Filling the Need: The 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers' Draft

Fact: The reason the Pittsburgh Steelers are so successful is because they know how to draft better than anyone.

There were a ton of mock drafts that slated the Steelers to take an offensive lineman in the first round of the draft.  Once again, all of them were wrong.

Ziggy Hood, DE, Missouri

Pittsburgh once again selected the best available player on the board with the 32nd pick of the draft.  And that man is Evander "Ziggy" Hood.

Hood was not invited to the Steelers training facilities prior to the draft.  As a matter of fact, Steelers brass spent an entire 15 minutes at the scouting combine talking to Hood.

Kraig Urbik, OG, Wisconsin

Once again sticking to the philosophy of taking the best available player, the Steelers traded out of the second round, only then taking the offensive lineman to bolster the depth.

Guard Kraig Urbik from Wisconsin was selected with the first of three picks in the third round.

Urbik is a big man at 6'5", 328 pounds.

Very versatile, Urbik played both guard and tackle in college, allowing only two sacks in the past two seasons at Wisconsin.

Mike Wallace, WR, Mississippi

With their second pick in the third round, the Steelers took Mike Wallace, the speedy wideout from Mississippi.

Wallace posted a time of 4.3 in the 40-yard dash at the combine.  Standing almost 6'1" and weighing in at almost 200 pounds, Wallace gives the Steelers another deep threat.

Wallace can also return kicks and punts, something the Steelers have been looking for all offseason.

This was truly a surprising move by the Steelers after re-signing Hines Ward to a five-year extension.

Keenan Lewis, CB, Oregon St./Joe Burnett, CB, Central Florida

The other area of weakness everyone talked about was at corner.  With the departure of CB Bryant McFadden to the Arizona Cardinals, some believed (me included) that the Steelers may take a corner in the first round.

Instead of jumping on one then, Pittsburgh would use their next two picks, one in the third and one in the fifth, to bolster their secondary.

They took Keenan Lewis in the third and Joe Burnett in the fifth.

Lewis (6'0" and 200 pounds) has been compared to Ike Taylor by Steelers Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert.

Both are big physical corners, like to play bump and run, and like to support the run.

In taking Joe Burnett, the Steelers drafted another player that can return kicks and punts.

Out of USF, Burnett does not have the size (5'9, 192 lbs.) or speed of Lewis, but could be a contributor in the long term.

With a very strong list of corners on the Steelers roster, Burnett may have to play practice squad for a year, and the retirement of Townsend, before he can make the roster and hope to see any field time.

Ra'Shon Sonny Harris, DT, Oregon/A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State

In the sixth and seventh rounds, Pittsburgh added depth to both lines, taking Sonny Harris and A.Q. Shipley to build for the future.

Harris could be the eventual replacement for Aaron Smith.  At 6'4" and close to 300 pounds, Harris will need a year or two to be able to step in and get considerable playing time.  

But that was also true for Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel.

A.Q. Shipley was on the Steelers radar since long before the draft.

Though somewhat smaller than most centers, Shipley makes up for it in heart.

At 6'0" and 300 pounds, Shipley has the potential to be a Mike Webster type of center.

Is this the reason the Steelers didn't draft one of the top centers in the first round?

For all of those people that complained that the Steelers needed to address their lines in this year's draft, that need has been met.

Two future starters were drafted on each line.  Suddenly, the depth no longer seems to be a big issue.  The secondary was helped with the addition of two new corners.

If building for the future during the draft is the Steelers strengths, it looks like they could be set for years to come.

It was not a pretty draft, but when have the Steelers ever done anything "pretty"?