Black and Gold South
Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 Draft Class
By HARVEY "MR STEELER" ARONSON
Black and Gold South
Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 Draft Class
By HARVEY "MR STEELER" ARONSON
The following is a breakdown of who the Pittsburgh Steelers selected in last month's NFL draft.
Round 1, Overall Pick #23: Rashard Mendenhall, Running Back/University of Illinois
At 5'11", 210, the Steelers pick up the physical running back they needed to complement Willie Parker. 2007 was Mendenhall's only season as a starter for the Illini and he made it a good one. Rushing for 1,681 yards he set a university record for that category but also broke the school record for touchdowns in a season with 17. Mendenhall also accounted for 1,999 all-purpose yards and has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. With 34 receptions last season, he improved upon 12 from 2006. Twice last season he rushed for over 200 yards in a game. He has gone over the 100-yard mark nine times while at Illinois. In accomplishing that, his team won seven of those nine games. Eight of those nine came in 2007 breaking a record that had stood since 1965 set by Jim Grabowski and J.C. Caroline. His all-purpose yards last season also broke the school record set in 1988.
Mendenhall also has breakaway ability, evident in his 79-yard run this year in the Rose Bowl against USC, and he also had an 86-yarder in 2006. He is a graduate of Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. The big picture on Mendenhall is that he is built solidly, and while not extremely fast, has quickness. The Steelers liked him for his physicality and as a runner possesses good balance and instincts. Mendenhall is not afraid of contact and works hard while enjoying learning the game. Rashard also has very good vision on the field knowing when to make cuts.
On the downside, he is no Willie Parker but the Steelers don't expect him to be. Parker will be the homerun threat while Mendenhall will spell Parker when Willie is taking a breather. Opposing defenses will have their hands full of trying to chase Parker around and then dealing with the abilities of Mendenhall. Still, Mendenhall has been known to be a fumbler, not so much last season but more so in 2006. As stated before, he knows when to make cuts but does not run laterally as well.
At the combines this year, Mendenhall ran the 40 at a time of 4.45, finishing only behind Chris Johnson's 4.24, followed by Darren McFadden (4.33), Anthony Alridge (4.36), Jamaal Charles (4.38), and Chad Simpson (4.42). Rashard pumped up 26 reps in the bench press, just four less than Jerome Felton and two less than Jonathan Stewart. Mendenhall put in a vertical jump of 33.5" which was 5.5" behind the running back class's best of 39.0" done by Carl Stewart. In the 20-yard shuttle, Rashard did the best among running backs, better than Felix Jones, Lex Hilliard, and Ray Rice with a time of 4.18.
In the pre-draft rankings, draft guru Mike Mayock had Mendenhall ranked at the top, ahead of even highly touted Darren McFadden or Oregon's Jonathan Stewart. Mayock also had our next pick listed #1 in his group. In my NFL draft preview, I provided a bunch of mock drafts for the first round and only TheHuddleReport.com correctly picked the Steelers taking Mendenhall.
Round 2, Overall Pick #53: Limas Sweed, Wide Receiver/University of Texas
Ben Roethlisberger asked for a tall receiver and the Steelers picked up one of the best in the second round in Sweed who stands 6'4", 212. Big Ben asked, and Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin delivered. While Sweed comes to the NFL with plenty of promise, he suffered a wrist injury last year and did not play much. Prior to that injury however, he is Texas's second best in history for touchdown receptions with 20. Before the injury he had started in 39 straight games putting up 1,915 yards receiving as the fifth-best mark in that category in school history. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy gave this quick analysis of Sweed:
"I think he gets overlooked a lot because he's a great receiver. He has such great hands. When we have running plays, anytime we make a big play, it's because Limas is down there making a block."
In high school (Brenham High School-Texas), Sweed was a track stud, earning four letters. Most of his events were in the hurdles. He was also a fine basketball player, earning letters four times in that sport. He was on the football team at Texas in 2003 but had to redshirt. He returned in 2004 and earned a starting role with seven games to go in that season. When Texas won the national championship in 2005, Sweed caught 36 passes for 545 yards which equates to 15.1 yards per catch and also scored five times. He improved on that mark in 2006 when he hauled in 46 catches for 801 yards and a 17.4 average. With 12 touchdowns that year, he set a new school record by being on the receiving end of a touchdown in seven straight games.
