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Steelers Draft in Review: Final Thoughts

Rather than drawing this out any more than I have to, I'll be brief with the last two picks and give a few final thoughts on the draft. 

Mike Humpal, ILB, 6'3 244

Strengths/Weaknesses: Humpal seems to be a strong run stuffing type of LB with limited speed. He knows how to plug rushing lanes, take on blocks, and make tackles. He may struggle in man-to-man coverage, but he isn't a huge liability in short zone coverage. He seems to be a tough, smart, hard working guy who is willing to play special teams.

Analysis: I was hoping the Steelers would make a pick like this. Timmons and Foote may be undersized for the SILB position, but Humpal could give us a solid run stuffer if Farrior leaves or gets injured. We don't have any other players in this mold right now, so he has a good chance of making the team as a backup and special teams guy. As a bonus, his name gives us a chance to come up with some creative expressions (e.g. "Joshua Cribbs, you've just been Hump'd!!").

Ryan Mundy, S, 6'1 215

Strengths/Weaknesses: Mundy is a big, strong safety with good hands and ball skills. He is a good run defender and tackler, but he doesn't have great range or speed. He is a hard worker, but according to NFL's draft site, he doesn't get excited about special teams, which is a concern. He transferred to WVU after being at UM for 4 years, and while there doesn't seem to be anything wrong it, it does seem a bit strange.

Analysis: Ryan Clark seems to be fine, but having an extra safety can't hurt since our two starters have some issues with injuries. While Mundy may get cut if he doesn't do well on special teams, he looks like a solid backup at SS with enough upside to grow into a possible starter. If he shows potential, he could push Carter for a roster spot.

Summary and Final Thoughts:

The biggest thing I noticed as I was looking at scouting reports of the Steelers draftees was that in almost every case, the players we drafted are hard workers with a good attitude and were productive in college. If we look at a lot of the players we passed on (Balmer, Avril, and Moore come to mind), we see great athletes who either don't seem committed to hard work or don't translate into productive football players.  Time will tell, but I think this draft was outstanding both in the value we got and in the type of players we drafted. We didn't fill every need, but we did fix serious depth issues at SILB, OLB, and RB. In a year or two, the skill players in this offense could be as good as anyone in the league, and if the OL (and Arians) can even be average, it's reasonable to think that we could have one of the best offenses in the league while maintaining a very good defense.

My only concern with how this draft worked out is that next year, we may be in a position of even greater need on OL and DL and even more pressured to pick for need over value. If that is the case, we may see a couple of trades or reaches that at some level are the result of this draft. If that's the only thing we're compaining about though, it's hard not to call this a highly successful draft.