Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

We all knew that the Steelers needed a running back.  But most probably didn’t expect them to bypass Eddie Lacy and Montee Ball to draft a different running back.  But that’s exactly what they did.  The Steelers selected Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bel in the second round.

Bell is a big back.  In fact, at 6’2″, 245 lbs., he’s huge.  And he runs like it.  He’s a downhill runner who isn’t going to amaze anyone with his speed.  And he doesn’t have a lot of swivel in his hips, so don’t expect to see the type of shiftiness that we used to see from Jerome Bettis.  But he did lead the nation in yards after contact, so that counts for something.

Despite not making people miss, Le’Veon did make a name for himself by hurdling a few tacklers.  In fact, that might be his most elusive move.  But make no mistake, he is not an elusive runner.

 So if he’s not particularly fast or elusive, why did the Steelers select him?  The answer to that is simple.  Bell is effective.  He led the Big Ten in rushing as he ran for 1,793 yards in 2012, and averaged 4.7 yards per carry.  Just to be clear, that’s more yardage than Montee Ball, who played in the same conference.

Bell also probably appealed to Todd Haley because he has reasonably soft hands.  He caught over 30 passes each of the past 2 seasons.  That will fit in well in Haley’s scheme.

Bell is also very effective as a blocker.  He’s able to take on linebackers, and he can drive a cornerback or safety into the ground.  That should help keep Ben Roethlisberger’s pads a little cleaner.

It should be noted that Bell was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates.

Frankly, he isn’t that different from Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman.  I would have expected the Steelers to take a speed back to add a change of pace.  So it’s not clear what this means for Dwyer and Redman.

Overall, this is a good pick.  Bell isn’t an electric runner, but he is a workhorse who can take a lot of punishment and keep on ticking.  Steeler Nation is going to like him.

With the 63rd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Marcus Gilbert, a 6’6″, 330 lb. offensive tackle from Florida.

I like Marcus Gilbert, but I would have liked this pick much more in the 3rd or 4th round.  Nevertheless, it’s good to see the Steelers addressing the offensive line early in this draft.

Gilbert has the single most important attribute for an offensive lineman; size.  He’s absolutely huge.  He also has another key quality that the Steelers look for in their offensive linemen; position flexibility.  During his career at Florida, Gilbert started games at left tackle, right tackle,  left guard, and right guard.  He also has surprisingly good quickness and agility for a player his size.  His arms are extremely long, which is a good quality for an offensive tackle, and he has good strength for the position.

Gilbert actually spent 5 years at Florida.  He had to have elbow surgery in 2006, so he was redshirted.  He became a regular contributor to the Gators team in 2007, though he didn’t become a starter until 2009.  In 2009 he started at right tackle, then he moved to left tackle as a senior.

With all of these great qualities going for him, some of you are probably wondering why I’m not more excited about this pick.  Well, the concern that I have about Gilbert is that he’s neither fish nor fowl.

Despite his good athleticism for his size, I don’t believe that he has the lateral quickness needed to play left tackle in the NFL.  In college, he had a tendency to get beat by speed rushers.  Moreover, he was also susceptible to the bull rush of stronger players.  The opponents he’ll face in the NFL will be much faster and much stronger than anyone he’s seen in college.  These shortcomings probably mean that he’ll be slotted as a right tackle.

Unfortunately, Gilbert was much better as a pass blocker than as a run blocker in college.  Great pass blocking skills are more important for left tackles.  To play right tackle in the NFL, you have to be a bulldozer who excels in run blocking.  Gilbert really isn’t a road grader.  So I don’t see him as an ideal right tackle either.  That’s why I said that he’s neither fish nor fowl.  He doesn’t have the ideal combination of skills to be a prototype at either tackle position.

I hate to use this term to describe such a big man, but at times he plays soft.  He doesn’t have a strong punch in his blocks, and he’s more of a finesse blocker than a power blocker.  Despite his adequate strength, he doesn’t play with aggression.

Fortunately, the Steelers have an excellent offensive line coach in Sean Kugler.  Kugler is a great teacher, and he should be able to develop Gilbert into a better player than he currently is.  Also, Gilbert will definitely be spending time with the Steelers’ strength coaches.  He has a naturally large frame, but he can definitely get stronger by spending time in the weight room.

To this point, he’s relied on his size and athleticism, and that was enough to make him a good player in college.  But to succeed at the next level, he’s going to have to be stronger, tougher, and play with better technique.

The bottom line is that Gilbert is a big, athletic kid who has a lot of upside.  If he seizes the opportunity that is being presented to him, and dedicates himself to working hard, he definitely has the potential to make an impact on the Steelers’ offensive line.

Analysis of all 2011 Steelers Draft picks:

Round 1 – Cameron Heyward

Round 2 – Marcus Gilbert

Round 3 – Curtis Brown

Round 4 – Cortez Allen

Round 5 – Chris Carter

Round 6 – Keith Williams

Round 7 – Baron Batch

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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

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April 8, 2009

Steelers Today has hooked up with 31 other NFL bloggers from around the country to do a bloggers’ mock draft. All 32 NFL teams are represented in the mock draft.

The mock draft is sponsored by Cleveland Browns blog No Logo Needed. For more details on the bloggers’ mock draft, click here.

The draft results so far are shown below. Click on the individual pick to read each blogger’s rationale for his selection.