I think 8 of the 9 have legitimate shots at making the final 53. I think the odd guy out is Ra’Shon Harris who due to some guys ahead of him who played really well last year, Kirschke/Eason, I think the practice squad is the best he can hope for.

To my mind Summers should be in competition with Carey Davis, Summers may not be a Dan Krieder blocker but then neither if Davis and Summers should offer everything Davis can and more.

David Johnson has a shot but he needs to beat out Sean McHugh. Even though we gave McHugh a new deal it won’t cost much to cut him in favour of the rookie and would save us on the cap too. McHugh obviously starts as favourite but Johnson is a direct competitor to him.

Burnett and Wallace’s returen skills should see them both definitely make it and the versatility Keenan Lewis may bring if they try him at FS as well won’t hurt his chances any either.

For once this is a class that has a lot of potential, whether 8 do make the team I’m not sure but I think 8 have real shots.

why are so many suggesting he fits well at FS? Clark was a beast at run support this year. Watching him take on Jacobs in the Giants game was incredible. Clark got beat the hell up that game, but kept hitting Jacobs hard throughout.

Not sure why people feel Shipley is small. His 310 lbs are compacted into his 6’1" frame. He power potential for rooting out the big nose tackles is better than a guy standing 6’5" and 300 lbs. I think he size is perect for the center position.

This is not meant as any type of analysis, but here are some of my gut feelings on some of the draft picks.

Hood – very little bust potential in my mind; floor will be a workmanlike player; ceiling of being a difference maker

Urbik – I have no specific thoughts about Urbik. However, I have often been clueless with respect to what the Steelers OL coaches are trying to accomplish since Tomlin became coach. Are they going to a ZBS or more of a power man scheme? Do the powers that be view Starks a backup OL, a RT, a LT, or a LT that they want to sign long term? Is Stapleton really considered a possible C of the future? Is Colon going to eventually move inside to guard? (The answer to this is obviously a big fat NO.) Despite some talk about Urbik’s versatility after he was drafted, I really only see him as a guard.

Wallace – He will help our KR game to be sure. As a wr, I have reservations. Sure he’s fast. But he doesn’t seem like he can catch the ball very well, at least from the few clips I’ve seen. And if you can’t catch the ball, then you’re pretty useless as a wr. And catching is harder in the NFL than it is in college. The young wr are often “thinking” a lot more out there and of course, the DBs are much faster and hit harder. The good thing is that he has a few years to figure it out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be another Troy Williamson though.

Lewis – I like his size. I don’t think tackling will be an issue for him. I think any issues about his inconsistent tackling are more about technique than willingness. With his size, coaching can correct his technique. Willingness is another story. I could even see this guy being a hybrid CB/S type player with some seasoning.

Burnett – I would like to compare his workout numbers to Gay’s. He seems to have the instincts to play CB. Does he have enough speed and leaping ability? We’ll see. He’ll obviously help the PR game.

Lewis/Burnett – The two together seem to offer the Steelers versatility, which Tomlin preaches. The team has the ability to match up with offenses that have big wr, little wr, etc. The team can play man or zone.

Summers – Not much to add. He’ll obviously replace Russell. Will be interesting to see if he can play FB and replace Carey Davis as well.

Harris – I’ve got nothing to say. I’ll just take a wait and see approach. The team needs DL desperately though, even with the drafting of Hood.

Shipley – I guess we’ll finally know whether you can play with short arms or not. If his arms were longer, then he would have been a much higher pick. There’s a reason he lasted until the 7th round, and the reason was his short arms. He was never going to be a 3rd round pick. Comparisons with Webster make for a nice story but little else. Webster played in a different era. And although Webby was undersized coming out of college, nobody thought his arms were so short.

Johnson – If he can block as his scouting reports say, then I think he has a good chance to make the roster. Spaeth is NOT a good in line blocker (at least not so far) and really doesn’t offer much as a wr. Johnson’s main competition is Spaeth and Mchugh.

Ziggy – This pick has grown on me. (I wanted Eric Wood badly, but ah well, damn Buffalo). The Steelers love his work ethic and athleticism. I have no doubt that he’ll be a solid contributor for a long time. His main challenge will be to learn an entirely different scheme than he played in college. At Mizzou, he was a gap-shooting DT…hence his patented Ziggy-spin move, which we won’t see again. His “trouble against the run” is more due the scheme – he doesn’t have problems anchoring, but will overpursue.

