Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

With the 35rd pick in the fifth round (#166 overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Stevenson Sylvester, LB from Utah.

Sylvester is 6’2″, 235 lbs.  Like the two linebackers the Steelers selected earlier, Sylvester has very good straight line speed.  It’s almost as though Dick LeBeau said “I need some weapons that I can point at a target and shoot”.

At only 235 pounds, Sylvester is a bit light to be a 3-4 outside linebacker.  He’ll need to bulk up if he hopes to play that position.  However, I believe that Sylvester’s initial impact will be made on special teams, and his size and speed are ideal for that assignment.

Sylvester is another player who has relied primarily on athleticism while in college.  He relies on speed more than good technique, and that is going to have to change at the next level.  But coaches understand that you can teach technique, but you can’t teach speed.  Therefore, they’re always willing to take a risk on a guy with speed.

Despite the shortcomings in his technique, Sylvester was a very consistent player in college who was solid against the run and the pass.  He’s going to need to get stronger, but he’s a decent risk this late in the draft.  I expect him to contribute on special teams, but little more.

To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:

Maurkice Pouncey – C, Florida

Jason Worilds – DE, VA Tech

Emmanuel Sanders – WR, SMU

Thaddeus Gibson – DE, Ohio State

Chris Scott – OT, Tennessee

Crezdon Butler – CB, Clemson

Stevenson Sylvester – LB, Utah

Jonathan Dwyer – RB, Georgia Tech

Antonio Brown – WR, Central Michigan

Doug Worthington – DT, Ohio State

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With the 33rd pick in the fifth round (#164 overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Crezdon Butler , CB from Clemson.

At 6’0″, 185 lbs., Crezdon Butler is a tall cornerback.  In today’s NFL, it is always good to have a CB with the height to stay with some of the tall receivers that are now so common in the NFL.  Besides being tall, Butler has a 40″ vertical leap, so that will help him to challenge receivers for the ball.

Butler is not an accomplished cornerback.  He didn’t accumulate a lot of interceptions or honors in college.  But he did play for Clemson, so he is used to competing against some very good competition.

In college, Butler saw action in all 13 games as a freshman, and then became a starter as a sophomore and never gave up his starting role.  So he has a lot of playing experience.

He is a decent athlete, and he is actually faster than some of the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft like Joe Haden, Kareem Jackson, and Patrick Robinson.

He’s very good in press coverage, but he is going to have to bulk up at the next level, or he will get manhandled by some of the powerful receivers in the NFL like Anquan Boldin, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, etc.

He has good football instincts, and seldom reads a play wrong.  He has good footwork, and excellent agility.  While he’s not a track star, he does have the speed to run with most receivers.  Moreover, he doesn’t hesitate to go up and challenge a receiver for the ball.

Despite his lack of bulk, he is still willing to tackle.  He won’t hesitate to take on a running back coming out of the backfield or a tight end.  This is going to be important if he is to have any chance of succeeding in Dick LeBeau’s system.  A corner who can’t provide run support is useless to LeBeau.

While Butler is an intelligent player who doesn’t make many mental mistakes, he is still going to need to be coached at the next level.  He has relied primarily on his athleticism, and he lacks good technique.  He’s going to need improvement on the bump and run.  His hand technique in redirecting receivers will need work.  Also, his backpedal is so bad that he is going to have to completely rebuild that aspect of his game.  But with proper coaching, he should be able to do it.  He has the football IQ and athleticism to succeed at the next level if he is willing to work hard.

Butler is not likely to win a starting position this year, but he is a tall, athletic cornerback who will add much needed depth at the position.  Ike Taylor is in the last year of his contract, so finding a potential replacement for him is going to be critical.  Both Butler and Keenan Lewis are tall cornerbacks who can guard some of the taller receivers that Ike covered so well for so many years.

Don’t expect to hear his name called this year.  But with hard work, he’s got the size and athleticism to compete for playing time next year.

