SteelerWatch

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: IF THEY DO, I’LL CRY
- Day 2: POSSIBLE, BUT NOT LIKELY UNTIL THE VERY END

We’ll make this short and sweet, because there’s 1) not much hope of movement here; and 2) not a whole lot to be said.

Fact #1: Chris Gardocki can be counted on to get the punt in the air without it being blocked. Announcers don’t hesitate to remind us of his half-a-billion consecutive unblocked punts. However, his inability to punt more than about 41 yards on any given try puts the Steelers into a position they shouldn’t be in. Look for the team to possibly pick up a rookie free agent punter, or look to the free agency table scraps near the end of training camp. There’s a history here of making subtle moves just before the season starts, and I expect to see Gardocki on the outside looking in when September rolls around. Getting a punter in the draft will be akin to nailing Jell-O to the wall, though, because there’s only one decent prospect coming out of college, and he’s sure to be snapped up long before the Steelers would be willing to use a draft pick on a punter.

Fact #2: For a guy who has redwood tree trunks for legs, Jeff Reed has always seemed to lack pure leg strength. That said, he has historically been extremely dependable when it comes to field goals. Thus, 2006 may have been an anomaly, but we won’t know for sure until we get a few games into 2007 whether or not Reed’s slump was just an extension of a great team playing poorly as a whole, or if he has really fallen from the top. However, the team may want to at least consider signing a punter (likely as a rookie free agent) who can also handle kickoffs, because a good touchback ratio has always been mysteriously missing from Reed’s resume.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day One: NOPE
- Day Two: IT’S A SAFE BET

In 2005 the Steelers had what was probably the best safety tandem in the league. Always-solid Chris Hope was the starter at free safety, and of course there was the incomparable Troy Polamalu at strong safety. No one plays the position better than Polamalu — period. It was a match made in heaven, thanks to Polamalu’s presence and play near the line combined with Hope’s range and coverage skills.

Then things went awry.

Following the Super Bowl, the face at free safety changed. For four years, Chris Hope was the man, but he left as a free agent for Tennessee, and was replaced by former Redskin Ryan Clark. Clark had acceptable, but certainly not exceptional, numbers in his two seasons in Washington, and the two seasons before that with the Giants. He’s a strong backup and a capable starter, but he wasn’t an ample replacement for Hope, who was quickly becoming one of the best free safeties in the league. Hope played center field like…well…a centerfielder. There were few opportunities for him to defend passes, because no one — no one — threw deep over the middle against the Steelers.

So, when Hope left, the future for the Steelers’ secondary got a little fuzzy, with the acquisition of Clark doing little to clear it up. Even Polamalu voiced his concern, stating that he and Hope played so well together because they knew what the other would do in any situation.

In the draft last year, the Steelers picked up an excellent prospect in Anthony Smith, possibly with the knowledge that their free agent pick-up was less than stellar, at best. He has the kind of range and closing speed that Hope possesses, and even at just 192 pounds, he hits like a brick. In fact, his ability to knock just about any player flat on his back is probably the strongest of his assets. He showed that as a special teams standout in 2006.

That’s not to detract from his abilities in coverage, though. He was used sparingly in coverage until week 13 — possibly because of his rookie status, or possibly because former coach Bill Cowher wasn’t as focused as he should have been — but made his time count once he was on the field regularly. In that stretch he racked up 18 of his 26 tackles for the season and pulled down two interceptions.

On the other side of the field, not much changed in 2006. Mike Logan still backed up Polamalu, and did it well enough to get by. Logan has never been a standout, and it’s hard to play second fiddle to someone as naturally gifted and intelligent as Polamalu, but he did what was asked of him. Polamalu’s play seemed to be off a little in 2006, due at least in part to a nagging shoulder injury and a concussion that caused him to miss three games. While his statistical output per game was right in line with his previous seasons, he didn’t seem to be able to play the run nearly as well and wasn’t delivering the bone-jarring hits he’s been known for. He made more mental mistakes as well, including two ill-timed personal fouls early in the season.

