Oh no! The Steelers pick last!!!!!
February 17, 2009
By Donald Starver
I was talking to a friend about the Steelers’ awesome 2008 season, and suddenly he came to a shocking realization. It occurred to him that winning the Super Bowl means that the Steelers now get the honor and privilege of picking 32nd in the upcoming draft. That’s dead last. I could see the look of horror cover his face as comprehension set in.
Firstly, it amazed me that any true sports fan could be unaware of that particular ramification of winning the Super Bowl. It’s the booby prize that comes with the Lombardi Trophy. The two are intrinsically linked. It’s kind of like that pesky burning and itching feeling that you get after a night of sex with Paris Hilton; you can’t have one without the other.
But I digress.
So after he realized that every team in the NFL gets to select before the Steelers FINALLY get to pick, my friend proceeded to whine about how unfair that is, and how the Steelers are totally screwed. I was quick to remind him that it’s actually a pretty fair trade-off for trophy #6. Ask any team which they’d rather have, the #1 pick in the draft or a Super Bowl championship. I’m sure the answer will be unanimous.
But to further put him at ease, I reminded him that the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and Oakland Raiders always seem to have top 5 draft positions. Yet despite getting their pick of the best young talent available, they continue to suck year after year. Meanwhile, teams like the Steelers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles seem to pick in the second half of the draft each year, and yet they remain perennial playoff teams. So there is more to winning than just having a top 10 draft position.
There will be plenty of good talent available at pick #32. In fact, the Steelers will probably have their pick from among some of the top interior offensive linemen available, should they choose to go that way.
Here are some recent 32nd picks, along with the team that made the pick. I’m also including in parentheses a few of the players that were drafted immediately after pick #32.
2008 – Patriots forfeited pick so Giants select Kenny Philips 31st (Philip Merling was selected next).
2007 – Colts select Anthony Gonzalez (Alan Branch, Paul Posluszny).
2006 – Giants chose Mathias Kiwanuka (DeMeco Ryans).
2005 – Patriots chose Logan Mankins (Brodney Poole, Lofa Tatupu).
2004 – Patriots chose Ben Watson (Karlos Dansby, Chris Snee).
2003 – Raiders select Tyler Brayton (Eric Steinbach, Boss Bailey).
2002 – Redskins picked Patrick Ramsey (Jabbar Gafney, DeShaun Foster).
2001 – Ravens select Todd Heap (Drew Brees, Alge Crumpler, Chad Johnson)
So as you can see, some very good players have been chosen at pick #32. Moreover, there is usually very good talent available even after the 32nd pick.
We all know that the Steelers had several starters on their Super Bowl championship team that weren’t even drafted. James Harrison, Willie Parker, and Darnell Stapleton were all undrafted free agents. That’s proof that good talent can be found, even after “Mr. Irrelevant” comes off the draft board.
So fret not, Steeler Nation. Picking last is a small price to pay for winning the Super Bowl. Kevin Colbert is very good at what he does. He’ll get the Steelers what they need, even if he has to trade down to get it (remember the trades he made to get Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes?).
So if you find yourself feeling down because of the Steelers’ draft position, just remember that we could be picking first, like the Detroit Lions. That would REALLY suck.
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wow. far be it from me to criticize your friend, but…wow.
you might also remind him that if they lost the super bowl they’d be picking just one spot ahead at #31. I’ll take back of the pack on draft day anytime.
1WOW, that is in fact true… unless last year they made a trade for a better pick in the 1st round plus the 32 pick… OR if you consider the fact that their best picks have always been in later rounds… just look at 1987
1 (10, 10) – Rod Woodson, Purdue, DB
22 (10, 38) – Delton Hall, Clemson, DB
3 (10, 66) – Charles Lockett, Long Beach State, WR
4 (10, 94) – Thomas Everett, Baylor, DB
5 (10, 122) – Hardy Nickerson, California, LB
6 (1, 141) – Tim Johnson, Penn State, DT
6 (10, 150) – Greg Lloyd, Fort Valley State, LB
7 (10, 178) – Chris Kelly, Akron, TE
8 (10, 205) – Charles Buchanan, Tennessee State, DE
9 (10, 233) – Joey Clinkscales, Tennessee, WR
10 (10, 261) – Merril Hoge, Idaho State, RB
11 (10, 289) – Paul Oswald, Kansas, C
12 (10, 317) – Theo Young, Arkansas, TE
I’ve said for years now that teams given the ‘gift’ of a top 10 pick are severely penalized by being forced to sign someone at a price that destroys their cap management.
If you have to give the bazillion-dollar contract to your Big Number One pick, and do that for a couple years, there will be zero cap space to sign competitive players to field a complete team.
WE NEED A ROOKIE CAP!
Of course I can only get so worked up about it, as the Steelers seem to avoid being in the Top 5 with consistency.
3Patrick,
Yeah, I know. It amazes me sometimes the things that some people are unaware of.
And I agree your final point. I’ll take back of the pack anytime as well.
4Joe,
5I think I missed your point. Sorry.
Spacemonkey,
Great point. The first pick really does do more harm than good to the teams that have to pay those over-priced rookies.
Do you think the Oakland Raiders would like to have some of that money back from Jamarcus Russell? He definitely has not justified his high price tag.
6If I’m not mistaking the Steelers Won SB XL and drafted Santonio Holmes with pick 32. dude you don’t even have the Steelers’ SB XL win on your list. Step your game up.
7BlakSteel,
The Steelers didn’t pick 32nd after Super Bowl XL. They traded up to get Santonio Holmes. Holmes was selected with the 25th pick.
Still want me to step up my game?
8your right, any true sports fan would know that the sbwinner always picks last, what a goof who would think other wise. letting the blog world know of this persons fraud fan of sports, would have ben better off kept between you two. he probably was the only one who thought like mcnabb as far as not knowing a game can end in a tie in the nfl.
9for crying out loud! give me a break, good grief charlie brown!
10ask donovan mcnabb who picks last in the nfl draft, oops! i totally forgot, he wouldn’t know that one either.
11What do you think the Steelers will do with that pick? I would like to see Tyson Jackson DE from LSU drop to them at #32, if not then trade down and take Ron Brace NT from BC. Casey Hampton will probably get cut if the Steelers find a NT on the first day of the draft.
12Bubby,
I will be doing a draft preview soon. I have been trying to wait until after the NFL Combine to address the draft.
Now that the Combine is underway, I’ll be evaluating the players soon.
13the draft is nearly here, and the nfl will be in full swing. who should the steelers go after for thier back up quarterback. leftwich is sure to pack his bags as he has stated that he wants an opputunity to start, and we all know that won’t be happening in steeltown. batch might not be the same player after his broken collar bone, did someone say niel, as in o’donnell
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