To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:

Maurkice Pouncey – C, Florida

Jason Worilds – DE, VA Tech

Emmanuel Sanders – WR, SMU

Thaddeus Gibson – DE, Ohio State

Chris Scott – OT, Tennessee

Crezdon Butler – CB, Clemson

Stevenson Sylvester – LB, Utah

Jonathan Dwyer – RB, Georgia Tech

Antonio Brown – WR, Central Michigan

Doug Worthington – DT, Ohio State

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With the 18th pick in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Thaddeus Gibson, DE from Ohio State.

I can just hear Steelers fans now.  I know how you guys think.  You’re saying “$@*&%#!!!!!!  We need a cornerback, not another linebacker who’s not even going to play for 2-3 years!  The Steelers draft picks suck this year!!!”

Go ahead, you can admit it.  That’s exactly what you were thinking.  Now let me tell you why you’re wrong.

The most important position in a 3-4 defense is the nose tackle.  Without it, the 3-4 doesn’t work, and you may as well convert to a 4-3.  But the most impactful position is the outside linebacker.  The outside linebackers are the ones that get to rush the quarterback and cause general chaos.  A 3-4 defense can never have too many linebackers, and outside linebackers who can pressure the quarterback are like gold.  You can’t have enough of them.  And frankly, the Steelers have picked up two of the best OLB prospects in this year’s draft.

By strengthening the OLB position, you automatically upgrade the cornerback position.  Think about it.  What’s the best way to prevent a receiver from catching a pass?  If you said “draft a shutdown cornerback”, you’re wrong.  The best way is to hit/pressure the quarterback before he can throw the ball.

How many times did you see Arnold Harrison or Patrick Bailey on the field last year (not including special teams)?  Almost never.  That’s because the Steelers never give James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley a rest.  Never.  That’s not good.  Sure, Harrison and Woodley don’t like to come out of the game anyway, but that doesn’t change the fact that their backups aren’t very good.  That just changed.

Thaddeus Gibson came out a year early, after playing DE in a very successful Ohio State program.  He has faced excellent competition in the Big Ten.

At 6’2″, 243 lbs., Gibson will be converted from defensive end to outside linebacker by the Steelers.  Like Jason Worilds, Gibson is a pass rush specialist.  He is an exceptional athlete with very good speed for his size.  His 40 time was in the same range of linebackers 20-30 lbs lighter than him.

Most scouts had Gibson rated as a potential 2nd round pick, so getting him in the 4th round is a nice value.

Gibson is an explosive edge pass rusher.  He has excellent closing speed, along with great quickness and agility.  He is a strong tackler who makes explosive hits.

He is experienced at dropping into coverage, and has the athleticism to stay with tight ends or running backs out of the backfield.  This is important, because Dick LeBeau is going to ask him to do exactly that.  Not many defensive ends coming out of college have experience doing this.

Gibson has a great physique with very well-defined muscles.  Moreover, he manages to maintain his speed and agility despite the muscle.

Gibson is going to have to work on his technique.  He tends to rely on his speed, rather than strength or moves to win one-on-one physical battles.  He’s going to have to change that.  He’s going to have to develop a few go-to moves.  When called upon to battle good blockers like Iowa’s Bryan Bulaga, Gibson was shut down.  But as a 3-4 outside linebacker, he will get more of a running start, so he won’t have to do as much straight up physical battling as he did as a defensive end.

But Gibson is going to be a project.  He has to convert from DE to linebacker.  This is a difficult transition for most players.  Bruce Davis and Alonzo Jackson were never able to make the transition.  But based upon his skill set, and the things that he was asked to do in college, I think Gibson will be able to make the move.

While the Steelers probably took Jason Worilds and Emmanuel Sanders too early, they got a great bargain with Gibson, since he was thought to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick by most.

Despite the desire by most fans to see the Steelers take a defensive back with this pick, this was a good selection.  Moreover, this is a very deep draft when it comes to defensive backs.  There are still some good cornerbacks and safeties left on the board.

