Steelers use second pick on linebacker also
PITTSBURGH – Keith Butler didn’t mean to smile so widely, but he couldn’t help himself. “It’s a great day for me,” said Butler, linebackers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, moments after the team selected its second outside linebacker of the day in the second round of the NFL draft.
Pittsburgh selected Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley with the 46th overall pick after taking Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons with the 15th overall pick.
“LaMarr will help us quite a bit,” Butler said. “He played defensive end at Michigan, but he also played outside linebacker earlier in his career there.”
Woodley played linebacker as a sophomore and junior for the Wolverines before moving back to defensive end as a senior.
Butler noted that Michigan runs a defense very similar to the Steelers’ 3-4 zone blitzing scheme. He said that helped Woodley learn what he needs to do here, plus helped the Steelers spot Woodley and identify him as a potential draft choice.
“A lot of their defensive package is what we do,” Butler said.
Of course, while Butler was smiling from ear to ear, defensive end Brett Keisel may not be smiling as much. His proposed move to outside linebacker would appear to have taken a hit with two new linebackers coming into the fold.
“Brett Keisel will keep the same role in this defense,” Butler said. “He’s been lobbying coach (Mike) Tomlin and me to move back there and he’ll get to do some of that.”
As for his move from defensive end back to linebacker, Woodley termed it “no big deal. I’ve got linebacker blood in me.”
Woodley is a prototypical Steelers outside linebacker pick. With a 3-4 defensive front, the Steelers often get their defensive ends from among the talent pool at defensive tackle and they get many of their outside linebackers from the talent pool at defensive end.
At 6-2, 266, Woodley fits that bill. He is basically too short and too light to play defensive end in a 3-4, but he is a good fit at outside linebacker. He is very similar in appearance to former Steelers inside linebacker Levon Kirkland.
To boot, Woodley claims to have been a Steelers fan “all my life.”
How does a kid from Saginaw, Mich., grow up liking the Pittsburgh Steelers?
“In junior high, I thought I was Jerome Bettis,” Woodley said. “I wore No. 36 and called myself The Bus. Ever since then, I’ve been rolling.”
In the third round, the Steelers selected Minnesota tight end Matt Spaeth, who is 6-8 and weighs 270. Spaeth caught 47 passes for 564 yards and four touchdowns as a senior.
“I like having three tights ends on the field at the same time,” said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. “Jerame Tuman played well for us the last couple years and Matt will allow us to do more things with Heath Miller, too.”
He missed the Insight Bowl and plenty of pro workout opportunities due to surgery to repair a separated shoulder, but Arians said that turned into a positive for the Steelers.
“Even when he did work out, he wasn’t all the way,” Arians said. “It was similar to when we drafted Heath. I think we got a steal then and I think we got a steal with Matt, too.”
The Steelers have six picks in the last four rounds that will be drafted Sunday. They have two each in the fourth and fifth rounds, plus single picks in the sixth and seventh rounds.