R1 - LenDale White, RB, USC
If he drops to the Steelers, they have to draft him. Simply, he is the best available player. Furthermore, considering Pittsburgh's penchant for running the ball, having another young running-back makes sense. But, in no way does this have any implications towards my confidence in Willie Parker: Willie is the starter...period.
That said, during the past decade, the Steelers have always used two running-backs: a big, bruising back and a little, quicker back. There was Bam Morris and Eric Pegram, Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue, and Willie Parker and LenDale White could be Pittsburgh's one-two punch for the next ten years.
For the nay-sayers, I do not care about LenDale's sub-par speed or lack of upper-body strength (e.g. only sixteen reps in the bench press). I am of the ilk who believes that football players should be measured by how well they performed in college. And, White performed very well. In other words, people who base their evaluations too heavily on post-season work-outs end up drafting players such as Mike Mamula...instead of "slow" players such as Walter Payton.
That said, LenDale's attitude concerns me.
Again, I do not care how slow he is. Yet, at the same time, I am utterly appalled at the fact that LenDale did not TRY to improve his forty time and/or bench press. If LenDale had trained hard and showed commitment, I could not have cared less about how slow he ran the forty; his effort would have been applauded. Alas, he did not even try...which raises a huge red-flag in my mind. In other words, if I were Bill Cowher, LenDale would have to amaze me in his interviews and convince me of his commitment; otherwise, I would completely take him off of my draft board...completely.
In summation, I think LenDale made some poor decisions leading up to the combine and the draft...but, he convinces Cowher that he has learned his lesson. Ergo, if available at thirty-two, LenDale will be the pick, and he and Willie will share a back-field for many years (and Super Bowls) to come.
R2 - Roderique Wright, DE, Texas
I absolutely love this guy. All year long, I watched the guy, and imagined him in the black and gold. I had him slotted to the Steelers in round one since May of last year. Then, the Steelers re-signed Brett "The Diesel" Kiesel, making defensive end less of a need.
Furthermore, Rod has slipped on a lot of draft boards. In other words, there is no need to draft a player in round one who will still be available later on. That said, while pick number thirty-two is too early for Rod, he will not be there at pick number sixty-four. I see the Steelers trading up to acquire the defensive end from Texas (trade away a fourth and a fifth round choice to move up to thirty-nine). And, I will be ecstatic.
R3 - Anthony Fasano, TE, Notre Dame
I will not bore you with reiterating my reasons, beyond the following: Tuman is a starter. Wilson is a starter. Again, tight-end is the position of greater need.
R4 - (compensatory pick) - Michael Robinson, WR, Penn St.
Cowher gets his new toy.
R4 - (compensatory pick) - Antoine Bethea, FS, Howard
Addressing this area earlier might make sense...except for the fact that I think Deshea Townsend will make the transition to free-safety.
1) Ike Taylor is an obvious starter at cornerback.
2) I believe that Bryant McFadden starts on the other side.
3) The money Pittsburgh gave Deshea is NOT third-string money.
While drafting a free-saftey earlier in the draft is not needed, selecting a developmental player in the later rounds (such as Bethea) makes tons of sense.
Similarly, center can be addressed in the later rounds, because I think that Chris Kemoeatu is being groomed to replace Jeff Hartings. I know that most Steelers fans want Kemoeatu to start in place of Kendall Simmons, but I think Simmons will return to the form he displayed prior to his knee injury. Last season, Simmons got better every week, and by the end of the year, Kendall was playing pretty darn well. Kemoeatu, Simmons, and Max Starks give Pittsburgh a young, athletic right side of the offensive-line for the next decade.
SUMMATION
In short, I really, truly and wholeheartedly believe that the draft will unfold in the "realistic" fashion that I have outlined above. That said, I will still keep my englazened fingers crossed for one of my "dreams" to come to fruition. Although, if one of my
"dream" scenarios actually came true, I might keel over from a heart-attack. Then again, considering my diet, an angioplasty might be unavoidable anyway. Here is to a literally and figuratively "sweet" draft day!