Now for the future: two safeties are likely on their way out of Pittsburgh. Tyrone Carter and Mike Logan are both free agents, and as of now there has been no sign of interest in them from Pittsburgh — or any other team, for that matter. In all likelihood, one of them will be gone, presumably Carter. Logan may be re-signed for depth if nothing else, but he’s entering his 10th season so his re-signing is a toss-up at best.

On top of that, Polamalu is entering the final year of his contract. At this point, his re-signing needs to become a top priority for the Steelers, as he is the heart and soul of the defense, especially now that Joey Porter is gone. Polamalu is not the type of talent that should be set free under any circumstances.

While Polamalu will in all probability be re-signed before he ever hits the free agency market next year, the immediate need is depth at the position — which is becoming a recurring theme in Before the Draft. A pick for strong safety is likely, especially if Logan isn’t re-signed by draft day. There may also be a few hidden gems among those who don’t get drafted. It’s often hard to gauge the abilities of a safety in college, partly because the position gets the least attention of all on defense, and partly because the offenses in college tend to differ noticeably from those used in the pros, particularly in the percentage of passes made downfield. However, don’t epect a day-one pick at this position; more likely, expect it in round six or seven. There’s just not as much immediate need here as there is everywhere else.

Odd Little Fact: There seems to be a little disagreement on how tall Anthony Smith is. ESPN and CBS agree that he’s 5′ 11″. Rivals.com have him at 6′ 1″ in his college profile. Did all those hard hits collapse his spine a few inches?

In a word? Dreadful.

For a team that dropped $22.5 million on a five-year contract at the position, the output clearly didn’t equal the input in 2006. Ike Taylor seemed to be a step behind his 2005 performance, in which he was only beat for big plays a single time (80-yard touchdown from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison in a Monday night matchup). In 2006, Taylor was regularly beat like a bad dog, and his counterpart on the other side of the field, Deshea Townsend, spent a lot of time chasing open receivers as well. Between the two of them they registered a mere four interceptions and 23 passes defended.

It got so bad that the highly-paid weirdo — that would be Taylor, and you’ll understand the reference if you ever hear him talk about the childhood training regiment his uncle devised for him that included being dragged around his yard at 2:00 a.m. — was benched in favor of second-year player Bryant McFadden, arguably the best corner on the team.

Not what you expect for more than $3 million.

It didn’t help matters that up-and-coming Ricardo Colclough (can anyone explain to me how you get “Coakley” out of that?) went down with a season-ending neck injury during the bye week. Of course, losing a player to a non-football, non-contact injury served as a microcosm of the team’s season that went from bad to good to downright strange from the bye week on.

So consider for a moment what they had to work with by the time week four rolled around: two underachieving starters and a player with 13 career tackles entering the season at nickel back. Then throw in Anthony Madison, who wasn’t even activated until after the fourth game when the team had already fallen to a 1-3 record, and undrafted free agent Javon Johnson, who only played the final two games of the season, and you’ve got the makings of one of the weakest units in professional football. Combined, the cornerbacks accounted for just seven interceptions.

The question isn’t what to do. The answer to that should be obvious to anyone with a pulse. The real question that needs to be asked is: Where do you start?

They have limited speed and their tallest corner is Ike Taylor at 6-feet, 1-inch. Only McFadden has shown to have enough speed to keep up with the faster receivers in the league, and only Townsend has more than four years of experience in the league — and he’s about to play his 10th year, which means he’s probably in decline at this point.

The first place to start is in the draft. Thats really the only place to start, because any player worth anything in free agency has already been signed. So what do they do? They clearly can’t draft three cornerbacks because there aren’t enough picks in the draft for that. They have depth concerns just about everywhere else, though, which means they just need a lot of picks. It’s the whole rock-and-a-hard-place dilemma.

