Analyzing the Steelers 2009 Draft

Yesterday I looked at the Steelers 2010 Draft and today I will look at the 2009 Draft. While the 2010 Draft featured 2 Pro Bowlers and 6 total contributors, the 2009 draft featured just one Pro Bowler and 3 contributors.

Round 1 - Evander Hood, DE, Missouri - Grade - B- - Thus far in his career, Hood has done a decent job filling in for the oft-injured Aaron Smith. However, Hood has to become more consistent if he wants to keep Heyward from taking his starting spot. You have to think the Steelers could have used a guy like Sebastian Vollmer with this pick.

Other Possibilities: Patrick Chung, Rey Maualauga, LeSean McCoy, Sebastian Vollmer

Round 3 - Kraig Urbik, OG, Wisconsin - Grade D - The Steelers selected Urbik and he has a bad two years, causing the Steelers to cut him. However, this year for the Bills, Urbik was their best OL. Its too bad the Steelers did not give Urbik one more year because if they did, they might not need to select a guard in the early rounds this year.

Other Possible Selections: Lardarius Webb

Round 3 - Mike Wallace, WR, Mississippi - Grade: A+ - You know what makes this pick even better. The New England Patriots selected Brandon Tate the pick right before it. What a genius Bill Bellicheck is.

Round 3 - Keenan Lewis, CB, Oregon State - Grade: B - His first two years were massive dissapointment, but this past season, Lewis emerged as the Steelers #2 corner and he did a damn good job. This grade could be an A or a C after next season depending on how Lewis plays this year.

Other Possible Selections: Mike Thomas, Austin Collie

Round 5 - Joe Burnett, CB, Central Florida - Grade D - The Steelers tried to bolster up their secondary here but took the wrong developmental prospect. McCourty was arguably the Titans Defensive MVP this year and would have looked great in Black and GOld.

Other Possible Selections: Jason McCourty

Round 5 - Frank Summers, FB, UNLV - Grade D - Summers was on and off the Steelers roster and got cut last year.

Round 6 - Ra'Shon Harris, DE, Oregon - Grade D - See above

Other Possible Selections: Bernard Scott

Round 7 - A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State - Grade C - You can never expect anything from a 7th rounder and that is what Shipley contributed.

Other Possible Selections: Julian Edelman

Round 7 - David Johnson, TE/FB, Arkansas State - Grade: B - When you are picking in the 7th round you're hoping to find someone who can make the roster. Johnson has done that and more and has become the teams #2 TE and FB. It hurts though that they passed on three great players that went un-drafted.

Other Possible Selections: Ricky Jean-Francois, Ryan Succop, Arian Foster

Undrafted Free Agents: Ramon Foster

Summary:

Pro Bowlers: 1 (Wallace)

Contributors: 3 (Hood, Lewis, Johnson)

Wasted Picks/Busts: 5 (Urbik, Burnett, Summrs, Harris, Shipley)

Grade: B - This draft was not as good as most of Colbert's, but even in a bad year he managed to pull in a Pro Bowler and 3 contributors. Also, Colbert made a good evaluation on Urbik but the Steelers coaching staff did not wait on him to develop long enough, so in reality, this should have been 4 contributors. Passing on Arian Foster 9 times really hurts but every other team in the NFL did that as well.

The Dream:

IN the last post, people posted what their dream draft would have been in this draft. Here is mine:

Round 1: Ziggy Hood - Surprised to see me keep him here? Well, Vollmer would have been great but what would we have done the past two years without Ziggy Hood? When Aaron Smith went down, who would have replaced him? And I think Hood has a very bright future.

Round 3: Kraig Urbik - Again, surprised? You shouldn't be. Urbik was one of the top 20 guards in the NFL this year and had the Steelers simply kept him one more year, their guard situation would be MUCH better

Round 3: Mike Wallace - NO explanation

Round 3: Keenan Lewis - No explanation

Round 5: Jason McCourty - The Steelers knew they needed another corner and instead of taking Burnett, McCourty would have been perfect. McCourty has become a lock-down corner for the Titans and pairing him with Lewis, Gay, and Taylor would be remarkable.

Round 5: Julian Edleman - Edleman would have been the guy to kick return and would have filled a role at WR. He also could play some corner if we got really desperate.

Round 6: Ricky Jean-Francois - Jean-Francois has become a very serviceable DE for the 49ers. He would give us the 4th DE we need to pair with Keisel, Hood, and Heyward.

Round 7: Arian Foster - How did 32 GM's pass up this kid 5 to 11 times each? They should all be fired.

Round 7: David Johnson - Johnson has done about what you expect from a 7th round pick and fills a valuable role