2008 NFL Draft Live Blog - Picks 17-31
by Michael Bean on Apr 26, 2008 5:02 PM EDT
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PrintWe continue with picks 17-31 of Round 1.
STEELERS 1ST ROUND SELECTION: Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
It's hard to say exactly how I feel about Mendenhall as a Steeler because I hadn't really considered it a possibility. Jonathan Stewart perhaps, but most thought that Mendenhall would be gone to Chicago or Detroit, or perhaps even Philadelphia. My initial thought is I would have been more excited by Stewart, if for no other reason than that he provides more bulk and short-yardage potential than Mendenhall, who like Parker, is about 5'11". Still, Mendenhall has a nice track record of picking up tough yards, being a work-horse, and staying healthy and on the field.Would it have been nice to get one of the elite OL? Sure, but the Steelers did what they said they were going to do all along and took the BPA, which undoubtedly was Rashard Mendenhall. Successful teams have depth at RB. The Steelers now officially have ample depth at RB with FWP, Mewelde Moore, and Rashard Mendenhall.We'll have much more on Mendenhall after the conclusion of the first round, but for now, we welcome Rashard to the Steelers family.Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steeler
17. Detroit Lions -Gosder Cherlius, OT, Boston College
18. Baltimore Ravens - Joe Flacco, QB, Deleware
19. Carolina Panthers (via trade with Philadelphia) - Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
21. Atlanta Falcons (via trade with Washington) - Sam Baker, OT, USC
22. Dallas Cowboys - Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
24. Tennessee Titans - Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina
25. Dallas Cowboys (via trade with Seattle) - Mike Jenkins, CB, Arizona
26. Houston Texans - Duane Brown, OT, Virginia Tech
27. San Diego Chargers - Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
28. Seattle Seahawks (via trade with Dallas Cowboys) - Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC
29. San Francisco 49ers - Kentwan Balmer, DT. North Carolina
30. New York Jets (via trade with Green Bay) - Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue
31. New York Giants - Kenny Phillips, S, Miami
**UPDATE** We'll see how Detroit utilizes the extra picks they got in the trade with Kansas City. But it better be a solid pick because I don't think Cherilus is going to be as good as Albert.
**UPDATE** Looks like Flaco may be headed to Baltimore as he appears to be on the phone with the Ravens. There it is. He's put on a Ravens hat.
**UPDATE** Well, so much for any of the offensive linemen being on the board at #23. Otah's selection means Clady, Williams, Long, Cherilus, Otah and Albert are all gone.
**UPDATE** Still no WRs off the board. The ESPN cameras are honing in on Desean Jackson and Devan Thomas, and the talking heads are talking about the Bucs' WR position exclusively.
**UPDATE** And ESPN was off the mark. The Bucs take Talib. I like Talib personally. Great hands, insticts, though he may gamble a bit too much. Monte Kiffin and Gruden know what they're doing.
**UPDATE** Ok, certainly the Skins take a WR? I don't think it will be Jackson. My guess is Thomas, Kelly, or Sweed. I personally would take Kelly here if I were Washington.
**UPDATE** Damnit, there goes out trading partner.
**UPDATE** Jerra takes another Arkansas boy. I've been nothing but impressed by Felix Jones. An added bonus that he can allow Terrance Newman to save his body on ST and not return kicks.
**UPDATE** I absolutely can not understand that pick by the Titans. Would have thought WR, defensive line help. Anything but a scat back like Johnson.
**UPDATE** Interesting. Cowboys move up a few spots to make sure they get the CB they want. I wonder what they gave up to move up those three spots.
**UPDATE** Some might wonder why the Steelers didn't take Duane Brown. Dunno, good question, but clearly the Steelers were sticking to their BPA strategy. A friend of mine just mentioned that the Chiefs picked Larry Johnson at the height of Priest Holmes' dominance. Very interesting comparison I thought, and I'll be addressing this later.
**UPDATE** There goes Kentwan Balmer, who our own steeler lifer had us selecting in our inaugural Mock Draft. The knock on him was taking plays off. Personally, I'm glad we didn't wind up with him. I think we can find similar value in later rounds.
