More photos » by Michael Norris - AP

6 months ago: Missouri defensive tackle Evander Hood reacts as he talks on a cellphone with the Pittsburgh Steelers after they selected him 32nd overall in the first round of the NFL Draft during draft watch party at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo, Texas, Saturday, April 25, 2009. (AP Photo/The Amarillo Globe News, Michael Norris)

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The Steelers pulled off a very solid day one.  I have been full of Ziggy-love since I started looking into the DL prospects, and we got him while staying put. There's a lot to like about him: he's got good size for a 3-4 DE (it'd be nice to have another inch or two, but he still has long arms), he was productive in college, he stood out among top competition at the Senior Bowl, he had absolutely fantastic tests at the combine (which tells me he has a ton of upside), he could grow into both a good pass rusher and a good run stuffer, and he should be able to drop into coverage on occasion, too.  Nothing has stood out more to me, though, than how coachable and how good of a teammate everyone says he is.  I think he's an absolutely perfect fit as a Steeler and as a one gap 5 technique 3-4 zone blitz DE.  He was a very solid value at one of our biggest needs. 

Now onto the trade.

When you say "a 2nd and a 4th for two 3rds", it sounds like a wash, but here's another way of saying it: we traded the 64th and 132nd picks for the 79th and 84th picks.  Yet another way: we traded down 15 picks into the third and up 48 picks from the 4th.  The infallible "draft value chart", which means a lot more in later rounds than in the first, says we traded 270 + 40 = 310 points for 195 + 170 = 365 points.  But it gets better.  The best prospect we could have drafted at a position of need at 2.64 was probably Jarron Gilbert (who I know gets some people's hearts pumping around here), but we just got Hood, and it would be a lot nicer to get some OL's and DB's.  With William Beatty and Sean Smith going right before our pick, there wasn't a great value there.  Jamon Meredith would have been a decent pick, but instead they traded for 2 picks the middle of the 3rd, which also coincides with a very nice value pocket of OL's.  Whatever they're looking for, it should be available around those picks.  If they want maulers, Robinson and Johnson may be there.  If they want tackles, there's Cadogan, Kropog, Tupou, Fulton, and maybe even Meredith.  There are two solid centers likely to be there, Luigs and Caldwell, and a handful of other IOL's as well.  Not only did they get better picks in the trade, they maneuvered to a position were the best values coincide with their biggest need. We're in a place where we'll probably be able to draft 2 OL's in our next 3 picks without reaching.  It's hard to be sure what's going to happen in the next 14 picks, but this could look like a brilliant trade in a few hours.

My only regret for the day is that they gave up the pick they'd probably have to use to draft the other DL I've been pimping, Roy Miller.  I'm also not sure who they'd target as a possible DB in the third if they're looking for a Madden Curse contingency plan, although there are probably some decent options.