NFL draft preview
Despite loss of Randle El, Steelers unlikely to use high draft pick on WR (EDITOR’S NOTE: Fourth in a series about the Steelers and the upcoming NFL Draft, to be held Saturday and Sunday. Today: Receivers)The ink was barely dry on Antwaan Randle El’s contract with the Washington Redskins and Steelers fans already were in panic mode.
How will the Steelers replace all that Randle El brought to the table? It won’t be as simple as drafting another wide receiver because Randle El did so much more. Draft a punt returner? Draft a college quarterback to throw an every-so-often receiver pass off a reverse?
All of the above? How about none of the above?
The best guess is the Steelers will land somewhere in between.
There are three candidates already on the roster to replace Randle El as a receiver and a few are lined up and waiting to replace him as the punt return man. As for the former quarterback, there’s a chance the Steelers will bring one aboard, but there is always that chance with Bill Cowher in the draft room.
Cedric Wilson will get first crack at Randle El’s starting job opposite Hines Ward and he should be more comfortable with a year in the Steelers system. Behind him are Quincy Morgan, who excelled as a kickoff returner and occasional receiver before breaking a leg and landing on injured reserve. Nate Washington, like Wilson, should benefit from what he learned last season, when he made the team as an undrafted rookie free agent.
Then, there are Lee Mays and Sean Morey and newly acquired Eugene Baker. Adding all of those together, plus figuring in tight end Heath Miller, it becomes difficult to imagine a rookie making the team.
Having said that, the Steelers are quite likely going to draft a wide receiver Saturday or Sunday. It probably won’t be in the first round and it’s unlikely to come in the second or third round, unless somebody falls into Pittsburgh’s lap.
This is a relatively poor year for wide receivers and a great year for tight ends. Luckily, the Steelers aren’t in dire need of either.
There may be only three wide receivers picked in the first round this year after six went in each of the last two drafts. The best of this group are Ohio State’s Santonio Holmes, Florida’s Chad Jackson and Miami’s Sinorice Moss, younger brother of Washington’s Santana Moss.
The best of the rest are Arizona State’s Derek Hagan, Notre Dame’s Maurice Stovall, Michigan’s Jason Avant and Oregon’s Demetrius Williams. All are 6-0 or taller and only Williams (188) weighs fewer than 200 pounds.
But the Steelers would be wise to sit back and watch these guys fall off the board. There are a few gems hidden deeper in this draft, some second-day prospects that could better fit their plans.
There has been some speculation that the Steelers would like to bring in former Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson as a wide receiver. He’s 6-1 and weighs 219, yet he was athletic enough to play quarterback at Penn State.
But if it’s a former quarterback you want to replace Randle El, Virginia’s Marques Hagans is your guy. Like Randle El, he is small (5-9, 200). Like Randle El, he can return kicks and punts. Hagans was recruited to play quarterback by Indiana, the school where Randle El excelled as a four-year starter at the position.
Another intriguing prospect is Martin Nance, who used to catch passes from Ben Roethlisberger at Miami of Ohio. At 6-4, 208, he has size on his side, not to mention the affection of a certain quarterback. Nance falls into the third or fourth round category.
This draft may feature more tight ends than wide receivers being selected in the first round. Maryland’s Vernon Davis, UCLA’s Marcedes Lewis, Georgia’s Leonard Pope and Notre Dame’s Anthony Fasano are highly regarded, as are USC’s Dominque Byrd and Colorado’s Joe Klopfenstein.
Belle Vernon graduate and Pitt product Erik Gill also could be drafted. The 6-4, 270-poung Gill earned a 4.75 grade from Pro Football Weekly, which means he deserves to be in someone’s training camp.
It would be a mild upset if the Steelers drafted a tight end after spending a first-round pick on Miller last year.
(NEXT: Offensive linemen)