Top Ten Draft Busts Of Kevin Colbert Era: No. 2 -- OG Kraig Urbik, 3rd Round, 2009
by Michael Bean on Apr 29, 2011 5:21 AM EDT
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PrintWith the 2011 NFL Draft underway, I'll limit the amount of time I spend on these final few selections so that we can maximize our attention spent on what happened in the first round Thursday evening, as well as what might be in store during rounds two through seven on Friday and Saturday.
Let's continue though with the top ten draft 'successes' and 'busts' in the Kevin Colbert era with a look at my No. 2 'bust', Kraig Urbik, an offensive guard from Wisconsin taken in the third round of the 2009 Draft.
There's not a whole lot to discuss when reviewing Urbik's career with the Steelers or elsewhere in the National Football League. Of course, it's still very possible that he finds a niche either with his current team (Buffalo) or elsewhere around the league. It's only been two years after all since he was drafted. But that doesn't stop me from being quite disappointed in how this pick played out for the Steelers.
Before sharing my main reason as to why this pick gets listed so high, a quick review of the Steelers' 2009 Draft. Coming off their record setting sixth Super Bowl win, the Steelers drafted Ziggy Hood in the first round, then traded away the 64th pick in the second round to the Denver Broncos in order to acquire Denver's two third round picks. The Steelers also parted ways with their fourth round selection. The first of those third round picks would be Kraig Urbik (79th), followed by Mike Wallace five picks later at No. 84. Pittsburgh then acquired Keenan Lewis with its original third round selection at No. 96.
Hindsight is of course 20/20, but it is worth pointing out that the Steelers didn't wind up being in any jeopardy of losing out on the Wallace selection. Two wide receivers -- Derrick Williams taken by Detroit, and Brandon Tate taken by New England -- came off the board right before Wallace did. I suppose the three other teams that drafted WRs in round three after the Steelers' pick at 84 and before the supplemental picks could have taken Wallace. Those teams were the New York Giants (Ramses Barden) and the Seattle Seahakws (Deon Butler).
Anyway, Urbik would lose a competition for the primary reserve right guard role to undrafted free agent rookie Ramon Foster. Yikes. He would then be cut in early September of '10 and claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills shortly thereafter. We'll see if he sticks there in upstate New York. He'll certainly have his hands full in practice this summer trying to contain Marcell Dareus, the Bills' first round selection at No. 3 on Thursday evening.
But to conclude, heading into the '09 draft, it was clear that the Steelers' biggest problem was along the offensive line. Despite winning the Super Bowl, nobody in Steeler Nation felt like the line was in a great place and not in need of significant upgrades. Urbik, believe it or not, was the highest Steelers lineman drafted since Max Starks was taken with the 75th overall pick in the '04 draft. Pretty remarkable really. But that (relatively) high investment in an OL had to be a successful one given the Steelers' struggles opening up running lanes and protecting Ben Roethlisberger in the years immediately before the '09 draft.
As a consequence of that particular failed pick, the Steelers are still searching for a legitimate guard heading into round two of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Go Steelers!
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Kevin Colbert's Top 10 Draft 'Busts'
No. 3: LB Alonzo Jackson, 2nd Round, 2003
No. 4: DT Kendrick Clancy, 3rd Round, 2000
No. 5: WR Willie Reid, 3rd Round, 2006
No. 6: WR Limas Sweed, 2nd Round, 2008
No. 7: OLB Bruce Davis, 3rd Round, 2008
No. 8: OLB Thaddeus Gibson, 4th Round, 2010
No. 9: WR Plaxico Burress, 1st Round, 2000
No. 10: OG Kendall Simmons, 1st Round, 2002
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Kevin Colbert's Top 10 Draft 'Successes'
No. 3: LB LaMarr Woodley, 2nd Round, 2007
No. 4: LB Clark Haggans, 5th Round, 2000
No. 5: WR Mike Wallace, 3rd Round, 2009
No. 6: OT Willie Colon, 4th Round, 2006
No. 7: LB Larry Foote, 4th Round, 2002
No. 8: OG Chris Kemoeatu, 6th Round, 2005
No. 9: OT Marvel Smith, 2nd Round, 2000
No. 10: WR Antonio Brown, 6th Round, 2010
**********
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Lol, completely forgot about this guy. Epic bust. Hated the pick at the time, hate it even more now
A long way from Pittsburgh PA, in fact, 8653.2 miles to be precise. My blood still bleeds black and gold like the rest of Steeler Nation, proud fan since 2002.
