Steelers will likely pick up a linebacker
The Steelers will report to training camp at St. Vincent College with all of their linebackers from last season’s Super Bowl XL winning team, but that doesn’t mean the team won’t add another linebacker in this weekend’s NFL draft. On the contrary, it would be an upset if the Steelers don’t add at least one linebacker during the seven rounds that will be drafted Saturday and Sunday.
To call linebacker a Steelers’ strength would be an understatement of major proportions. Joey Porter and Clark Haggans on the outside and James Farrior and Larry Foote on the inside return as perhaps the best set of linebackers in the league. Also returning are key backups James Harrison and Andre Frazier on the outside and Clint Kriewaldt and Rian Wallace on the inside.
Of all those players, only Farrior was a first-round draft pick and he was selected by the New York Jets. Porter was a third-rounder, Haggans and Foote were fifth-rounders.
But the days of simply sitting still and waiting for outside linebackers to fall through the cracks are long gone. The Steelers’ success, coupled with New England’s before them, have many teams shifting from a 4-3 alignment to a 3-4 configuration. Therefore, there is a higher premium on college defensive ends that become pro outside linebackers.
It wouldn’t be much of a shock if the Steelers use their 32nd and last pick in the first round on a linebacker because, even with their quality and depth at the position, the good ones are too tough to pass on.
The top three at outside linebacker – Ohio State’s A.J. Hawk, Iowa’s Chad Greenway and Florida State’s Ernie Sims – likely will be gone by the time the Steelers select.
The best inside linebacker, however, may be available. He is D’Quell Jackson of Maryland. Jackson is considered short for the position at 6-0 and weighs 230, which also is relatively light. But with the likes of Miami’s Zach Thomas and Dallas’ Dat Nguyen having success as inside linebackers, many teams are inclined to ignore such perceived deficiencies. Iowa’s Abdul Hodge (6-0, 233) also fits in that category.
There are plenty of second-round prospects, particularly at outside linebacker. Ohio State’s Bobby Carpenter has prototypical size (6-2, 256). Scouts like the fact that he is strong against the run, yet fast enough to work in coverage and blitz.
Miami’s Rocky McIntosh also is solid against the run and good in coverage. Alabama’s DeMeco Ryans and UTEP’s Thomas Howard also are second-round possibilities, as is Florida State’s Kamerion Wimbley.
Inside linebacker is a very weak position in this draft, so if the Steelers wait until the third or fourth round, they might still find quality at outside linebacker. Ironically, the Steelers have three choices among five picks toward the end of the fourth round. Pittsburgh owns its own 129th pick, plus compensatory selections at 131 and 133.
Don’t be surprised if one of those picks is a linebacker. The Steelers may find UCLA’s Spencer Havner, Arizona State’s Jamar Williams, Auburn’s Travis Williams, Oregon’s Keith Ellison or Georgia Tech’s Gerris Wilkinson available.
The Steelers are likely to avoid any player who is called a ‘tweener. That was the term used to describe Huey Richardson when he became Chuck Noll’s last first-round pick. Richardson never panned out, as a defensive end, which he played in college, or as an outside linebacker, which he tried to play in the pros.
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(EDITOR’S NOTE: Seventh in a series about the Steelers and the upcoming NFL Draft. Today: Linebackers)