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With the 128th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Cortez Allen, a 6’1″, 197 lb. cornerback from The Citadel.

Cortez Allen has to be considered a project for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He played at a smaller program, and doesn’t have the experience of playing against top-tier talent like players from more prestigious football programs do.  However, there are a few things about Allen that stand out.

The first thing that stands out to me is that Allen attended The Citadel, a military school.  In my opinion, that immediately eliminates any doubt as to whether he’s going to be disciplined, or if he’s going to work hard.  You don’t graduate from the Citadel without lots of hard work and discipline.

The second thing that stands out is the fact that he was team captain.  It’s always an honor to be named a captain for any football program.  But receiving such an honor at a military academy speaks volumes about what Allen’s coaches and teammates thought about him.

As we have come to expect with Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft picks, Allen has good character.  He’ll fit in well with the Steelers, and his work ethic should endear him to Steeler Nation.

It’s telling that the Steelers took a 6’0″ cornerback in the 3rd round, and then followed that pick up with the 6’1″ Allen in the 4th round.  They obviously think that the team needs more big guys who can cover the taller receivers that are becoming so common in the NFL.  The 5’9″ cornerbacks who used to be prominent are now at a distinct disadvantage against receivers like Calvin Johnson or incoming rookie A.J. Green.

In addition to his height, Allen is a good athlete.  He’d not a track star, but he has both speed and quickness.  Moreover, he recorded the best broad jump of any of the cornerbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Not bad for a kid from a small school.

Allen has good coverage skills.  He played primarily in man coverage, and he lacks experience in zone.  The Steelers play a lot of zone coverage, so he’ll have to be coached in that area.  But he has good football smarts, and he should pick up zone coverage pretty quickly.

Allen did tear his ACL in 2007 and had to be redshirted his freshman year.  But he’s shown no lasting effects from  the injury, and it shouldn’t be a concern.

Steelers’ defensive backs coach Carnell Lake commented that players who attend The Citadel don’t have the opportunity to work on their game like players who go to more traditional football schools.  He acknowledges that Allen is raw, and has not had the opportunity to fully master his craft.  However, he loves Allen’s size and athleticism, and is excited about what Allen can become once he has the opportunity to place his full focus on football.

Cortez Allen is not likely to contribute this year.  However, his size and athleticism made him worth drafting and developing for the future.

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 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 the 31st pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Cameron Heyward, defensive end from Ohio State.  Heyward is 6’5″, and weighs 288 lbs.

Let me start off by saying that I really like this pick.  Heyward, who is the son of former Pitt running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, is a great addition to the Steelers’ defensive line.

As I outlined in my analysis of the Steelers’ defensive line, the team had a glaring need for youth on their line.  Ziggy Hood is the only Steelers starting defensive lineman who is under 30 years old.  The majority of the backups are also over 30.  So this pick will do a lot for the long-term strength of the Steelers defensive line.  Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel have been great players for the Steelers, but each of them is coming to the end of their careers, and the Steelers needed to start planning for the future.

Heyward was a 4-year starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Being a 4-year starter is a pretty impressive statistic for any college player.  But to be able to do that at one of the best college football programs in the country is doubly impressive.  Moreover, Heyward was a team captain.

While players like Da’Quan Bowers (who remains undrafted at the end of round 1), J.J. Watt, and Ryan Kerrigan had significantly more sacks than Heyward did in 2010, I believe that Heyward was actually the best fit for the Steelers.

Most scouts judge defensive ends based on their ability to rush the quarterback.  Speed off the edge is a highly valued commodity.  However, for teams playing a 3-4 defense, the ability to rush the quarterback is much less important.  Instead, 3-4 teams look for players who are strong against the run, and who can occupy blockers.  That’s exactly what Cameron Heyward excels in.  In fact, Heyward is one of the strongest of all of the defensive ends in this year’s draft.

Frankly, I had him ranked as one of the top 3-4 defensive linemen in the country last year.  Had he come out of college early, he probably would have been a top 15 pick.  However, he chose to return to college for his senior season because he loved college, and he wanted to try to win a national championship with the Buckeyes.

Unfortunately for Heyward, his senior year was not as good as his junior year, as his sacks dropped from 6.5 to only 3.5.  In actuality, his total tackles, tackles for a loss, quarterback hurries, passes defensed, and interceptions actually increased in 2010.  But as was mentioned earlier, many scout place undue emphasis on sacks.  So instead of being a top 15 pick, Heyward dropped to the Steelers at pick #31.  It will likely cost Heyward some money relative to what he would have made last year, but it’s very fortunate for the Steelers.

Beside being a solid football player, Heyward is a solid individual.  Steelers fans know that character is just as important as playing ability when it comes to the Steelers.  Heyward is a great locker room guy who was well-liked by his coaches and teammates.  He has an excellent work ethic, and seems to genuinely enjoy playing the game.

Heyward has been labeled as being inconsistent at times.  He also isn’t always as dominant as he should be.  With his combination of size and strength, some believe that he should shed blockers much easier than he does.  However, since the Steelers won’t be looking for him to accumulate sacks, I don’t see this as much of a problem.  He is very difficult for a single blocker to move, and he really helped himself by completely dominating All-SEC offensive tackle DeMarcus Love in the Sugar Bowl.

There was one mild concern about Heyward coming into the draft.  He had Tommy John surgery after the season to address an injury to his left elbow.  Because of this, he didn’t perform at the NFL Scouting Combine or at Ohio State’s Pro Day.  However, he had his own workout on March 30, and he showed no signs of lingering problems.  Obviously, the Steelers agree with that assessment, or they wouldn’t have drafted him in the 1st round.

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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