The Pittsburgh Steelers 2009 NFL Draft Class

aww love it!

5 or 6 of these guys should stick and I personally think there’s very little difference between our top 4 picks and the players “ranked higher” at their positions that went in Rd 1 and 2 – e.g., I don’t see any real difference b/w M Jenkins and K Lewis, and I KNOW that Wallace is better than Heyward-Bey and could be dynamite KR immediately, and with that speed ….. nice downfield target for Ben.

And that doesn’t even take account of Summers and Shipley, who both have the intangibles to make some noise.

After reading so much about Ziggy Hood I have to say that i’m very excited about this guy. He seems like a non-stop motor, high character guy – as others have pointed out, exactly like A. Smith. This guy will see some significant playing time this year seeing as how he’s competing with guys like Eason.

Wallace, Urbik, Lewis, and Summers also look like guys that could not only make the active roster, but see some serious playing time as well. I want to see Shipley make the active, but he seems like a practice squad guy to me for a year.

Harris and Johnson also look like practice squad guys to me. Although if Johnson shows anything, he could very well replace (and probably upgrade) Carry Davis at FB. It’s not his natural position, but he could probably master it with little effort.

Does anyone else think they might be thinking FS with Burnett? His 40 time is slow and we’re thin at the position with just Mundy and T. Carter beyond Troy and Ryan.

Anyway, I’m pumped. Hopefully now one here gets “Humpeled” during the pre season.

I liked this one much more than last years’. I feel we struck a better balance between BPA and need. All four of our 3rd and 5th rounders have very intriguing special teams potential and I see Summers as our future at fullback. .

..but that likely would have changed the rest of the draft, as well.

Mike Wallace could be the sleeper pick of their draft, I think. Exceptional speed for a 200 pounder, and he doesn’t seem to be a flake like most naturally gifted wide receivers. Kick return duties seem to be his to lose, unless the cornerback Burnett surprises.

Guys, I think the front office and scouting department did an outstanding job with this draft. Typical steelers draft — not a lot of sexy picks but good, intelligent football players. I can see 5 starters from this draft in 3 years.

 I have to admit, the two players I am most excited about are WR Mike Wallace and the Tank. I’ve watched game film on Wallace as well as watched what he did at the Senior Bowl. He is a game changer. You guys can call me crazy, but he is more explosive than Santonio Holmes was as a rookie. Mike Mayock said he clocked this guy on his stopwatch running a 4.28. But he isn’t just a track guy. He’s a football player. Plus, he is already 6’0’’, 200 lbs. Now, you have a WR corps with Hines, Santonio, Sweed & Wallace on game days. There is no way you can put 8 in the box now.

And on to the Tank. I think you guys will be surprised at the hands that he has. I don’t think the Steelers have had a FB with his type of hands since John L. Williams. He’s also supposed to be quite a beast on special teams. Can you imagine trying to block this stump on kickoffs? What are you going to hit, at 5’9’’, 243 lbs, at 4.55 speed, 32 reps at 225 and 36-inch vertical jump. That’s explosiveness.

One thought that comes to mind is the Steelers must feel good about Jason Capizzi and Tony Hills as their 4th and 5th tackles. If they truly thought T was a weakness, I think they would have done something about it this offseason besides resigning Starks, Colon & Essex. I remember Pat Kirwan saying during this draft process on his blog at NFL.com that the Steelers are high on both Hills and Capizzi. I hope both will get an opportunity to show what they can do this training camp. I think there is a good chance that T. Essex could start the season at RG (Urbik would really have to outstanding to win that job right out the gate as a rookie) which I think could mean Hills or more likely Capizzi could be the swing tackle on game days with Stapleton being the seventh lineman, being that he can play center and both guard positions.

And finally, I watched the Mike Tomlin interview on NFL.com and I said to myself there is no way that this team is going to be complacent this year. He is just impressive. Every word that comes out of his mouth is motivating and serves a purpose.

 At training camp this year, there is going to be some fierce competition for roster spots, playing time and starting positions. This team is loaded. I’m curious to see how the OL will be settled and who will be extended versus who will have to wait. But other than that, let’s get this party started right!

Thoughts?

I think he is very intriguing…seems to have all the tools, big, strong, and active. He could be our future center if he develops.

I’m very excited to see Wallace play, on special teams at first, and in the nate role maybe a bit later.
I think it may take a half season or heaven forbid, an injury, but also looking forward to Hood on the d-line.
I actually think Keenan Lewis can be solid for us down the line, to me it says a lot that they chose him over some other CB’s available at the time. If it wasn’t a reach.
Another solid draft, I liked the trade with Denver.

The jersey number’s are odviously off, but with some player ratings on there it’s pretty interesting. Here’s a link to our guy, the rest are on there too, if you want to check it out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/features/games/gallery?id=4099861&game=32