The profile of Sweed presents us with a very athletic tall receiver who is built strong with a good wing span. His speed is excellent on fly patterns but he's not a world beater in running routes. That should be fine for the Steelers as Sweed will be expected to counter Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes in three receiver sets. While he may not be the best route runner, he does possess a good vertical leap and can adjust to make tough catches, but will have to working his timing with the change of speed that comes with the NFL. Sweed has a tough, hard working attitude and that's the style that Pittsburgh's philosophy has always been about. Sweed will be a threat against smaller defenders and Mike Tomlin can be expected to put the rookie in those situations.
Downsides? Sweed is not a Hines Ward-type blocking receiver, but then who is? However, Santonio Holmes was not thought to be a good blocker coming into the NFL and he has adjusted and you can now find Holmes throwing a block now and then. Sweed will have to learn to do some blocking as well. There has been some dropped ball situations at Texas and Tomlin will have none of that so Sweed must improve on his concentration when training camp begins. The reason for the dropsies is being excused as Sweed has tried to start his breakaway route before he has secured the ball. Of 39 balls thrown his way in 2007, 20 he failed to secure as completions.
At the combines, Sweed competed in only the vertical jump where he put in a measurement of 35", three and one-half behind the combines best for receivers which was accomplished by Keenan Burton. Still, Mike Mayock rated Sweed as the best of the 2008 class at wide receiver. NFLDraftCountdown.com did the same.
Round 3, Overall Pick #88: Bruce Davis, Defensive End/UCLA
One of the Steelers' needs was at defensive end. While Bruce Davis was a d-end in college, he won't be lining up at that position in the NFL. He simply lacks the size and it appears that the Steelers intend on having him play special teams and give the current outside linebackers on the roster some competition. Davis has NFL bloodlines as his father Bruce Sr. played for the Super Bowl champion Raiders, on the Oakland roster from 1979-1987 and then with the Houston Oilers for the next two seasons after that. Davis will tell you he models himself after Jason Taylor. At UCLA he is second all-time with 29 sacks, and with 42.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage that is third-best in school history.
In 2007, Davis was named to the All-American squad (second team) and was on the first team for All-Pac 10. He was UCLA's leader in stops for losses with 15.5, forced two fumbles, and picked up one fumble. Davis made 45 tackles last season (32 solo) and defended nine passes. The upside of Davis is his strength for his size (6'3, 252"). Davis could be the next Joey Porter as he likes to talk smack and plays non-stop giving it his all on every play. His athleticism may be what attracted him to the Steelers and he likes to fly around the field. On the downside, Davis shows no fear of anyone and will often take on bigger players who can slow him down. He is also still learning the game and has trouble reading developing plays. Davis plays more straight ahead instead of trying to beat opponent with moves. In the NFL with the massive offensive lines now common for all teams, that simply won't work. At the Senior Bowl, Davis was impressive making four tackles. He did not compete in the combines.
Round 4, Overall pick #130 in trade with the New York Giants: Tony Hills, Offensive Tackle/University of Texas
Heading into the draft, all the talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers plan for draft weekend was attacking the offensive line. That did not happen this year until round four. Not until the draft's 130th selection did the Steelers finally go offensive line. Hills is a very good choice. He might not be an instant starter, but he gives Mike Tomlin depth and a man who has room to grow. At 6'6", 305, Hills has the frame to put on a good additional 20-30 pounds of muscle. He began as a tight end, ala Larry Brown from the 1970's. Hills is a gamer with a nice story. In high school he tore up his knee that required surgery to repair nerve damage. Doctors said his football career was over, but Hills fought back and while he was set to start his collegiate career in 2003, the injury pushed him ahead to 2004. Like Limas Sweed, Hills suffered an injury in 2007 that ended his college career prematurely. For Hills it was a broken bone in his left leg.
Despite that, Tony Hills still was named to the Walter Camp All-American team as a first-teamer. He was also on the All-Big 12 Conference first-team. Hills did get in the first 11 games of the season as a starter before the leg injury. Hills was part of an offense that had a team average of 471.5 yards in total offense. His unit also averaged 265.2 yards passing per game. His line only yielded about two sacks a game. After his injury, Texas managed 56 yards less per game, and about 64 yards less passing. Without Hills, the line also gave up about three sacks per game.
Going deeper into stats, out of 1,681 snaps that Hills took part in, he registered 131 knockdowns, was involved in 17 touchdowns because of his blocking, yielded just four sacks, and permitted pressure only seven times in 743 pass plays. Scouts say that Hills has the frame to allow 20 more pounds. Hills is a gym rat who likes to hit the weights. Is a good running game blocker. Hills needs to improve his strength, footwork on passing plays, and get a little "meaner" a personality type the Steelers favor.
