Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

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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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their third pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Keenan Lewis.  Lewis is a 6’1, 198 pound cornerback out of Oregon State.

Like Mike Wallace before him, this pick comes as a surprise.  Few scouting reports had Lewis rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 12 – 30th best cornerback in this draft.

Lewis has exceptional size for a cornerback, and I’m sure that is what attracted the Steelers to him.  Lewis is a solid defender who benefits from having played in the pass-happy PAC-10.

Best in bump and run coverage, Lewis likes to get his hands on receivers and use his long arms to jam them.

He is good in run support,  though he sometimes avoids contact.  He tends to duck his head when tackling, so he misses some tackles that he should probably make.  Nevertheless, he is a willing participant in run coverage, and can be coached in this area at the next level.

Because of his height and long arms, Lewis gets his hands on a lot of passes.  He reads and reacts quickly.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fcoBGwovZU

On the negative side, Lewis is a long-legged strider who doesn’t change directions quickly.  He lacks great athleticism and has only average speed.  He doesn’t have soft hands, and sometimes drops interceptions.

A solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl probably helped raise Lewis’ stock.

When you look at Lewis’ size and athletic attributes, he almost projects better as a safety than as a cornerback.  It will be interesting to see how the Steelers choose to utilize him, since safety is also a team need.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their second pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Mike Wallace.  Wallace is a 6’0, 180 pound wide receiver out of Mississippi.

This pick came as a surprise.  Few (if any) scouting reports had Wallace rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 25th – 34th best wide receiver in the draft.

When you talk about Mike Wallace, the first word that comes to mind is speed.  Wallace is one of the fastest players available in the draft.  He ran a 4.3 in the 40 yard dash.  Former Tampa Bay coach John Gruden said that they timed him at a blazing 4.28 seconds.  The kid is fast.  Super fast.  He is much faster than Nate Washington, Santonio Holmes, or Limas Sweed.  He is immediately the fastest receiver on the Steelers, and will challenge Willie Parker for team honors.

Wallace is capable of impacting the game in a number of ways.  He was one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country last year, and the Steelers will be able to utilize this aspect of his game immediately.  He averaged 23.2 yards per kickoff return, and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Wallace’s speed was also apparent at the wide receiver position, where he led the SEC in yards/catch for two consecutive seasons.  He averaged 18.8 yards/catch during his junior year, and improved it to 20.1 yards/catch last year.

Despite his blazing speed, Wallace is more of a track star than a football player.  His hands are suspect, and he is very thinly built.  He has mostly straight line speed, and is not particularly good at changing directions.

Wallace catches the ball with his body, and is going to have to learn to extend his arms and catch with his hands.  More importantly, Wallace is going to have to eliminate drops.  His speed will get him separation, but he has to hold onto the ball.  Moreover, he won’t be able to rely on pure speed at the next level.  Wallace will have to run crisper routes to elude savvy NFL defenders.

Wallace will also have to become more physical.  He is easily jammed at the line, and shows little desire to fight through it.  He also is not a willing blocker. However, spending time with Hines Ward will surely change this.

“He’s a burner”, said Steelers’ offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.  “He hasn’t gone over the middle a lot, but he’s an outside speed guy who’s an excellent return guy.  We really, really like him”.

Wallace will have an immediate impact in the Steelers return game.  However, his impact on the passing game may not be felt until year 2 or 3.  He must develop better hands and better route running skills.  But he has speed to burn, and that can’t be taught.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their first pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Kraig Urbik.  Urbik is a big guard from Wisconsin.  Urbik stands 6’5″, and weighs 328 lbs.  Like I said, he’s big.

Urbik was probably the best offensive lineman still available at this spot, and he represents good value.  More importantly, he meets a need for the Steelers.  The team has finally gotten around to addressing their porous offensive line.

First, lets look at the good aspects of this pick.  As I mentioned earlier, Urbik is a big, strong kid.  He comes from a quality Wisconsin program that has produced a stream of successful NFL linemen.  Urbik has a good motor and plays until the whistle blows.  He is tough, has good football intelligence, and is a very hard worker.

Urbik is a road grader who is very hard to move.  He is very hard to bull rush.  He will not be overpowered, regardless of who he faces.

Despite being a guard, he nevertheless emerged as a team leader on the Badgers.  He missed some games last season due to a knee injury, and the team struggled in his absence.  They lost 5 of 6 contest while Urbik was out, but then rallied to win 3 of their last 4 when Urbik returned.

Urbik started 50 games during his career at Wisconsin, including a few at right tackle, so he does provide some versatility.  He is a road grader who should excel in run blocking.

On the negative side, Urbik is not particularly quick, and he may struggle in pass coverage.   Urbik’s lack of quickness is frequently exposed by speed rushers.  During drills at the NFL Combine, this weakness was exposed as Urbik constantly had to hold speed rushers who had a good swim move or spin move.   Urbik struggles in open space, and is easy to get around.  Moreover, Urbik doesn’t have the speed to get out an pull.

Aside from his quickness problems, Urbik also has flaws in his technique that are going to have to be addressed at the next level.  He must work on his footwork.   His hand quickness will also need to be developed.  Lastly, he must sustain his blocks longer than he does.

Urbik will probably do better as a right guard than as a left guard due to his quickness problems.   While he did play right tackle at Wisconsin, this is not an option for him in the NFL.

The bottom line is that Urbik should see time immediately with the Steelers.  He should bump Darnell Stapleton out of the starting line-up.  However, he immediately help the running game.  However, he is not the answer to Big Ben’s sack problems, since pass blocking is his weakness.

For previous pick, click here.

For next pick, click here.

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