They could alleviate a lot of issues by trading down in at least one round to get more picks. Because of the wealth of good players available early in this year’s draft, they could trade down in the draft without a huge loss of talent. If they could make a trade down for a lower team’s first- and third- or first- and fourth-round picks, they could use those picks to take Penn State’s Paul Posluszny at linebacker and use the extra pick to add quality depth elsewhere. The keyword is quality, because numbers are not the problem.

With good starters just about everywhere else on the team, especially with the recent signing of OL Sean Mahan to bolster the right side of the line, the concerns are largely about depth anyway. That could move cornerback to the top of the list of concerns, so we could see the team use the first-round pick on University of Pittsburgh CB Darrelle Revis, Aaron Ross of the University of Texas, or maybe even Arkansas’s Chris Houston, who recently ripped off a 4.32-second 40-yard dash time and claims to have run a 4.34 40 in plain clothes in high school. He doesn’t bring any more height than the team already has, but he brings speed that hasn’t been here since the days of Rod Woodson.

The bottom line is this: the position has been shaky for years, but 2006 exposed additional weaknesses that Mike Tomlin will need to address in April.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: ONE WORD: NO.
- Day 2: LATE, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN.

Ah, the meat of the defense.

For a 3-4 defense, the middle linebacker position is vitally important. Because of the smaller number of linemen, the MLBs must be built larger but still have big-time speed. They’re called on to be the primary run stoppers and are often asked to drop into coverage. They play the spies on the defense, watching a quarterback’s every move. Each one is required to cover his side of the field on outside runs. And, at least in defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s zone-blitzing scheme, they are called on to take a shot at the quarterback, too.

Compare that to the middle linebacker in a 4-3: in this defense, they are fast and often much smaller than their 3-4 counterparts. With only one on the field at a time, they are more often than not assigned to coverage rolls, taking on backs in the flat or tight ends over the middle. The speed is needed for more than coverage, though. On running plays, they need to be able to run down carries that go outside the tackles. This means they are responsible for an area of the field that stretches from sideline to sideline. However, because of the single MLB on the field, their job is often diminished and is viewed as more of a support role.

Right now, the Steelers do not possess a 4-3 MLB. The closest they could come is Rian Wallace, but his lack of NFL experience would hinder that idea. It’s more than likely the team will at least attempt some 4-3 plays this season, and it’s a good bet they will simply accept the slight disadvantage they would face with either of their current starters — James Farrior and Larry Foote — filling the role.

From a 3-4 perspective, though, the team is as stout as always. Farrior led the team in tackles again last year, as he did in 2005. Larry Foote was second on the team both years. There hasn’t been much production from the other guys on the depth chart, because these two have been relatively healthy over the last several years.

Okay, that’s the good news. The bad news is the two will combine for over $7.5 million in cap dollars. That’s a lot of money. And Farrior, one of the most important players from a defensive perspective, is entering his 11th season. That doesn’t leave him with many productive years left. Foote will be entering his 6th season and has really started to hit a groove on the field, so he won’t be much of a concern. However, the backups have very little experience. Clint Kriewaldt, an eight-year veteran and a career backup, has just 63 tackles in his career. Rian Wallace has just nine in two seasons. Wallace was a 5th round draft pick and Kriewaldt wasn’t drafted.

The good news is that the Steelers at least have some depth. That’s more than they can say at some other positions, particularly on the offensive line and outside linebacker. They’ll draft someone for the position, but it won’t happen before round 6 unless they make some moves to get more picks. Chances are they won’t look at anyone in free agency, especially given the bloated salaries being negotiated this offseason. They’ll draft someone with potential, possibly from a Division II school. Coach Mike Tomlin will be looking for versatility because of the multiple looks the team will undoubtedly have this season.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: DEFINITELY
- Day 2: THEY MAY TAKE ANOTHER

If the nose tackle is the grunt in a 3-4 defense, then the outside linebackers are the glamor. Most of a team’s defensive production comes from this position. OLBs are the Swiss Army Knives of a defense: run stoppers, pass defenders and pass rushers. While nearly every defensive position on the field performs these same duties at one time or another, they don’t see such an even mix.

