Pittsburgh Steelers 2014 Draft Recap
By Kim Myers
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Ryan Shazier (Ohio State) holds up his jersey after being selected as the number fifteen overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The 2014 NFL Draft has come and gone but the discussion surely doesn’t end there. Before we spend the rest of the spring analyzing and critiquing the picks that were made let’s run down everything that took place since Thursday night. Let’s recap the Steelers 2014 Draft picks.
The Steelers added nine players to the roster through the draft, five defensive and four offensive. Like GM Kevin Colbert said, every position group was addressed except for the quarterbacks. You can listen to Colbert and Head Coach Mike Tomlin summarize the draft here.
Round 1: LB Ryan Shazier (Ohio State) @RyanShazier
This pick definitely surprised a lot of people who were expecting the Steelers to go after a cornerback in the first round. Shazier apparently was the “defensive playmaker” the Steelers coveted with their first round pick, and have already talked about the excitement in seeing him get on the field.
Round 2: DE Stephon Tuitt (Notre Dame) @DOCnation_7
The Steelers stayed defensively minded with their second round pick and grabbed a defensive end to fill a glaring need. Tuitt had a better 2012 than a 2013, here’s hoping his 2014 is even better than both because he certainly has the opportunity to start and contribute right away.
Round 3: RB Dri Archer (Kent State) @Dri_Archer1
The Steelers went rather Raiderish with this pick in taking the kid with the fastest 40-yard time from the Combine. Also it seems as though a short running back/wide receiver/kick returner was kind of a luxury pick and didn’t address any overwhelming need.
Round 4: WR Martavis Bryant (Clemson) @ThaBestUNO
The Steelers finally got their “tall” receiver for Ben with their fourth round pick in Clemson’s Martavis Bryant. He’s a 6’4” target for Ben who wide receivers coach Richard Mann thinks has the potential to start opposite of Antonio Brown.
Round 5: CB Shaquille Richardson (Arizona) @Dr4_Richh
The Steelers waited until the fifth round to address the need at cornerback that they apparently didn’t see it as big of a need as others did. A fifth round guy certainly doesn’t have any guarantees to start or even contribute much this season.
Round 5: OL Wesley Johnson (Vanderbilt)
The Steelers picked a versatile offensive lineman with their second 5th round pick. He’s played all positions on the line and, if he makes the roster, can provide some depth to a line that always seems to have to deal with injuries each season.
Round 6: LB Jordan Zumwalt (UCLA)
Seems a little weird to keep adding to a linebacking corps that just got back Sean Spence and drafted Ryan Shazier but the Steelers will throw Zumwalt into the mix with Terrence Garvin and Vince Williams and see who comes out on top I suppose.
Round 6: NT Daniel McCullers (Tennessee) @_bigdan98
The Steelers drafted a giant with their second 6th round pick. McCullers is a 6’7”, 352lb whole lot of man. Kevin Colbert describes him as an “obstruction”. Can’t see how that could hurt having on the defensive line. I can’t wait to see a picture of him standing next to Dri Archer though.
Round 7: TE Rob Blanchflower (UMass) @Rob_Blanch
What could a tight end hurt at this point? There certainly wasn’t an overabundance of highly rated tight ends in this draft, and there certainly wasn’t a ton available late Saturday evening so it’s a 7th round pick. Not much to get excited about either way.
Some immediate reactions to the Steelers draft was mixed, mostly due to the fact that the Steelers failed to address their projected need at cornerback. Overall I’d say the Steelers had a successful draft, about as successful as you can say a draft is at this point in time. The rookies will not have a lot of time to rest on their good feelings of being drafted as rookies mini camp opens just next weekend.
The reactions across the board seem to be favorable for the Steelers for this draft. From Mark Kaboly of the Trib, who gave the Steelers an overall “B”, to CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, who gave the Steelers a “B” as well. ESPN’s Mel Kiper handed out an “A-“ to the Steelers saying that while they didn’t do enough at cornerback, they “got everything else right.” NFL.com’s Bryan Fischer gave the Steelers a “sticker” for the draft, which seems to amount to a “B” grade.
Of course only time will tell how successful this draft really was.
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