32. Pittsburgh Steelers

04/15/09- Eben Britton OT. This was a tough one. Here’s the thought process coming from this avid Steelers fan. The Steelers’ biggest need areas are: offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback, in that order. At this point in the draft, the best O-line prospects are Eben Britton and center Alex Mack. The best D-line prospects are probably Michael Johnson and Larry English, and possibly Jarron Gilbert. The best CB prospects are Alphonso Smith, Shaun Smith, and DJ Moore. I immediately cross out the CB prospects because of value versus need. Yes, Pittsburgh could use a CB to replace Bryant McFadden, but this isn’t a crying need because William Gay has shown some real potential, although the sample size is not big. The Steelers can, thinks I, wait until later in the draft to pick one up. I then cross out the DEs because, although they are good players, neither of them project to effectively play DE in a 3-4 defense like the Steelers use (well, English has a better chance). Both are, in essence, too small to do what Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel do. Gilbert's got better size and physical potential, but I am concerned about (1) off-field issues, and (2) too many scouting reports that knock Gilbert down for poor fundamentals (although these could be addressed with good coaching). In the end, I think these are still too many concerns when you're talking about a first round pick. I suppose Pittsburgh might also think about DT Ron Brace as a future replacement for mammoth tackle Casey Hampton, but the value isn’t quite there. That leaves me with Britton versus Mack. I know, I know, everyone and their dog has Pittsburgh picking Mack. The reason I disagree is that the incumbent center, Justin Hartwig, actually did a relatively decent job last year. In my mind, the clear weak link along the O-line was right tackle Willie Colon. You would almost have to be a Steeler fan to know the frustration caused by Willie “I refuse to memorize the snap count” Colon. He was the worst player along the worst unit on the offense, plain and simple. Colon and the others defied convention when the Steelers pulled out SB43 against the Cardinals; teams simply aren’t supposed to win championship titles with offensive lines of that quality. And now, the Steelers have brought them all back. Okay, fine. I can buy the idea that there will be improvement. Starks was actually decent as LT. Kemoeatu has all the physical strength and talent in the world, he just needs to show (marked) improvement in the mental aspect of LG. C Hartwig, as stated above, was decent, although he did have a tendency to get overpowered at times (thus the temptation to pick Alex Mack). Darnell Stapleton was about as good as you could hope for from an undrafted guard who was thrown into the fire when Kendall Simmons got hurt, I’ll leave it at that. But no one was worse than Colon, who did more than his share to help Roethlisberger get sacked more than almost any other QB in the league. Therefore, I think the pick needs to be Britton, if he’s still available. Yes, he’s marketing himself as a left tackle (good choice), but he actually played RT during his first two years in college, he should be able to slide back into RT without huge problems. And of course, Britton could be left at LT with Starks moving back to RT. See? Everybody wins!