Round 5, Overall Pick #156: Dennis Dixon, QB/University of Oregon
Dixon was one of the many prospects that visited the 'Burgh prior to the draft and in the end, he must have shown something the Steelers liked. He has good height for a quarterback, but he'll look like a twig standing next to Big Ben as he weighs just 205. The question will be why the Steelers drafted a QB when Charlie Batch and promising Jared Zabransky are already on the roster. It is believed that Bruce Arians has a "Antwaan Randle-El" plan for Dixon, and even some of the old Kordell "Slash" Stewart plays inline.
One item to be aware of with Dixon, he's coming off a season-ending injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee. Despite that, Dixon was the Pac-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a front runner for the Heisman Trophy. The awards or consideration for awards did not stop there. Dixon was a finalist for the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. Additionally, he joined 14 others to be named to the National Scholar-Athletes so named by The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Before Dixon went out for the season in 2007, he had completed 172 out of 254 passes for a completion percentage of 67.7%, best in the Pac-10 at that time. He had put up 2,136 yards passing with 20 touchdowns, while throwing an impressive four interceptions. Like Kordell Stewart before him, Dixon is DANGEROUS on his feet. Last season he rushed fro 583 yards for an average of 5.6 yards per carry while scoring nine times on the ground. While under center, Oregon was first in their conference in scoring with an average of 36.7 points per game. Without Dixon, Oregon lost three of the final four games of the 2007 season.
Round 6, Overall Pick #188: Mike Humpal, Linebacker/University of Iowa
Humpal has good linebacker size (6'3", 244) and played mostly at weakside linebacker in college. With 197 career tackles at Iowa, Humpal made 172 of those in the final two seasons. 123 of those came last season. That was good for 23rd best in the country and fourth best in the Big Ten. Humpal is a good athlete and as a high school wrestler won the state wrestling title at 215 pounds. He also ran track in high school competing in the hurdles, discus, and 400-meter relay.
For his career in college, Humpal made 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, had two forced fumbles, five passes deflected, and picked off six passes. Humpal has a great motor, and plays 60 minutes. He has a good eye for the ball and is effective getting to the play at hand and the ball carrier. One aspect of Humpal that probably attracted the Steelers is that he gets knocked down and jumps right up and gets back to the action. Humpal is also an aggressive player, which fits the mold of the Steelers prototype. Humpal is an excellent tackler and bigger plays don't phase him. Humpal is a hard hitter, again what Dick LeBeau likes in his players.
Looking for negatives? Humpal needs work in learning how to break free when tied up by an opponent. Allowed to run free he is dangerous. Tied up and involved he is less effective.
Round 6, Overall Pick #194 (in a trade from Green Bay Packers via the New York Giants): Ryan Mundy, Free Safety/University of West Virginia
Ryan Clark is our starting free safety granted he can hold off a challenge from "big mouth" Anthony Smith. Now comes a selection of another free safety and the question will be whether he presents a challenge to either veteran. Don't get me wrong, I do like Smith, and I once thought he had potential. I think if he can concentrate on performing well instead of trying to show up opponents he would be fine. As for Mundy, he actually played for the University of Michigan before transferring to WVU, a school closer to his hometown. In his only season as a Mountaineer, Mundy made 62 tackles, came up with three interceptions, and broke up seven passes. He was a starter for 18 games as a Wolverine. Mundy has good height and a solid build (6'1", 215) and loves contact. He is a team player who will join in on gang tackling without hesitation. Mundy possess a good second speed after a play develops and will come back downfield to make plays when not in his zone.
Mundy is not the best cover safety and his sole tackling abilities are in question as WVU used him mostly as a "roamer" in the secondary and not as a tackling force. His physical strength is mostly in the upper body so can be knocked off his feet. Mundy is not very efficient in back pedaling either.
On a personal note, "Mr. Steeler" was born and raised in Pittsburgh having spent 24 years of his life there and then another 20 in New York City before settling here in Florida. He was named the recipient of the 2001 "Visa Hall of Fans Award," an honor that put him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the summer of 2002. He has appeared in an NFL Films documentary titled "Steelers Nation," and in a Sports Illustrated commercial on ESPN. He is also the Editor, Designer, and primary writer of a Steelers web site titled "Steelers Hotline" located on the Internet at www.steelershotline.com.
