NFL Draft

[guiseppewv]

Does/did anyone follow the NFL draft and its outcome? As a Steelers fan I liked the picks my team made but I was hoping for the 1st and 2nd round picks that we had to be used on OL and DL players. Don't get me wrong, I am glad that we did not risk a high pick on someone (i.e. an OL or DL) who did not have the credentials to be drafted that high.

I was excited that we drafted Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed. I was also excited that we drafted a safety, Ryan Mundy, from WVU. I liked some of our other picks like Dennis Dixon (I would have never thought the Steelers would draft a QB and RB this year!). I also think Seattle got a *steal* of a deal by getting Owen Schmitt in the 5th round. I will be surprised if that guy isn't in the NFL for a long time as a bruising FB.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Draft?

[VTGreg]

I was happy with the Skins draft. They were able to move out of the 1st round, get some additional picks, and still get the guy they had targeted all along. They were also able to assess some needs with the one omission being a safety.

I was also very happy to see VT finish second to only USC for the total number of players drafted. It was a very special class that finished up this past season and it was great to see 8 of them get drafted and another 5 sign free agent contracts immediately following the draft. Similar to Schmidt, I think St Louis got a baller in Vince Hall. He didn't get drafted because of his measurables but he's just a football player that knows how to get it done on the field. I see him having a good career especially considering he was an undrafted free agent.

[PrObLy]

I was pretty disappointed with the Bears' draft, like usual.

Chris Williams seems like a pretty intelligent, good kid with good size, but appears to lack some upper body strength...doing only 21 reps, I think the second fewest of any O-linemen at the combine. He also is said to have some nagging back problems.

Forte appears to be a pretty good back and should show more of a burst than Cedric Benson who has a tendency to put his knee on backwards and fall over every 3 yards. Maybe they can make a pretty good one-two combo

I would have liked to see Mendenhall in the first round and a QB like Henne or Brohm in the second... I guess we really do need help at the o-line though.

Third round pick confused me a bit (WR Earl Bennett from Vandy) as he was more of a possession receiver with ok speed out of the slot in college. I think Manningham would have been a better pick to spread the field vertically provided his character issues were corrected.

Oh well, these guys get paid big bucks to make the choices, so they must know something! Maybe I'm a bit harsh as I dislike Rex and Cedric...what do some of you non-biased guys think?

I really liked the draft that Pittsburgh had as well... a lot of good size and speed. Mundy really thrived after transferring to WVU and Humpal will probably make a pretty solid fill-in linebacker (slow, but a solid tackler). I'm not sure what they plan on doing with Dixon...another Slash perhaps? If he can catch, he could probably make a pretty nice receiver.

[guiseppewv]

Well the Pittsburgh 1st round "jinx" has continues. Mendenhall injured his hammy in practice. Hopefully, it is not something serious or chronic.