Steeler Nation, Grade Your Draft Picks: Rounds 6 & 7

6th Round, 206th Overall: Vince Williams

Jan 1, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles linebacker Vince Williams leaps in the air after sacking Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch (6) the second half of the 2013 Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. FSU won 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

How healthy is ILB Sean Spence?  We don’t know and the Steelers aren’t letting on either.  There’s absolutely zilch depth behind Larry Foote and Lawrence Timmons.  The fact that they even brought Foote back tells us somewhat where Spence stands with his recovery back to football.  The Steelers need depth there and fast, so the team elected to take ILB Vince Williams out of Florida State.  Dom has this to say of Williams:

While Vince’s strength is not his speed, he is a more than capable run defender.  The former Seminole’s “coke machine-build” (6′ 247 lbs.) and nastiness between the tackles should serve him well at the next level.  Thus, I believe that he could be a developmental “strongside-inside linebacker” in Pittsburgh’s defensive scheme after a couple of years of learning under linebackers coach Keith Butler.  While Vince projects to be more of a”2-down linebacker,” he will likely be utilized most on the kickoff and punt return coverage units for most of his career.  This of course is good for the Steelers, because their coverage units last season were undisciplined and downright inconsistent for essentially the entirety of the 2012 regular season.

Williams is a good development back for the Steelers.  However, I was sure hoping they would have gone with someone like Arthur Brown.  Brown or even Michael Mauti (despite his injury history) would have been a better valued pick.  I’ll give high marks that the Steelers at least addressed their ILB issues, but I think they could have done better than Williams.  We’ll see what Coach Butler can dow with him this season.

How would you grade the Williams pick?