On the Steelers: Drafting 31st not a concern

[LLT]

On the Steelers: Drafting 31st not a concern
Sunday, February 27, 2011
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The Steelers select 31st in the NFL draft, but there's no reason to believe that will be a detriment to them selecting a good or even great player on the first round.

Kevin Colbert came to the Steelers in 2000 and has never missed with the first pick.

Starting in 2000, they include Plaxico Burress, Casey Hampton, Kendall Simmons, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Santonio Holmes, Lawrence Timmons, Rashard Mendenhall, Ziggy Hood and Maurkice Pouncey. All except Holmes spent his entire career with the team or stayed through his rookie contract of five years. All became at least good starters, if you include Hood. Five made Pro Bowls and a sixth was a Super Bowl MVP. All but three remain with the team and, of those, Holmes was traded and Simmons was at the end of the line with injuries and diabetes.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11058/1128137-66.stm#ixzz1F9UcInYp

[Steeldude]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.

I dont think any of them were a miss. Simmons was hampered by diabetes and not that great a pick. Burress was just too immature and became a better player when he left the burgh. Holmes was the best WR of that draft and a guy that stretched the field.

I think picking late in the 1st allows you to get a good player that may not be great, but a solid part of your team. Hood, Miller, Simmons, Mendenhall are all those kind of guys.

sometimes you win big with the early picks(around top 15) like Roethlisberger. And sometimes you get OK talent in that space like Burress, Timmons. And sometimes you bust like Troy Edwards, Tim Worley, Huey Richardson, etc.

[zulater]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.

Burress had 4 very good seasons as a Steeler. (two I would go as far as calling nearly great)

Holmes also had 4 very productive seasons as a Steeler and was a Super Bowl MVP.

Those wouldn't be considered misses to me. Put it this way, if Colbert was a free agent and out there looking for a job, I don't think many of his prospective employees would be looking at either of those picks as a black mark. Do you?

[steelreserve]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.

I wouldn't call either of them a "miss." They were both very good players, just shitheads who talked and smoked their way out of town, respectively. That's what you usually seem to get when you take WRs in the first round though, so ... I like our recent trend of finding guys in rounds 3-7 a lot better.

Simmons I didn't have a problem with either. He was pretty dependable until he had that injury. Probably the weakest of the bunch in terms of value for a #1 pick, but to be a "miss" in my book, that would usually mean a guy who can't hold down a starting job.

[PalmerSteel]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.

none were a miss IMO. simmons unforeseen medical issue like stated. we got the best use out of burress and didnt resign him and holmes got us mvp for a super bowl victory. will take that every year.

[polamalubeast]

burress was a miss. simmons was a miss. holmes was a miss.

all my opinions of course.


Burress and Holmes are very talented players and they already have the seasons of 1000 yards...... Holmes was one of the reasons why the Steelers win the Super Bowl in 2008.... It's just unfortunate that Buress and Holmes had off-field problems.. If you want to know what's a bust, look at the choice of the Steelers in 1991 and 1999 !.... or 1983 when they pass Dan Marino!

[GodfatherofSoul]

Kind of makes sense since they don't want to throw wads of cash at "franchise" players.