Handicapping the Steelers Draft
Selections will hinge a great deal on availability EDITOR’S NOTE: Last in a series of articles about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preparations for the NFL Draft, to be held Saturday and Sunday. Today: Predictions.PITTSBURGH – Handicapping a draft is never easy. It’s even harder when you are handicapping a team that doesn’t pick until 27th, like the Steelers will do late Saturday afternoon.
The problem is figuring out which of the players in which the Steelers have shown interest will still be available some four hours into the proceedings and then deciding which of the available players the Steelers like best.
Steelers Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert said as much when he said the Steelers would have a list of three to five players they believed would be available with the 27th pick.
So, here is one list of five players the Steelers are believed to be interested in acquiring and that they hope will be available. The players are listed according to how I think they are viewed by Steelers’ brass.
1. Troy Polamalu, a safety from USC.
2. Kyle Boller, a quarterback from California.
3. Andre Woolfolk, a cornerback from Oklahoma.
4. Rex Grossman, a quarterback from Florida.
5. Sammy Davis, a cornerback from Texas A&M.
The safest pick among this group is Polamalu, which is exactly why he is the least likely to be available. New Orleans coach Jim Haslett is interested in using one of the Saints’ two first-round picks (17th and 18th) on Polamalu, even though he picked up Tebucky Jones from the Patriots. In fact, Haslett might use both picks on his secondary and take Polamalu and Woolfolk back-to-back.
Davis and Woolfolk have size and speed in common. Both are over 6-0 and both are near 200 pounds. Both run the 40-yard dash in the 4.4-second range. That is ideal cornerback size in Pittsburgh and it is more than adequate cornerback speed anywhere in the NFL.
As for the quarterbacks, it’s important to note that teams looking for quarterbacks can’t wait. No one likes to draft a quarterback high very often because that means you missed on a few of them. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals, who missed badly on Akili Smith a few years ago after missing on David Klingler several years before that.
It was believed as recently as earlier in the week that Boller would be long gone by the time Pittsburgh came on the clock. But he might still be available. The wild card teams appear to be Jacksonville and Baltimore, who pick eighth and 10th, respectively.
If Jacksonville picks Marshall’s Byron Leftwich, Baltimore probably will take Boller. But if Jacksonville goes in another direction – the Jaguars also are interested in CB Marcus Trufant, OT Jordan Gross and DTs Jimmy Kennedy and Dewayne Robertson – Baltimore would pick Leftwich and there aren’t many teams between the 10th and 27th picks who need a quarterback.
If the Steelers have a choice, they would take Boller over Grossman.
There was considerable speculation that Pittsburgh also had a strong interest in Penn State running back Larry Johnson. Yes, the Steelers like a lot of what Johnson has to offer and would have loved to snatch the best available running back, but they can’t.
Why? Because of Jerome Bettis’ contract status. Bettis has four years remaining on his contract and the Steelers can’t even afford to trade him because the cap hit would be too heavy. That will keep Johnson out of the Steelers’ plans.
As far as Pittsburgh’s other first-day picks, they should have options. They would love to land Texas A&M safety Terrence Kiel, Michigan tight end Bennie Joppru or Georgia offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb in the second round. Depending on whom they pick in the first round, Pittsburgh also might be interested in Ohio State safety Mike Doss in the second round.
If Miami running back Willis McGahee were to fall into the third round, which is unlikely, the Steelers would be foolish not to select him. Otherwise, they could draft Hawaii offensive tackle Wayne Hunter, Bethune-Cookman cornerback Rashean Mathis or Cincinnati defensive end Antwan Peek, whom they would use at outside linebacker.
After Saturday’s drafting, the Steelers will know whether or not they will offer a contract to New Orleans free agent safety Sammy Knight.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com