To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:

Maurkice Pouncey – C, Florida

Jason Worilds – DE, VA Tech

Emmanuel Sanders – WR, SMU

Thaddeus Gibson – DE, Ohio State

Chris Scott – OT, Tennessee

Crezdon Butler – CB, Clemson

Stevenson Sylvester – LB, Utah

Jonathan Dwyer – RB, Georgia Tech

Antonio Brown – WR, Central Michigan

Doug Worthington – DT, Ohio State

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With their third round pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Emmanuel Sanders, a wide receiver from Southern Methodist University (SMU).

I hate to be a critic.  I really do.  But just like the Steelers’ 2nd round pick, I think they reached on this pick.  Most scouts had Sanders ranked between the 15th – 25th best wide receiver in this years’ draft.  So why did the Steelers make him the 7th wide receiver drafted?  I haven’t seen Sanders’ name mentioned in any scouting reports prior to the 5th round.  Yet the Steelers took him in the 3rd round.  Hmmmmmm.

Having said that, let’s take a look at Sanders.

Emmanuel Sanders was a 3-year starter at SMU.  He is an exceptional athlete who lettered in 3 sports (baseball, basketball, and track) in high school.

He is more quick than fast.  He doesn’t have the pure speed to leave his defenders in the dust, but he has the quickness to change directions on a dime and get separation at will.  He is great at finding the gaps in a zone and will find a way to get open.  His skill set projects well to being a good slot receiver.

In addition to his shiftiness, Sanders also has very good leaping ability.  He has a 40 inch vertical, and can go up and get the ball.  He is deadly in the red zone, despite not being 6’5″.

He had an excellent showing at the East-West Shrine Game that brought him to the attention of many teams that had probably not even considered him prior to that outing.

The problem with Sanders is that he’s small.  Very small.  He’s slightly under 5’11″, which isn’t so bad.  The problem is that he only weighs 180 lbs.  He is very thin, and almost looks frail.  I am concerned about his durability at the next level.  Also, his small frame made his blocking ability almost non-existent.  This guy is no Hines Ward.

To be fair, he is fearless going across the middle of the field, and he is willing to attempt to block.  But his size may make either of those activities very dangerous.

Sanders did put up very impressive receiving numbers, particularly in his senior year.  He had 98 catches for 1,339 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in his final year.  However, many believe that his statistics are inflated because he played in June Jones’ pass-happy offense (Imagine Bruce Arians, only with half as many running plays) .

Sanders is good as a return man.  However, with Stefan Logan, Mike Wallace, Joe Burnett, and Antwaan Randle El, I’m not sure we will need to utilize that aspect of his game.

Off-field problems are on most Steelers fans’ minds these days, so it should also be noted that Sanders was suspended for the final 2 games of his junior year for violating the team’s “3-strikes” rule (he missed or was late to practice 3 times).

Overall, Sanders is a shifty receiver who will need to get bigger and stronger at the next level.  This pick was probably a reach, but the Steelers must have seen something in him that I didn’t.

To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:

Maurkice Pouncey – C, Florida

Jason Worilds – DE, VA Tech

Emmanuel Sanders – WR, SMU

Thaddeus Gibson – DE, Ohio State

Chris Scott – OT, Tennessee

Crezdon Butler – CB, Clemson

Stevenson Sylvester – LB, Utah

Jonathan Dwyer – RB, Georgia Tech

Antonio Brown – WR, Central Michigan

Doug Worthington – DT, Ohio State

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With their second round pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Jason Worilds, a defensive end from Virginia Tech.

As much as I liked the Steelers’ first round pick (Maurkice Pouncey), I really dislike their second pick.  It’s nothing against Worilds.  He’s a good kid, and I’ll talk about his virtues in a moment.  But he is a highly specialized athlete.  He wasn’t projected to go this early, and because of his physical limitations, there are only a handful of teams that could utilize him.  So there was no need to reach for him.