For several years, Joey Porter has been the Steelers’ go-to outside linebacker. He did it all on the field and had a reputation for being ferocious. On the Ladder of Nastiness, he stood just a single rung below Jack Lambert and Greg Lloyd, who personified Steeler defense. No one on the team talked a bigger game, and unlike a lot of players around the league, Porter backed it up — most of the time.

Now, Joey Porter is gone, having been cut in a salary cap move and subsequently signed with the Miami Dolphins. That leaves a big hole, but not as big as some people think.

Porter survived last season based largely on his reputation. His play slipped, primarily in pass coverage and run defense. While registering a team-leading seven sacks and two interceptions in 2006, the normal crispness in his play never seemed to be there. Missed assignments and blown coverage plagued his play all season, and a pulled hamstring sidelined him for the final two games of the season.

Opposite the defense from Porter is Clark Haggans, who is older than Porter but seems to just now be hitting the prime of his career. Haggans registered 21 more tackles than Porter, and only one fewer sack. Unfortunately, someone had to be a cap victim this season. Haggans’ smaller cap number, combined with his productivity and less wear and tear, made it a no-brainer. He is viewed by many as having more left in his tank, and is simply more affordable.

Behind these two are James Harrison and Arnold Harrison (no relation that I’m aware of). Both wound up on injured reserved in 2006, but the two played well in the little time they were on the field. Of them, James has the most experience by far, having played in every game in 2004 and 2005 and 11 in 2006 before being injured. Arnold has seen action in just seven games in his career.

In the immediate future, expect the 2007 starters to be Clark Haggans and James Harrison. They are prototypical Steelers linebackers and both have the speed to drop into coverage. Harrison is a better run stopper than Porter was, but lacks the instincts Porter has to penetrate the pocket when his number is called for a pass rush.

Down the road, though, we may see more of Arnold Harrison. He has excellent speed for a 3-4 OLB, and shows potential for a smooth transition to the 4-3 defense we’re all speculating Mike Tomlin would eventually like to use. The position would transfer more to containment on the outside, which was not Porter’s forte. Both Harrisons, as well as Haggans, have the speed and tackling abilities to excel in either defense, and Arnold Harrison may have the best run-stopping abilities of all three.

When draft day rolls around, the Steelers likely will take an outside linebacker on Day One. They have no depth at the position now that Porter is gone and desperately need backups. They’ve already brought in a free agent for discussions, and may well wind up signing him. Expect at least three OLBs to be added to the roster by training camp for a total of six, with four likely making it through the September cuts.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: MAYBE LATE
- Day 2: VERY POSSIBLE

Defensive end, like most positions on the roster, is unstable at best. The two starters, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, are signed through 2011 and 2009, respectively. Both players had good years, with Keisel completing his first season as a starter after taking over for the departed Kimo Von Oelhoffen. But depth is quickly becoming a problem for the Steelers, and defensive end is one of the places it will quickly rear its ugly head.

Backup left end Rodney Bailey is currently an unrestricted free agent, and the team has made no effort, or even signaled any intention, to re-sign him. On the right side of the line, the team has a lot of money wrapped up for 2007 in backup Travis Kirschke, who is scheduled to make $1.6 million to sit the bench and play special teams. On top of that, Kirschke is possibly in his last season in the league — he’s a 32-year-old, 10-year veteran with a slim chance of becoming a starter at this point in his career. Certainly not in Pittsburgh, and probably no where else.

The starters, however, are worth their money. Keisel signed a $13.1 million contract before the 2006 season and Aaron Smith just signed an extension that will pay him more than $24 million through 2011.

The only concern with the starters at this point is Aaron Smith’s age. 2007 will be his ninth season, and at age 30 is reaching the point when most guys in the trenches begin to consider retirement. His age aside, however, Smith has been one of the Steelers’ most consistent, dependable players since he was drafted.

