"For complete details on the Steelers draft, go to www.steelershotline.com

NOTICE:  The official Steelers Fan Club of Jacksonville (JAXB.A.G.) has announced that it will raise money for the Meals on Wheels of Jacksonville at their pep rally on October 4 at Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille in the way of a dunk tank that will be called "Dunk-A-Steelers Fan."