Thursday, April 17th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Steelers should trade out of first round
The mock drafts are all out, the prognosticators are strapped to their chairs for the next week, ESPN is beginning to purchase the fifteen bottles of gel for Mel Kiper’s hair and fans across America are beginning to call talk radio shows in anticipation of ripping their favorite NFL team. The Steelers are in a precarious position since they have so many holes on their roster, but all of the experts seem to agree that the most important need is on the offensive line.
That resulted in mock drafts having the Steelers as picking Pitt tackle Jeff Otah or Virginia guard Branden Albert. The problem with that is that both of those players have rocketed up the boards, with some mock drafts having Albert going as high as seventh overall to the New England Patriots and almost all having Otah in the top 20. In other words, the Steelers are not going to have the opportunity to pick either one of the two players who fits their needs best.
Gosder Cherilus is the next-best option, then, as the behemoth tackle could become a huge, consistent force at the right tackle position. The experts claim that he won’t be a left tackle in the pros, but he could be an immediate starter at right tackle. Plus, the guy’s from Haiti. That means that the Steelers could have a Haitian and a Samoan (Kemoeatu) on the field at the same time, which would be pretty awesome.
Despite the potential upside of Cherilus, however, the Steelers should still attempt to trade their pick in an effort to acquire more picks in this year’s draft and to kickstart the hole-filling that must start taking place immediately. Last year, the Cowboys received the Browns’ first-round pick from the 2008 draft as well as their 2nd round pick (36th overall) in the 2007 draft for the 22nd overall pick, which the Browns then used to pick up Brady Quinn.
The Steelers, then, could ask for a future first and a second for their pick as long as a team felt a pressing need to move up to pick their guy, which would probably mean a trade with a receiver-desperate team (the Titans are definitely going to take the highest receiver available).
Granted, if Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart is still on the board, the Steelers would have a tough decision to make. Do they draft a potential star or see what he can fetch in trade? That would be tough with Stewart, who may actually be the best all around runner in this draft, but otherwise the Steelers would be better off picking up an early second round pick and either a first round pick the next season or a third and fourth for 2008 for their pick.
Having more selections means filling more holes means better overall quality.
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