Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

With the compensatory pick that the Steelers received in the 6th round, they selected Florida State linebacker Vince Williams.

Williams is a Steelers type linebacker.  He can be described with one word; physical.

Some may say that Williams is under-sized for the position at only 6’0″, but he is a healthy 247 lbs.  And the Steelers have shown that they’re willing to give shorter players a chance if they play with a tough, physical style.

Williams really helped his draft stock by having an excellent Senior Bowl.  He showed a willingness to sacrifice his body, and he was blowing people up with devastating hits.  I’m sure that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert loved that.

Williams is very compactly built.  He’s short and very stocky.  And he plays with anger and ferocity.  He is a great run stuffer, and a leader on the field.

LB Vince Williams

He’s not particularly fast, and I don’t look forward to seeing him play against Ray Rice.  But Larry Foote and James Farrior both looked silly playing against Rice, so that would be nothing new.

Williams suffered a season ending back injury as a freshman that forced him to redshirt.  That severely slowed his development.  He also missed spring practice as a senior with a crack in his tibia.

He isn’t accomplished in pass coverage, and the Steelers coaching staff is going to have to help him in that area.  But overall, the Steelers are getting a physical backup linebacker who will have an immediate impact on special teams.

Justin Brown started his college career at Penn State.  He played 3 years at Penn State before playing his final season at Oklahoma following the Penn State sex scandal.

Brown is a big receiver.  He’s 6’3″, 209 lbs.  And we all know that Big Ben loves big receivers.  Surprisingly, Brown is also a good return man.  That’s not something that you usually see from a player his size.

But his size is Brown’s greatest attribute.  He was actually the third best receiver on the Sooners squad.   Kenny Stills was Landry Jones’ favorite target.  He led the team in receptions.  And Jalen Saunders was their most explosive receiver.  He had a higher yards per catch average, and had just as many yards as Brown, despite missing 4 games.  But Brown has height, and you can’t teach height.

WR Justin Brown

Brown is probably happy to be joining his quarterback, Landry Jones, as a Steelers draftee.  He wasn’t even listed on many scouts’ draft board.  But he did account for 879 receiving yards in 2012, and that’s a pretty respectable number.

Brown started all 13 games for the Sooners, and he was named All-Big 12 honorable mention as both a wide receiver and as a return man.   He led the team in punt returns and punt return yards, and was second on the team in all-purpose yards, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.  He set a school record with 15 catches against Oklahoma State.  He also finished his Penn State career as #20 in receiving yards in Penn State history.  Had he stayed at Penn State, he may have finished in the top 10.

After playing (and starting) for two quality programs in Penn State and Oklahoma, it’s clear that Brown is a smart kid with some athletic ability.  He’s got reasonable speed, and that’s why he was able to succeed as a return man.

Brown is a player on the rise.  His statistics increased in each of his 4 years in college.  So that shows that he’s developing as an athlete, and improving his skills.  That’s what you want to see in a young player.

If Brown plays up to his potential, he will probably make Plaxico Burress expendable.  He’ll also provide Big Ben the tall receiver that he’s been begging for since Plaxico first left for New York.

With their 5th round pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Illinois cornerback Terry Hawthorne.

Hawthorne is a big cornerback, at 6’0″, 194 lbs.  More importantly, he’s an excellent athlete.  He’s very fast, and he is definitely a ballhawk.  This should allow him to go against some of the tall wide receivers he’s going to face in the NFL.

Hawthorne was a 4 year starter at Illinois.  That says something about his size and skill.  However, he had an excellent season as a junior, but then regressed as a senior.  Fortunately, a good performance in the Senior Bowl helped to renew the interest of NFL teams.

Hawthorne is probably interesting to the Steelers because of his size, athleticism, and the fact that he isn’t shy about helping in the run game.  That’s something that Dick LeBeau has always required from his cornerbacks.