**UPDATE** Keller's an interesting pick. That's a pretty small TE at just 6'2". One of the talking heads just compared him to Dallas Clark. Interesting, though it takes a great QB to really find smaller TEs in the seam. We'll see if Kellen Clemons can take advantage of Keller's impressive speed (4.5 40).
**UPDATE** Wow, no WRs taken in 1st round. Round 2 may be even more interesting than Round 1.
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that's quite a rise for flacco
Bet he wouldnt have guessed he’d be a top 20 pick at this time last year.
eagles trade
really surprises me. I would have thought that the eagles would have taken Otah.
I hate everything
So who should Pitt take now because I’ve got no clue
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
i hope we dont get a CB
Would be dare take Talib?
by Michael Bean on Apr 26, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
i dont want one either
but i know the FO is considering them.
i want them
to trade down now, since all the decent 1st round OL are gone.
Trade
Any chance that they trade the pick you think?
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
Balmer
Kentwan Balmer is still there…many big shots have had him to the Steelers all along…we’ll see
Mendenhall's still around too
They may go after him
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
Lame
I wanted Stewart, Albert, or Talib to fall to us…I’m gonna be super pissed if we take Mendenhall now.
huh
with the atl trade, i bet they take a qb
dallas
takes Jones, that leaves our pick of WR, mendenhall, CB
i forgot that atl
took ryan, don’t know what i was thinking, lol
like to see a trade out of the 1st
certainly teams are eyeing those available wideouts
what the eagles got in return seemed good
nah,
Jerry Jones loves Felix Jones from Ark, and that finally gives him a chance to draft a player from his alma mater for the first time.
Linemen
So what linemen have we been looking at in the later rounds. We need a lot of help and we arent going to get any with this pick.
Mendenhall Still Available
A trade would probably get some pretty good value here
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
Jones'
return skills are sweet. Man, he is gonna be great in tandem with Barber.
trade
trade trade trade trade trade trade trade trade
Moment of Truth
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
gotta say though
i am excited about him as a steeler, i think he’ll be great, but i wanted oline. sux the first cluster is all gone.
Titans? Really?
Took Henry last year and now they take Johnson instead of a receiver? Terrible pick.
Mendenhall
Can’t say I really know that much about him. Is he at least a compliment to FWP?
"This club plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert." ~ Casey Stengel on the 1969 New York Mets
We did pick the best player available
Beyond OL, the next best way to protect the QB is to have a dominant running game. Remember when Tomlin was hired, he said that to win games you have to run ball and stop the run. We’ll go DL two more times in this draft.
This says nothing about FWP’s health. the NFL is a two back league now. Check out all those recent picks F. Jones (M. Barber), R. Mendenhall (W. Parker), C. Johnson (L. White)
Tony - Huge Fan in Raleigh
by Tshaff on Apr 26, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
possible 2nd round targets
Guys who visited with the Steelers who are still around/projected 2/3 round
James Hardy, WR, Indiana
Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana
Cliff Avril, OLB, Purdue
Quintin Groves, OLB, Purdue
Mike Pollack, C, Arizona State
Charles Godfrey, CB, Iowa
Orlando Scandrick, CB, Boise State
Shawn Crable, LB, Michigan
Dre Moore, DL, Maryland
After ever pick
I see the browns choice of taking
1.Quinn
2.Rodgers
3.Williams
the best draft so far…
Like a Turkey on Thanksgiving
He’s done! Ha Ha, I’m just giving you a hard time
Tony - Huge Fan in Raleigh
Who will be the next Aaron Smith of the 4th round???
I say a guy like Brian Johnston from small Gardner-Webb in NC is a good candidate.
Tony - Huge Fan in Raleigh
Mendenhall
I love this pick. Physical guy, runs hard, sees his cuts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7OiYXlBEZU
I think it’ll make a great 1-2 punch in the backfield. All our best OL were gone, we can get everyone else in the later rounds. I’m stoked man. WELCOME RASHARD, it will be great to see you this year man! Go #5
He had 346 yards in one game against Rice
last year. I don’t care who you play, that’s ridiculous. I think his combine numbers were in the top ten in every category as well.
Tony - Huge Fan in Raleigh
so much
for everyone assuring that devin thomas would be the first WR picked.
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