BTSC's token Kiwi fan. That means I'm a New Zealander. Yes, that small country next to Australia....no we are not part of Australia
yep same thoughts here!
"In Hoc Signo Vinces!" (With this as your standard, you shall have victory!) -Constantine I
by Webslasher81 on Apr 29, 2011 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I’d put money on Urbik being the opening day starter at RG for what it’s worth. :-)
You can't have CHANGE without CHAN.
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weeee
starting on the bills!
hehe, jk. yeah, i feel you, there’s definitely hope for the guy in the right situation. but a total whiff considering how dire a need OG/OT was for the Steelers that year.
Freel free to email me anytime at behindthesteelcurtain@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, complaints, etc, or to just say what's up. -Michael Bean (Blitz)
by Michael Bean on Apr 29, 2011 7:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah....
You know, I was all set the defend Kraig Urbik, claiming that the Steelers had in fact made a mistake in letting him go. That is what I thought when I learned that he’d caught on as a starter for the Bills.
But he only started two games according to Pro Football Reference.
Sill… You expect third round picks to take a while to develop, and Urbik had, but all accounts, put himself above Hartwig at the center slot as well.
As for losing out to Ramon Foster? Foster may not be the next Alan Fanaca or a world beater, but he seems like a solid player and another one of Kevin Colberts Rookie Free Agent Steals (subject of a forth coming article….)
by Hombre de Acero on Apr 29, 2011 7:30 AM EDT reply actions
urbik lost his roster spot
to career backup (essex), 2 UDFA’s (legursky & foster), and a person who didn’t do anything to earn a spot on the team his first 2 years other than play a position that they didn’t really bring in any competition for him to possibly lose his job (hills). and urbik is the highest draft player under colbert’s history to be cut after being drafted 1 year earlier.
i’m not sure where you heard those accounts but i think they’re probably untrue. i believe it’s common knowledge that hartwig was better than legursky at center. so if urbik was outplaying hartwig, and the steelers kept legursky over urbik then we were cutting our best backup center.
He got hurt after his two starts but played well in them.
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by MattRichWarren on Apr 29, 2011 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know how a guy is a bust after his second season. I think we are spoiled here having some first year contributors, but most guys take several years. I think this year we’ll see who Urbik is going to be.
by Phantaskippy on Apr 30, 2011 8:05 AM EDT up reply actions
YES
finally vindication for my article here http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2010/9/6/1672537/urbik-one-of-colberts-biggest
Really sad actually...
For he had all of the tools, experience, etc. on paper. And he could have filled a big need. But Foster is coming along, played better and better as the season progressed and I do not believe that the FO sees interior OL as a need as much as the the BTSC fanbase does.
"We have met the enemy and he is us" - Pogo (1970)
oh by the way great poast Mike!
"In Hoc Signo Vinces!" (With this as your standard, you shall have victory!) -Constantine I
To Colbert's defense
He tried to move up in the second but couldn’t, so he was stuck with the leftovers. Honestly, there wasn’t much talent left on the OL after Louis Vasquez was drafted one pick ahead of Urbik. Had we gone BPA we could have picked up Roy Miller instead but after picking Ziggy Hood, they had to feel like the need wasn’t quite strong enough to justify the selection.
By the way, Urbik was a guy Bruce Arians wanted… But before we start hating, he also wanted Wallace!
Dick, what would Woody (Hayes) say to you now: "He'd say, 'LeBeau, get your hair cut.'"
I don’t like labeling guys busts before three years goes by unless they are out of the league or a first round pick.
Urbik still has a solid chance of being a good pro. He lost out in what was a deep position because he was a Guard who only played Guard. Foster played Tackle and Guard, Legs played center and Guard. . . I think when we drafted him we thought he had a chance to play right away and bolster that position, but he came in with a lot of work to do and lost his job that way.
This is probably a semantic argument though, as I would label a draft bust a player who didn’t play well at all, where as these lists seem to be geared towards only their career with the Steelers. Even then I don’t see Urbik as worse than Sweed or Jackson, they were second round picks that we gave time to develop, Urbik we gave up on quick, and he may still catch on and be something.
i wouldnt call a position deep
when it’s manned by a rotation of a career backup and 2 UDFA’s. i think bean’s definition of if a player is a bust or not center’s around the person’s contributions to the steelers and only the steelers.
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