DOG: Stillers Draft Analysis

And with the 32nd pick the Pittsburgh Steelers select... Eric Wood, C, Louisville

With the NFL Draft just 3 short weeks away... Here's the Steel City Slant on the 2009 NFL Draft as it impacts the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is not a prediction of who the Stillers will draft. This is not a mock draft of all the teams. This is an article for our loyal readers which gives some insight into the draft and some names to keep track of no matter who the players get drafted by.

I will mention some players I am actively rooting for to become Pittsburgh Steelers. I have an extremely poor history with this. Hardly anybody I ever want to be a Steeler ends up being one. This goes clean back to 1970 when I wanted either DT Mike Reid of Penn State or WR Walker Gillette of Richmond and we got Terry Bradshaw of Louisiana Tech. Reid was a great NFL player for the Bengals but ended up quitting football to become a concert pianist after only 6 or 7 NFL seasons. Gillette was a first round pick for the Chargers but was a marginal NFL player for 7 seasons. The lone exception to my horrid streak? Franco Harris. I hope this year is an exception too. So, in the vernacular of the true Stiller fan, here we go...

At the top of my wish list for this year is a 6-4, 310 C-G out of Louisville, Eric Wood (pictured above). This guy started every game he was eligible to play (47) in for 4 years at Louisville. He addresses a need on the offensive line at more than one position. Initially rated as a Round 2 or Round 3 selection he is moving up the charts from his workouts. With us drafting at 1.32 I wouldn't mind picking him in round 1 as I am pretty certain he will not be around by 2.64 unless we trade up in round 2 to get him. He just sounds like a Steeler, looks like a Steeler, and says he'd most likely fit into a "hard hitting franchise like the Steelers." If you look deep into his eyes you can see Mike Webster in there.

Another possibility for the Center position is 6-4, 311, Alex Mack of California. Mack is the top rated Center going into the draft but may have a tougher time at Guard. Plus he is from California which indicates he is "soft" right there. But the report is that he gets down real low and exerts great leverage over the opponent. So he's a possibility even though he may be gone by 1.32.

A longershot for the later rounds, possibly round 6 or 7 is Blake Schlueter, a 6-2, 290, Center from TCU.

Another early round choice to fill an offensive line spot could be Duke Robinson a 6-5, 329 Guard from Oklahoma. He is pretty highly rated, and for that reason I just don't see us getting a shot at him but he's an interesting prospect.

The only Tackle I'm going to mention is 6-6, 318, Jason Watkins of Florida who has had a visit with the Steelers so he's a definite possibility in rounds 4 or 5 most likely.

OK so that addresses the offensive line, widely acknowledged by Stiller fans as our area of greatest concern.

Next up is Cornerback and Safety. Our second greatest area of concern with the aging of DeShea Townsend and the departures of Anthony Smith and Bryant McFadden.

There are two cornerbacks I'd like to see us draft but I don't think we'll get either one of them because they are too highly rated and we are drafting last. But if one of these guys would happen to fall into our laps (a la Santonio Holmes) I'd be happy seeing either one in black and gold. And they are Alphonso Smith (5-9, 193) from Wake Forest and DJ Moore(5-9. 162) out of Vanderbilt. Both are "shorties" with the speed and athleticism to cover anybody all over the field. I expect both to be gone by mid round 1 however.

More realisitically, Domoique Johnson at 6-1, 197 from Jackson State in about round 5 could be our pick. And in the 7th round or as a UFDA, look at 5-11, 185 Darren Banks from little West Liberty State down in West Virginia. He's met with the Steelers as well.

On to priority number 3 as I see it, the aging of the defensive line.

Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, and Chris Hoke, our 4 best defensive linemen are all on the wrong side of 30 and so are their backups. So we need not only some depth here but finding a player who can be a starter in year 2 is vital.

At the top of my wish list for defensive line is Pereia Jerry, a DT from Ole Miss who could translate to a 3-4 DE at 6-2, and 299. Again, Jerry is highly regarded and is probably someone's round 2 selection, most likely not ours.

A name that is often linked to the Steelers is another college DT who translates as a 3-4 DE and that is Jarron Gilbert (6-5, 288) from San Diego State. Gilbert will probably go in round 3 and we have two selections in that round. So I'd say he has a chance depending on how the front office feels about him.

Dorrell Scott (6-3, 312) from Clemson is also a possibility, most likely in round 4 or later.

A couple linebackers to keep your eye on, because you just don't know how many quality linebackers Tomlin thinks he can use, are: Connor Barwin (6-4, 256) out of Cincinatti and Larry English (6-2, 254) from Northern Illinois. I can't imagine either one going any later than round 3, and probably higher. But we'll see.

We've got a WR slot up for grabs with the departure of Nate Washington and I've got a couple guys to keep your eye on for filling that slot. First and foremost is Brian Robiskie of Ohio State. His dad is/was an NFL player and coach. Plus we'd have a pair of Buckeyes in Robiskie and Holmes if we could get him. He's not afraid to block which is a necessity at WR anytime Hines Ward is on your team. He's probably round 2-3 material so again we'll just have to see how the cookie crumbles.

Another couple of possibilities at WR are Juaquin Iglesias (6-1, 210) from Oklahoma and Mohamed Massaquoi (6-2, 204) from Georgia. Both of these guys could go anywhere from round 2 through round 4. Steelers have expressed some limited interest in Massaquoi but I'd imagine it'd depend on how far he dropped.

Now for the miscellaneous and "Best Player Available" possibilities.

There are two guys who are tops in this category. First, Fullback Frank "The Tank" Summers, at 5-9 240 from UNLV who could be the short yardage guy we've been missing since Bettis retired. Maybe we can replace "The Bus" with "The Tank?" And second is WR/QB Pat White (6-0 197) of West Virginia. White could be the possibility at WR if the guys I mentioned above in that category aren't available. White looks like no better than a 5th rounder but most likely a 6th or 7th rounder. He has already stated that he's a Steeler fan and would love to play in Pittsburgh. Which is to be expected having spent his last 4 years setting offensive records in Morgantown.

In order of preference, here's the players I'd love to see us get with no regard for the round in which we get them.

1. Eric Wood
2. Pat White
3. Brian Robiskie
4. Jarron Gilbert
5. Frank "The Tank" Summers
6. DJ Moore
7. Peria Jerry

Also wanted to mention that the fullback from Texas A&M who scored a ton of TDs as a junior and was highly regarded a year ago, Javorksie Lane, has been scratched from my list. Apparently Mean Joe Greene attended Lane's workout on campus and Lane had ballooned from his playing weight of 270 up to 290 and ran a 40 yard dash in which Casey Hampton could have beaten him. When asked, Greene said that having difficulty managing weight when you know you're being timed for the pros is often indicative of other potential problems. I guess it's kinda like wearing a t-shirt and cutoffs to a job interview. Anyway, don't look for Javorskie Lane to be a Steeler.

So that's what I've got here a few weeks before the draft. I doubt much will change between now and then. I'll let Fan grade my scouting after we see who the Steelers pick. Based on my track record it'll be very few to none of these guys. But we shall see.