In the Steelers 3-4, DE’s primarily play a one-gap scheme that’s all about maintaining gap responsibility. They have to be able to run to cover backs in the flat and the other tasks that make LeBeau’s complicated D possible. So physically we look for big, strong guys who can run. Then we teach them the technique and especially hand work that allows them to hold the gap. This latter part will be a big change for Ziggy, but I think based on his work ethic he’ll have no problem. I would also be suprised if he were that helpful on 3rd down right away, since his “4-3 rush abilities” mainly consist of his spin move that John Mitchell will beat out of him. A

Kraig Urbik – The confusion around the Steelers line-blocking scheme is warranted. I wonder, though, if we don’t make too big a deal out of zone-blocking versus power schemes – similar to how people make too big a deal out of 4-3 vs. 3-4. It all depends on the particular scheme. From what I’ve been able to garner, the Steelers right guard never pulls – he’s just a straight ahead mauler. It’s at LG and C where we need more mobility on the line. Urbik sounds like a great fit physically for the RG spot. I ignore the stuff about his skills one-on-one – it’s about playing on a line, not whether someone can beat you in space, and by all accounts he can do this. Add in his toughness and intangibles and this is my 2nd favorite pick. B+

Mike Wallace – yea, he’s blazing fast, has great size, and good character. He’ll make the team and return kicks. As a WR, the jury is still out. He was productive in college, but who knows how that will translate. I love him as a draft pick with potential, but I’m more hesitant to declare that he’ll be a success, there is too much bust potential at the WR position. B-

Keenan Lewis - scouting reports on this guy make me nervous. The line “wouldn’t tackle his own shadow” makes me nervous. The fact that he bulked up and didn’t run at the combine, then dropped a ton of weight to run at his Pro Day makes me nervous about his actual physical skills. A lot of starting experience in college but not ridiculously productive or a ballhawk. I don’t think he’s got as much safety potential as people think, that’s mostly about size – he struggles in off-man or zone coverage, making me think he may look like a safety but doesn’t have the skill-set to play there (like Colon at G). The Steelers like him because of his press coverage skills, something they’d apparently like to introduce a bit more into the D. I think we’ll see him come in primarily to jam someone at the line then play flat zone in nickel / dime packages at first. We’ll see what kind of player he turns into beyond that, I’m just uncertain. C

Joe Burnett - A willing tackler and a ballhawk. Ignore his speed – Gay isn’t too fast, but he’s damn quick. Watch Burnett drop back and then plant and drive to the ball in zone coverage and you’ll see that same quickness. But he apparently has some backpedal technique issues to work out. Great punt returner with agility and instincts, but he’ll have to beat out Shaun McDonald and a few other guys. A bit of a project but a future PR / nickel back who can start a few games if needed, I do think he could have been had in the 6th round, though. B-

Frank Summers - Repeat after me: As much as I dislike Carey Davis, I will not assume Frank Summers is his replacement. Summers is a versatile player who can run, block, and play on all phases of special teams. But his strength is as a short yardage back. He’s Gary Russell’s replacement. FB duties will be shared by Davis / McHugh unless a guy like Powdrell or DJ Johnson show something special. I think Frank makes the team based on special teams performance, not necessarily running. He hasn’t proven anything yet, and reports out of minicamp had him looking a little pudgy. Does it trouble anyone else that no other team seemed all that interested? I love his potential but as time has passed since the draft I’ve grown more cautious. B-

RaShon Harris - I really like this pick. He’s got the perfect size for a 3-4 end and can definitely run. He was a one-year starter who is very raw but has mid-round athleticism. I think he gets stashed on the practice squad. I’m only a touch concerned about the work ethic problem with this core of players around him. If he’s smarter than Ryan McBeam (not hard) he’ll be a perfect player to sit on the practice squad for a year then make the team next year. Great match of potential and value in the draft. B+

AQ Shipley - in the Scout.com draft grade, they made an interesting point: that Shipley’s short arms were more of a concern on the C exchange than in pass protection or run-blocking. We’ll see – didn’t seem like a problem in college. This pick could be a waste if he simply doesn’t have the physical skills to play in this offense, much as i hate to say it. But I don’t think it will. He’s probably the most mobile lineman we’ve currently got, and as Mike Mayock said, “all he does is block people.” He was never going to go higher than the 5th round, but I was suprised no one took a flyer on him in the 6th. Would be interesting to put him in at FB in short-yardage situations. This pick will come down to Shipley’s own work ethic and intangibles: he doesn’t have the versatility to play anything except C, so he’ll have to make the 53 man roster over a more versatile IOL. He’ll have to really show something to do that. I think it would be a picture perfect story if he went on to become our starting center of the future, but I’m worried him getting cut then picked up on waivers by someone else is more likely. C+

David “DJ” Johnson – No real idea what to think about this pick. Very solid blocker, he expected based on what he had been told to be drafted higher than the 7th round. Very much in the Sean McHugh mold, an H-back hybrid player. He’ll have to beat out McHugh or Carey Davis. Interesting to note that he had a fantastic avg yards per catch and is pretty quick, his lack of prototypical size holds him back as a TE. Practice squad guy unless he shows something special. C+

2008: Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed, Bruce Davis, Tony Hillis, Dennis Dixon, Mike Humpal, Ryan Mundy.

