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E-mailSteelers set to play waiting game
Here's a look at the players the Steelers have taken when they have had the last pick in the first round of the NFL Draft:
Year -- Player -- Pos. -- School -- Skinny
1975 Dave Brown -- CB -- Michigan State -- The Steelers lost Brown after one season to an expansion draft, and he became a star in Seattle. His 50 interceptions as a Seahawk are still a team record.
1976 -- Bennie Cunningham -- TE -- Clemson -- He played 10 years for the Steelers and had a solid career. A good blocker, Cunningham's best season may have come in 1981, when he caught 41 passes for 574 yards and three touchdowns.
1979 -- Greg Hawthorne -- RB -- Baylor -- He never panned out and played just four seasons in Pittsburgh, rushing for 475 yards and seven touchdowns as a Steeler.
1980 -- Mark Malone -- QB -- Arizona State -- The Steelers didn't find their quarterback of the future in Malone. He had his moments but threw 68 interceptions and 54 touchdown passes in eight seasons with the Steelers.
2006 -- Santonio Holmes* -- WR -- Ohio State -- The Steelers hit it big with Holmes. He's already a Super Bowl MVP, and his best may be yet to come.
* -- Taken No. 25 overall after Steelers traded up in the first round.
4 p.m. today, 10 a.m. Sunday -- Radio City Music Hall, New York
TV: ESPN, ESPN2
Format: First two rounds will be today; rounds three-seven will be Sunday
Steelers picks: 32 (1), 64 (2), 96 (3), 132 (4), 168 (5), 169 (5), 205 (6), 226 (7), 241 (7)
Steelers needs: Offensive line, defensive line, cornerback, wide receiver
Troy Polamalu
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Scott Brown is the Steelers beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Brown's blog
If there is one downside to winning the Super Bowl -- and this is the equivalent of having to pay taxes on a winning million-dollar lottery ticket -- it's the long wait the Steelers will have to endure today at their South Side facility.
The Steelers aren't slated to pick until No. 32 in the first round of the NFL Draft. That means the Steelers, barring a trade, will take a lot of players off the draft board they have painstakingly put together before it is their turn to make a pick.
"The frustrating thing," Steelers director of operations Kevin Colbert said, "is just waiting that long."
Not that Colbert is disheartened by where the Steelers are picking in the first round.
He said the Steelers have identified 32 players they feel "comfortable" taking with their top pick, and the team has done well picking near the bottom of the first round.
The one difference between this draft and past ones is the Steelers haven't made a pick this late since 1980.
"It isn't easy," New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said of picking last in the first round, something his team has done twice in the past three years. "There's an awful lot of 'He's not going to be there, but that's just the way it is. There's going to be a quality player there."
Recent history proves that to be the case.
Of the past 10 players taken with the final pick of the first round, three -- linebacker Al Wilson (1999), tight end Todd Heap (2001) and guard Logan Mankins ('05) -- have made at least one Pro Bowl.
Meanwhile, projected starters this season that were selected last in the first round include tight end Benjamin Watson (2004), defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka ('06), wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez ('07) and safety Kenny Phillips ('08).
"What's the difference between 28th and 32nd, 32nd and 45th?" Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith said of picking late in the first round. "You can get good players."
The reality that good players can be found well after the first round is one reason why the Steelers will listen to trade offers for their initial pick. Trading up in the first round also is an option, considering the success the Steelers have had in doing that.
In 2003, they moved from No. 27 to No. 15 and took strong safety Troy Polamalu. In 2006, the Steelers were at No. 32, but they packaged draft picks to swap spots in the first round with the Giants (No. 25) and selected wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
"It may get to a point where we don't want to wait; we want to trade up," Colbert said. "We'll talk to all of those teams ahead of time to get some parameters and just see where it goes. Maybe somebody wants to jump ahead of Detroit in the second round, so they may come to us."
Predicting what will happen in the draft is all but impossible. This year, the first round may be even more difficult to project.
"This draft is going to be all over the board because there's so many guys that look alike," said NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt, a former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. "What happens when you have a lot of guys that look alike, you've got a lot of difference of opinion."
While this year's draft isn't considered a strong one, Colbert said the Steelers still have high hopes.
"We think in the first three rounds, we can get players that may eventually be starters," Colbert said. "Rounds four and five, I think we can get some contributors. Six and seven, you're probably looking at potential practice-squad guys, and we hope to get lucky with some free agents who end up being better than we think they are."
