Steelers: On The Clock

When the new commissioner announces from the podium "Now on the clock, the Pittsburgh Steelers" in a few weeks, I have absolutely no idea what they are going to do. Here are the positions that can be safely ruled out for the #1 selection: place kicker, punter, running back, fullback, tight end, quarterback, safety and center. I am also ruling out wide receiver, but you can never be sure. I don't think they'll take a receiver, but a receiver is needed more than the other positions I mentioned right now. They may even consider a running back before another wideout, but I think the signing of Najeh Davenport will allow them to wait until much later for a running back - if they even draft one. So where does that leave us? Well, on the offensive side of the ball, With Hartings retiring, Marvel Smith getting another year older and Alan Faneca playing the role of "disgruntled fan favorite" this year - don't bet against O Line. The rumor mills had the Steelers looking at Arizona's 5th pick for Max Starks and the 15th pick but don't believe it. In rethinking that scenario - I don't think there is anyone the Steelers covet that much to move up - especially getting rid of a starter and paying out more money to a draftee to do so. On the defensive side of the ball, you could make a case for an addition at all three layers. With the possibility of shifting to a 4-3 in the next few years, a defensive lineman is not out of the question. In fact, we don't have a young stud at any position on the D line. Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton are very good players, but they are also in their prime. A stud rookie or first year player is clearly missing and would provide much needed quality depth at the position. Linebacker is also a position of interest. Losing Porter allows Silverback to move into the starting lineup. However, much like the D line, there isn't a young stud to be found. Farrior has been around a long time. Haggans is a classic overachiever. Foote is better than average, but nothing special. Silverback will keep the swagger going, but is anyone in this group or on the shelf the next Lambert, Ham, Lloyd or Kirkland? For that matter, is anyone even the next Holmes, Chad Brown or J Peezy? Hmmmm, a versatile linebacker that can tackle and cover would be more beneficial to me (considering Tomlin's 4-3 style) than a LB'ing pass rusher in this year's draft. Finally, let's talk about the corners. DeShea Townsend played a number of years before he even started. He is clearly winding down his career and another starting corner has to be groomed. While Ike Taylor had a disappointing year in many people's opinion - he is still their best corner with no questions asked. I'm in favor of promoting McFadden to start opposite Taylor this year. McFadden has showed promise in a bunch of chances and has earned the start in my opinion. Chokely is still on the roster and can be serviceable, but he's never going to start in this league. That gives us 4 true corners, 2 of which are legitimate starters. For that reason only, I think we'll draft a CB, but not in the first round. I'm going to do a little more homework and get back to this subject in the next week - but for right now - if I had to bet on our pick, I'm down to three positions: O line, D line or linebacker. Stay Tuned.........