What Kind of Draft did Kevin Colbert and Company Have?

May 3, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers second round draft pick running back Le

One of the most popular things to do for analysts and fans to do following the draft is to give teams grades. When these grades come out, you see many fans get upset over what their team did over the 7 rounds of the draft. With the Steelers, most didn’t give them bad grades, but they didn’t get fantastic ones either.

I am here to tell you to forget about the grades you might see the Steelers getting. Most of their 9 picks were seen as “non flashy.” Consider this: does it really matter how flashy a teams draft is? Grading a teams draft is fine to do, but it is innacurate to do so within the 1st year. If you look at the past 5 years for the Steelers, you could grade 2008-2010, but I feel it is still to early to look at 2011-2013.

In the first round, If you were surprised that the Steelers drafted Jarvis Jones, then you were not very well-informed during the month of April. The second round is when the surprises really started. From Le’Veon Bell to Landry Jones, lots of analysts and fans were stumped by some of the Steelers draft choices.

During the last week or so, I am sure you know that Ryan Clark has been making his rounds in the media, sharing his thoughts on numerous subjects. Recently, he was quoted saying this about the Steelers draft:

"The way I look at our draft, every pick was exactly where we needed to go. We got the best pass rusher in the nation the last two years. We got a good young running back. We got another receiver. And we got a highly-rated safety (fourth-rounder Shamarko Thomas) who I think would have gone a lot higher except for his size."

I can’t agree anymore with Clark. Before the draft, a lot of fans and analysts said all of the holes the Steelers have, but after the draft, its safe to say they have addressed almost all of them! They needed an OLB to replace James Harrison, so they drafted Jarvis Jones. They needed a well-rounded running back to get the running game going, so they drafted Le’Veon Bell. Mike Wallace is gone, and the Steelers have little wide receiver depth, so they drafted Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown. With Ryan Mundy and Will Allen leaving via free agency, a safety backup was drafted in Shamarko Thomas. A fresh arm was needed in the quarterback room, leading them to draft Landry Jones. In the end, I can’t seem to find many more holes on the teams roster. Steelers fans can’t be too upset about that.

The day after the draft, I had multiple people come up to me and say “the Steelers didn’t have a very good draft.” All I would say is this: hold your opinions until 3 seasons from now. Ultimately, the Steelers don’t care what fans think of their draft.. Yes, it’s not always flashy, but when it comes to winning Super bowls, it only matters that they get the job done.