Steelers draft Worthington in 7th
With the 35th pick in the seventh round (#242 overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Doug Worthington , DT from Ohio State.
Worthington does not have the strength or athleticism to play defensive tackle at the next level. However, he is an effort player who will do the best he can with the skills he has.
Worthington is not particularly good at pursuit, but he is a strong enough to hold his ground against the run. He is strong enough to hold his ground, even against a double team.
Doug Worthington
While this may sound like a harsh analysis of Worthington, it is actually a very good description of a typical 3-4 defensive end. That is exactly the position that the Steelers plan to transition Worthington to.
At 6’5″, 292 lbs., Worthington has the natural size and bulk that make him a good candidate to switch to 3-4 defensive end. However, he is going to have to hit the weight room and get much stronger than he currently is. Fortunately, work ethic is one of Worthington’s greatest strengths.
To read about the Steelers’ other picks, click the name below:
Thaddeus Gibson - DE, Ohio State
Stevenson Sylvester - LB, Utah
Jonathan Dwyer - RB, Georgia Tech
Antonio Brown - WR, Central Michigan
Doug Worthington - DT, Ohio State
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Taking the draft as a whole…I must say I’m stunned. I would rank this as one of the worst drafts in recent history. And, in the sense that I am criticizing the FO, we don’t even need to wait 3 years to evaluate the results.
I will first say that I love the Pouncey pick and I am perfectly fine with Worilds in round 2 and Dwyer in round 6. My two main criticisms are the overall positions selected and the individuals in rounds 3-7.
The overall position selection was poor in the following ways:
1) Spending a 2nd and a 4th on the same position
2) spending a 3rd and a 6th on the same position and same skill set (and one that is currently deep)
3) Not selecting a DT or OT at all and no DE prospect until the 7th round - this means we have gluts at LB and WR but no one to push Paxson, Harris, or Hill. Are those 3 guys really so good that they don’t need any competition????
Now let’s look at the individuals:
1) Sanders might be a good WR but he likely could have been had in the 4th. For pete’s sake if you really love him, trade down here so you can trade up later. Does this mean Sweed is gone?
2) Gibson in the 4th was good value but a poor choice - at best he is the 4th OLB and won’t contribute except for ST. Cam Thomas (DT), Lane, Jones (DE’s), anmd Ansah (CB) were all avaliable at positions that needed more depth than OLB.
3) Practically all of the 5-7th round selections (except Dwyer) were generally rated as 7th rounders or undrafted free agents. Why are we drafting them at all? Heck, Lane and Jones were both still available in the 5th.
4) Scott - another OT projecting to OG. DOes that mean they are giving up on Urbik already?
5) Butler - I’m OK with drafting a young cornerback with upsaide - but if they worked their draft better they could have gotten a better prospect.
6) Sylvester - how does he make the team unless they carry 9 LB’s
7) Brown - why bother - no chance to make the team - only fighting for a practice squad space - probably would have gone undrafted.
8) In a draft acknowlegded as being very deep at DE/DT, they finally get around to taking one in the 7th round???
If Pouncey and Worilds go on to be stars, and Dwyer and Sanders make contributions, this will appear to be a succesful draft. The number of wasted opportunities, however, to select good prospects with an ACTUAL chance to make the team is what this draft should be known for. The only worthwhile use of draft picks in rounds 3-7 were for Dwyer, McFadden, and Leftwich. The rest were either taken too early or for position that we are already deep at. I’ve had a day or two to calm down and I’m still ticked about it.
1John,
2How do you REALLY feel?
John - You are ALL OVER this draft, man! I think that you are right on. I added a comment after the write up on Antonio Brown that listed (like you) some of thepicks we could have had. Simply mind-boggling! I’m trying to be hopeful but it is taking an effort!
3John 21 - Thanks. The only thing I find hopeful is the knowledge that the Steeler’s scouts know a lot more than I do. This is tempered, however, by the actual Steeler results from 2003-2007 (i.e., the last 5 drafts you can realistically grade). It isn’t pretty. I should pull it all together and write an article on it sometime…titled “Why Kevin Colbert’s contract should NOT be renewed.”
Maybe with a subtitle of “Stephen Colbert could draft better than this guy.”
4John & John#21,
It’s fun to second guess the Steelers’ front office (and I do it all the time). However, the truth is that the Steelers are one of the most consistently competitive teams in the NFL. So somebody is doing something right.
Can you imagine what it must feel like to be a Detroit Lions fan? Or a Cleveland Browns fan? Or an Oakland Raiders fan? Think about that for a minute, then I think you’ll appreciate the quality of the Steelers’ drafting. But of course, that still doesn’t change the fact that they DO miss on a whole lot of mid-round picks.
5Yes and no. The Steelers have been known as a good drafting team but I think over the past several years it has mostly due to reputation rather than results. The only positives of the 2003-2008 drafts have been not missing on first round picks.
The Steelers FO really hit some good drafts form 2000-2002 (Colbert’s first 3 years). By my estimation they got good value on 16 of the 24 picks. About 10 eventual starters and 6 backups. This is what Colbert’s reputation was built upon.
Since then, from 2003-2007, I would rate they had about 11 good value picks, 7 average picks, and 20 poor picks. While still too early to grade, 2008 doesn’t appear to be shaping up any better. So far only Mendenhall has really contributed. Mundy is still around as a backup safety (good value for a 6th round pick) but his overall play has been suspect. Sweed, Dixon and Hill are still on the team but have not contributed anything yet. Dixon may be the only one of the three who makes it through camp.
I think this lapse in drafting over these years is one reason we have been signing so many older veterans (and bringing vets back).
Whether its poor drafting or coaching, I don’t know…but we have not done a good job of developing players of late.
6I FIRST QUESTIONED THE DRAFTING OF 3 OLB AND WHY WE DIDNT ADDRESS SAFETY OR DEFENSIVE LINE. HOWEVER LOOKING AT IT AGAIN DEPTH IS NEEDED AT THE LINEBACKER POSITION. THATS WHAT THE STEELERS ARE KNOWN FOR RIGHT? FARRIOR IS OVER THE HILL. HARRISON ISNT FAR BEHIND. PATRICK BAILY, ANDRE FRAZIER AND KEYARON FOX? COME ON NOW… THE 3 OLB DRAFTED MAY NOT BE IMPACT PLAYERS RIGHT AWAY, BUT THE PICKS MAKE MORE SENSE TO ME NOW THEN IT DID INITIALLY. I DO WISH THEY WOULD HAVE SELECTED THE DT FROM NORTH CAROLINA WHEN THEY HAD THE CHANCE.
7