Top prospects/local players
The NFL Draft begins at 4 p.m. today, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review takes a position-by-position look at the top 5 prospects at each position, their 40-yard dash time (in seconds) and how local prospects compare:
Quarterbacks
Player -- School -- 40
1. Matthew Stafford -- Georgia -- 4.81
2. Mark Sanchez -- Southern Cal -- 4.88
3. Josh Freeman -- Kansas State -- 4.97
4. Pat White -- West Virginia -- 4.55
5. Graham Harrell -- Texas Tech -- 5.14
Local players
Adam DiMichele -- Temple/Sto-Rox -- 4.87
Kevin McCabe -- California (Pa.)/Pine-Richland -- 4.98
Running backs
Player -- School -- 40
1. Knowshon Moreno -- Georgia -- 4.62
2. Chris Wells -- Ohio State -- 4.59
3. LeSean McCoy -- Pitt -- 4.5
4. Donald Brown -- Connecticut -- 4.51 --
5. Glen Coffee -- Alabama -- 4.58
Local player
Andrew Johnson -- Akron/North Hills -- 4.42
Fullbacks
Player -- School -- 40
1. Tony Fiammetta -- Syracuse -- 4.60
2. Quinn Johnson -- LSU -- 4.82
3. Travis McCall -- Alabama -- 5.08
4. Conredge Collins -- Pitt -- 4.68
5. Mark Hafner -- Houston -- 4.76
Wide receiver
Player -- School -- 40
1. Michael Crabtree -- Texas Tech -- N/A
2. Jeremy Maclin -- Missouri -- 4.48
3. Percy Harvin -- Florida -- 4.41
4. Hakeem Nicks -- North Carolina -- 4.63
5. Darius Heyward-Bey -- Maryland -- 4.56
Local players
Deon Butler -- Penn State -- 4.38
Derek Kinder -- Pitt -- 4.46
Brennan Marion -- Tulsa/Greensburg Salem -- 4.55
Jordan Norwood -- Penn State -- 4.62
Derrick Williams -- Penn State -- 4.68
Tight end
Player -- School -- 40
1. Brandon Pettigrew -- Oklahoma State -- 4.83
2. Jared Cook -- South Carolina -- 4.50
3. Shawn Nelson -- Southern Miss -- 4.56
4. James Casey -- Rice -- 4.66
5. Dan Gronkowski -- Maryland -- 4.68
Local player
Rory Nicol -- Ohio State/Beaver -- 4.82
Offensive tackle
Player -- School -- 40
1. Jason Smith -- Baylor -- 5.22
2. Eugene Monroe -- Virginia -- 5.23
3. Michael Oher -- Mississippi -- 5.32
4. Andre Smith -- Alabama -- 5.28
5. Eben Britton -- Arizona -- 5.16
Local player
Gerald Cadogan -- Penn State -- 5.12
Offensive guard
Player -- School -- 40
1. Duke Robinson -- Oklahoma -- 5.33
2. Herman Johnson -- LSU -- 5.51
3. Andy Levitre -- Oregon State -- 5.30
4. Trevor Canfield -- Cincinnati -- 5.33
5. Kraig Urbik -- Wisconsin -- 5.30
Local player
Greg Isdaner -- West Virginia -- 5.52
Center
Player -- School -- 40
1. Alex Mack -- California -- 5.17
2. Eric Wood -- Louisville -- 5.25
3. Max Unger -- Oregon -- 5.35
4. Jonathan Luigs -- Arkansas -- 5.14
5. Antoine Caldwell -- Alabama -- 5.30
Local players
C.J. Davis -- Pitt/West Allegheny -- 5.55
A.Q. Shipley -- Penn State/Moon -- 5.26
Defensive tackle
Player -- School -- 40
1. B.J. Raji -- Boston College -- 5.23
2. Peria Jerry -- Mississippi -- N/A
3. Evander Hood -- Missouri -- 4.91
4. Fili Moala -- Southern Cal -- 5.16
5. Ron Brace -- Boston College -- 5.50
Defensive end
Player -- School -- 40
1. Brian Orakpo -- Texas -- 4.70
2. Everette Brown -- Florida State -- 4.73
3. Tyson Jackson -- LSU -- 5.00
4. Aaron Maybin -- Penn State -- 4.89
5. Robert Ayers -- Tennessee -- 4.90
Local player
Maurice Evans -- Penn State -- 5.09
Outside linebacker
Player -- School -- 40
1. Aaron Curry -- Wake Forest -- 4.56
2. Brian Cushing -- Southern Cal -- 4.74
3. Clay Matthews -- Southern Cal -- 4.67
4. Larry English -- Northern Illinois -- 4.77
5. Clint Sintim -- Virginia -- 4.82
Local players
Mortty Ivy -- West Virginia/Gateway -- 4.99
Tyrell Sales -- Penn State/Butler -- 4.60
Middle linebacker
Player -- School -- 40
1. Rey Maualuga -- Southern Cal -- 4.91
2. James Laurinaitis -- Ohio State -- 4.88
3. Gerald McRath -- Southern Miss -- 4.61
4. Darry Beckwith -- LSU -- 4.79
5. Scott McKillop -- Pitt/Kiski Area -- 4.80
Safety
Player -- School -- 40
1. William Moore -- Missouri -- 4.51
2. Louis Delmas -- Western Michigan -- 4.50
3. Patrick Chung -- Oregon -- 4.51
4. Chip Vaughn -- Wake Forest -- 4.51
5. Rashad Johnson -- Alabama -- 4.53
Local player
Tyrrell Herbert -- Toledo/Penn Hills -- 4.50
Cornerback
Player -- School -- 40
1. Malcolm Jenkins -- Ohio State -- 4.54
2. Vontae Davis -- Illinois -- 4.49
3. Darius Butler -- Connecticut -- 4.46
4. Alphonso Smith -- Wake Forest -- 4.51
5. Sean Smith -- Utah -- 4.51
Local players
Ellis Lankster -- West Virginia -- 4.53
Kenny Lewis -- Bowling Green/Penn Hills -- 4.57
Lydell Sargeant -- Penn State -- 4.50
Kickers
Player -- School
1. Pat McAfee -- West Virginia/Plum
2. Louie Sakoda -- Utah
3. David Buehler -- Southern Cal
Local player
Conor Lee -- Pitt/Upper St. Clair
Punters
Player -- School
1. Kevin Huber -- Cincinnati
2. Graham Gano -- Florida State
3. Thomas Morstead -- SMU
Local player
Dave Brytus Pitt/West Allegheny
Long snappers
Player -- School
1. Jacob Ingram -- Hawaii
2. Sean Griffin -- Michigan
3. Mark Estermyer -- Pitt/Blackhawk
Local player
Joe Monteverde -- Richmond/Chartiers Valley
SOURCES: Tribune-Review, NFL.com and NFLdraftscout.com
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