Steelers 2007 Draft Board

Steelers Build Up Front Seven

The Steelers knew that with the loss of Joey Porter this year, the probable loss of Clark Haggans next year, and the absence of a pass rush that has become a growing issue, they were going to need players in their defensive front seven. They addressed those needs in the first two rounds of this year's NFL Draft. When the #15 pick rolled around, any chances of the Steelers trading down had evaporated thanks to the Jets trading with the Panthers to draft Pitt's Darrelle Revis with the #14 pick. So the Steelers went with the guy whom they thought would be their best bet at that slot: OLB Lawrence Timmons from Florida State. Timmons, who left school after his junior year, was described by Mike Tomlin as having some "Derrick Brooks qualities". You always hate to see rookies compared to all-world players like that, but it certainly speaks well of him nonetheless. Amazingly, Timmons was just the third LB ever chosen in the first round by Pittsburgh, but they weren't done yet.

In the second round, the Steelers picked up DE/OLB LaMarr Woodley from Michigan. So far it looks as if Woodley will be used as a pass-rush specialist in the 3-4 defense, but don't rule out him going back to DE if the Steelers do indeed go to a 4-3. I like Woodley. Check out these accolades: he was a consensus first-team All-America defensive end, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, he won the Lombardi Award, and rivals.com named him college football defensive player of the year! Apparently the only reason he lasted until the second round is because his stock "fell" during workouts, which I always think is a big load of crap. So what's not to like? Well, here is the thing - did we really need two pass-rushing outside linebackers? And what about center Ryan Kalil, who could have been your starter for the next decade and was astoundingly still sitting there in the middle of round 2? That pick tells me that the Steelers have much more faith in Chukky Okobi than I thought they did.

The third round saw a very curious choice. They drafted TE Matt Spaeth from Minnesota. The guy is a monster at 6-7, but what are we doing drafting a tight end?!? That one just really surprised me. We barely use Heath Miller now. This was clearly a Bruce Arians choice, and he apparently feels like the TE will become more involved in the offense, as did the 18 coordinators who came before him. We shall see.

The Steelers drafted a punter named Daniel Sepulveda in the fourth round. It was the first time we have drafted a punter since we took Harry "Three-Step" Newsome in 1985. This officially brings the Chris Gardocki era to an end, and thank God for that!

After that the Steelers started to stockpile on position needs which many people thought they would go for earlier in the draft. They drafted DT Ryan McBean to add depth to the D-line, and OG Cameron Stephenson to do the same for the O-line. After not getting a shot at Revis, they went back to the Big East and picked up CB William Gay from Rutgers. With their final pick, they added a 6-3 WR from Florida named Dallas Baker.

This was kind of an uneven draft for the Steelers. Usually you expect certain things from this franchise, and I think this year they threw in the unexpected. It was that kind of draft in general (see Brady Quinn, all the trades of 2008 first round picks, the Randy Moss deal, ect), but it was also due to the fact that we have a new coach now. As always, there will be much debate and little proof to settle any arguments until the team takes the field in the fall, so we're just going to have to wait to see how this all pans out.

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