Humpal is gone, Mendenhall was hurt, Sweed dropped a sure TD in the Championship game, Davis and Hollis did absolutely nothing. Contributions to last years NFL Championship team….. nothing.

2007: Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Matt Spaeth, Daniel Sepulveda, Ryan McBean, Cameron Stephenson, William Gay, Dallas Baker.

McBean and Stephenson are gone. Sepulveda was hurt. Spaeth and Baker caught 18 passes combined. Timmons and Gay did very well as backups and when forced to start. Woodley was outstanding. Contributions to last years NFL Campionship…… Outside of Woodley, slight.

2006: Santonio Holmes, Anthony Smith, Willie Reid, Willie Colon, Orien Harris, Omar Jacobs, Charles Davis, Marvin Philip, Cedric Humes.

This draft class was a joke. Anthony Smith, Willie Reid, Orein Harris, Omar Jacobs, Charles Davis, Marvin Philip and Cedric Humes are gone, all of them! All we have left is Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and an OL playing out of position in Willie Colon.

2005: Heath Miller, Bryant McFadden, Trai Essex, Fred Gibson, Rian Wallace, Chris Kemoeatu, Shaun Nua, Noah Herron.

McFadden left. Gibson, Wallace, Nua and Herron are gone. Essex is a backup. Kemoeatu and Miller are starters.

So, let’s recap the last 4 draft classes. LaMarr Woodley, Santonio Holmes, Willie Colon, Heath Miller and Chris Kemoeatu were the only starters on last year’s team. 14 of them are gone and made no difference at all.

From 2005- 2008 6 OL were drafted. 2 Start, 2 backups, 2 not with the team. In that time, they only have one OL playing the position he was origianlly drafted for, Chris Kemoeatu OG. In this time, our franchise QB was been sacked what seems like every passing play, and our running attack is gone.

Further, no LB was drafted, even though they knew Foote wanted out.

At one time the Steelers drafted well, especially in the later rounds. Recently, they have not. Outside of the 1st round, and Woodley in the 2nd, we have absolutely nothing to show.

What happened to the drafts when we would get Porter, Smith and Ward on the second day? This year we knew we needed to upgrade the OL and we knew the DL was aging, and we knew we needed to replace a CB, and we knew we needed to replace a LB. Next year we are still going to need to upgrade the OL, we will still need to replace a LB, and we will still need to address our DL.

To me, this draft was horrid. Urbik could have been had much later. All the OG who were rated much higher than him went much later. Hood was okay, I do not have any problem with that, but Unger was there and he has more experience playing C and OT than Urbik. Roy Miller was available in the 3rd when the Steelers selected Urbik. Is Hood and Urbik better than Unger and Miller?

Here is some info on Miller:

The Good: A tough, hard-nosed tackle who plays with a strong base and can hold the point of attack inside. Exhibits a motor that runs nonstop. Has some burst off the snap, which allows him to get on offensive linemen’s shoulders and penetrate up field. Works his way through blockers on the bull rush and keeps his pad level low. Displays good technique and has the hand quickness to win initial one-on-one battles and gain the advantage.

I just really question the Steelers draft choices lately, and especially this year. I do not think this draft class is going to pan out. I am thoroughly disappointed with this draft. Further, if this class does produce anything special, I think the Steeers better figure out what is going on. You can not keep winning when you do not go out and sign players from other teams (something I do agree with) and you do not draft quality to replace your aging stars.

HSS, keep up the good work. Though I predict only 6 of 9 draft picks to make this year’s squad, that number could go up to 7 or possibly 8 (Johnson, Shipley or Harris might surprise, who knows?)

I think those that don’t make this year’s team will be on the practice squad and could be heard from here before it is all over. This draft will have more immeditate impact than Tomlin’ s first 3 because most of these players have specifics skills that fit areas where this team needs help. Can’t wait to see what surprises there are in camp when the pads go on.

And for all of you who aspire to be journalists, get used to working on or creating sites such as this where you words can be read and your thoughts heard. This is definitely the future of journalism.