CB Terry Hawthorne

The Steelers are going to need to coach him up quite a bit.  He has the physical tools, but really doesn’t have the technique or discipline that is going to be needed at the next level.  He had a tendency to be overly aggressive, and bit on the receiver’s first move.  That led to him getting beat by receivers who didn’t have his level of speed or athleticism.  But give Carnell Lake a year or two with him, and we may have another Ike Taylor or Cortez Allen.

The other concern is his slim build.  While he doesn’t shy away from contact, he has proven to be easy to block at times.  He’s going to have to learn to take on blockers better.  He’ll also need to get in the weight room and add some bulk.

Once again, these are flaws that Carnell Lake can fix.  The key thing is that he’s a 6’0″, highly athletic cornerback.  Those are rare, and extremely valuable when you can get them.

The Steelers traded their 3rd round pick in next year’s draft to the Cleveland Browns in order to get an extra 4th round pick today.  With this second pick in the 4th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones.

Jones is a very accomplished quarterback.  He was a four year starter at Oklahoma, where he played against very high level competition.

In 2010, he was the winner of the Sammy Baugh award, which is given to the nation’s top passer.  He is Oklahoma’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.  He’s also the Big 12 all-time leader in passing yards.  So I guess it goes without saying that this kid can play.

Bill Polian said that he had Landry Jones rated as the top quarterback in this draft.  Just as a point of comparison, Jones threw for  16,646 career passing yards.  Matt Barkley threw for 12,327, E.J. Manuel threw for 7,736, Geno Smith threw for 11,662, Mike Glennon threw for 7,411, and Ryan Nassib threw for 9,190.  So from a statistical standpoint, Jones outperformed all of the quarterbacks who were taken ahead of him.

QB Landry Jones

Jones is a big kid at 6’4″, 221 lbs.  That’s not Big Ben “big”, but it’s big enough to be successful in the NFL.  He has a very strong arm, and he isn’t afraid to throw the ball down the field.  So that should make him a good backup for Big Ben.

For some odd reason, Oklahoma didn’t use Jones in the red zone.  In fact, he was almost always taken out in goal line situations.  But that doesn’t mean that he’s incapable of handing the ball to a running back or throwing a short TD pass.  Based on his passing accomplishments, I don’t think that his lack of red zone experience should be held against him.

It should be noted that Jones had very few legitimate offensive weapons on the teams that he led.  That makes his prolific passing numbers even more impressive.  This lack of quality teammates was most apparent in 2011 when Jones lost his favorite receiver, Ryan Broyles to injury.  Without Broyles, Jones went 4 games without throwing a TD pass.

The primary negative  is his accuracy and decision making.  Jones has been accused of staring down him primary receiver, and making  throws that he probably should have held on to.

Landry Jones made a living throwing short screen passes to running backs and wide receivers, so he should thrive in Todd Haley’s offense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Thomas was the leading tackler on the Syracuse squad this year.  He also led the team in forced fumbles and interceptions.  His play in 2012 earned him First Team All-Big East honors.

Thomas is a thumper.  He loves to hit, and sometimes fails to wrap his arms while making tackles, choosing instead to go for the big bang.  In many ways, he reminds me of  Troy Polamalu in that regard.  Thomas is definitely going to give the Steelers the “splash plays” that Coach Tomlin always talks about.

Safety Shamarko Thomas

The odd thing about Thomas is that he’s actually a little guy.  In fact, his size belies that big hits that he delivers.  Thomas is only 5′ 8 7/8″ tall.  You don’t find many safeties in the NFL who are that short.   But Tyrone Carter played safety for the Steelers at the same height.  So it can be done.

In many ways, Thomas is a lot like Sean Spence last year.  He’s undersized, but when you watch him play, he simply makes plays all over the field.  I’m sure his opponents never thought he was small.

Thomas delivers a big hit.

The nice thing about Thomas is that his numbers increased each year he was at Syracuse.  He’s a player who is on the rise.  So don’t let his small size fool you.  Shamarko Thomas is a physical, Steelers type player who is going to remind you of Ryan Clark because of the way he likes to make the big hit.