In the End, the Team Got Done What it Wanted on Draft Day

Well, time for all the so-called “experts” to start handing out grades to teams for players that won’t play a down in the NFL for another five months. I think it’s rather impossible to start giving teams grades, as right now who really knows how a player like Mike Wallace or Keenan Lewis is going to do come 2009?

But the Steelers did do what they wanted to do – get depth, plus add some players that they feel can help them sooner rather than later.

First it was the D-line, which I think is important since all three starters on the D-line will be 30 or older in 2009. Evander Hood was in tears when he heard he was heading to Pittsburgh, so obviously he was happy to be going to the defending Super Bowl Champs.

Can he come in and play right away on that line? That remains to be seen, but the bottom line is the team wanted to build up the O-line and D-line, and they did that right away with Hood. No doubt this team has very high hopes for Hood, and he’ll get paid like it.

As for trading, it was a good move since they felt there was no one there at 64 overall that they wanted. Instead they basically got a 2-for-1, as they got two third round picks from the Broncos. The first pick was guard Kraig Urbik, who many think will be a pretty good player. Again, build up the line, which is smart. Let’s hope he can open some holes for Parker and Mendenhall in 2009.

Then they built up the WR spot with Mike Wallace, who is a burner that can stretch the field. Wallace will make up hopfully for the loss of Nate Washington, and while it was nice to get Hines Ward inked for 5 years this weekend, we know that we need to build up the WR core as he won’t be around forever.

They also addressed the secondary with a couple of players, CB Keenan Lewis in the third and DB Joe Burnett in the 5th. Again, it was a position of need, and I like the picks as it helps offset the loss of Bryant McFadden and adds some needed depth to the position.

The draft rounded out with a RB (Frank Summers) from UNLV in round 5, who is a big back that could be that short-yardage back if he can make it on the field. D-tackle Ra’Shon Harris went in the 6th round, and again, another guy that can add some needed depth on that D-line.

They got a local product in A.Q. Shipley in the 7th, and I think that was a steal. He’ll get lots of fan support, but at the same time, the team really thinks like he can be a player that can make an impact, which is why they took him. As for David Johsnon, he was probably just the best player on the teams board at 241, so the team gets another tight end to add some depth.

So in the end, the Steelers took 9 players total, 4 defense, 5 offense. Four of the players play on the lines of their unit, which is what the team needed. I’ll give them a grade of a B…why not?