In college, Worilds played defensive end.  However, at 6’2″, 250 lbs., he is too small to play that position in the NFL, so he projects as a 3-4 rush linebacker.  More and more teams are switching to the 3-4 defense, so there is more competition for the “tweeners” that make the best 3-4 outside linebackers.  However, because of Worilds’ height, many teams would have shied away from him (at least this early in the draft).

In addition to his height, Worilds doesn’t have the fluid hips needed to change directions well, so he is not great against the run.  He also doesn’t hold his position well, and often gets blown out of the play by blockers.

Because of these limitation, he is only suited to a small number of teams.  His skill set is best suited to a zone-blitz team (like the Steelers), or a one-gap 3-4 defense (like the Steelers, Chargers, and 49ers).  So there was never going to be a bidding war for Worilds.  There are no more than 5 teams in the entire NFL that could have utilized him optimally.  That’s why I think he would have been available in the 3rd or even 4th round.  I would have preferred to use such an early pick on a defensive back, or inside linebacker.  There are even a few offensive tackles that would have been a great value at this pick. But the Steelers are making the pick, not me.  So let’s talk about Worilds’ positives.

Despite what I just said, Jason Worilds is going to be a good player for the Steelers.  He fills a very real need for the Steelers.  Most fans view outside linebacker as a strength for the Steelers.  But in actuality, the Steelers are weak at the position.

Some of you are thinking, “We have James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley at outside linebacker.  How can this idiot possibly say the Steelers are weak at the position?”  Well, here’s why I say that.  What would happen if LaMarr Woodley got injured in the second game of the season and missed the rest of the season?  Who would replace him?  And James Harrison will be 32 this season.  His career is rapidly drawing to a close.  Who is his eventual replacement?  See what I mean.  The Steelers have great depth at inside linebacker with Larry Foote and Keyaron Fox.  But at outside linebacker, the depth chart is essentially empty.  The Steelers needed to fix that problem.

Despite his shortcomings, Jason Worilds excels at one thing; rushing the quarterback.  This kid probably has the best pursuit skill of any defensive end in this year’s draft.  That is a GREAT skill to have.  Particularly given what the Steelers ask their outside linebackers to do.

Worilds is a phenomenal athlete with elite speed  and explosiveness.  He is very quick off the snap, and his straight-line speed is exceptional.  He is also a weight room fanatic who is extremely muscular.

He is great at running down passers and running backs (so long as he doesn’t have to change directions), and he delivers a crushing blow when he tackles.  So as a pass rushing specialist, he is an excellent pick.

He has a variety of moves, including a nice spin move (ala Dwight Freeney) and a good swim move.  Moreover, he is relentless in pursuit, and doesn’t give up on the play.

Worilds did have a history of injuries in college.  His freshman season was ended early by a shoulder injury.  He missed one game in his sophomore season due to an ankle injury.  He dislocated his shoulder during the 2nd game of his junior year, and the injury resulted in recurring shoulder problems.  The shoulder injury finally caused the trainers to end his season early and sit him out of the Orange Bowl.  It turned out he had torn his labrum.  He had to have the shoulder surgically repaired in 2009.  Since the surgery, he has had no problems with the shoulder.

In summary, I like this pick.  I think he is going to be a terror chasing the quarterback, and he will add much-needed depth at outside linebacker.  However, I think the Steelers could have gotten him in the 3rd or even 4th round.

To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:

Maurkice Pouncey – C, Florida

Jason Worilds – DE, VA Tech

Emmanuel Sanders – WR, SMU

Thaddeus Gibson – DE, Ohio State

Chris Scott – OT, Tennessee

Crezdon Butler – CB, Clemson

Stevenson Sylvester – LB, Utah

Jonathan Dwyer – RB, Georgia Tech

Antonio Brown – WR, Central Michigan

Doug Worthington – DT, Ohio State

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page.  Thanks.)

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