While only two years younger than Smith, Keisel has nearly 40 fewer games under his belt and, obviously, 40 fewer contests in which he could have picked up dings and dents. The undrafted free agent — which is becoming a bit of a trend for Steeler starters — finished 2006 with 56 tackles and 5.5 sacks, both good, solid numbers in a 3-4 defense where the linebackers get the vast majority of the statistical action.

With a potential switch to a 4-3 defense looming on the horizon, both players may have to slim down and speed up a little in order to fit properly into the scheme. Getting smaller isn’t all that hard; getting faster is, especially when Keisel and Smith are 28 and 30 years old. Expect at least one defensive end to be drafted or picked up in free agency, and you can be certain he will be closer to 270 pounds than 300 pounds.

This year’s draft has a strong class of defensive ends, with at least five expected to go in the first round. Unfortunately, the Steelers have far more immediate needs to fill, because Gaines Adams or Jamaal Anderson would be a good fit in black and gold — although Adams would likely be moved to outside linebacker, at least for now, because of his smaller size.

As for free agents, the best prospect of the year never even hit the market: Philadelphia made it a major priority to re-sign Juqua Thomas, and they accomplished that. There are some young players available who may work as development players, but there are no current standouts available.

Expect the Steelers to start swinging away from the huge roadblock defensive ends and more toward the smaller, faster variety that works best in the 4-3 defense Mike Tomlin covets.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: THAT’S REALLY FUNNY!
- Day 2: STILL SILLY, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE

Today we start taking a look at the Steelers’ defense. The series will run through the end of March.

It didn’t seem possible way back in March of 2000, but a better nose tackle than Joel Steed would emerge in Pittsburgh, and his name was Casey Hampton. The 6′01″ behemoth has held between 315 and 325 pounds his entire career, and he knows how to throw it around better than anyone else at the position. In a 3-4 defense, a huge, ridiculously powerful nose tackle is a must, and Hampton goes beyond prototypical to almost-supernatural.

Filling Steed’s shoes was a big task, but Hampton quickly stepped up and took control of the defensive line. Flanked by Kimo Von Oelhoffen and Arron Smith most of his career, the three put together one of the best run-stuffing groups in recent memory, consistently ranking in the top five in the league in yards per carry against.

Hampton is a special player. Alongside Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca, Ben Roethlisberger and, to a slightly lesser extend Hines Ward, Hampton is without a doubt one of a small group of players who are simply indispensable.

Behind Hampton is Chris Hoke. The funny thing about the situation is that Hoke could easily be starting for a number of teams. His size is largely comparable to that of Hampton but his technique leaves a little to be desired. Granted, displacing Hampton in the lineup would be a titanic task, both figuratively and literally, but Hoke certainly has the skills to step up when needed and is more than an adequate replacement for Hampton if needed.

Basically, a 3-4 Steelers defense simply doesn’t need another nose tackle. The big question mark here, though, is how much 4-3 Mike Tomlin is going to introduce into the playbook. While these two would make a good 4-3 defensive line into a phenomenal defensive line, playing them both at the same time makes for a dramatically increased chance of disaster through injury. If the team will utilize a 4-3 defense in any way, shape or form, they will need to find a third tackle for their roster. So here’s a tell-tale sign of what the team plans to do defensively for the 2007 season: if they draft a defensive tackle or sign one of the free agents available, they will utilize the 4-3 defense to some extent. If not, this season will remain strictly 3-4. Without a third option, there is no way they can run a 4-3 without it carrying an immense risk.

If a nose tackle is drafted, don’t expect it on day one. With the kind of talent the team already has at the position, they would be drafting a 3rd-string player, at least for 2007. That’s because Hoke’s contract runs out after the 2007 season. Hampton is locked in through 2009, and his salaray cap numbers actually decrease after this season.

Expect the Steelers to start looking at nose tackles no sooner than round five. That puts players like Kansas State’s Quintin Echols (6′01″, 328 pounds) or Florida’s Joe Cohen (6′03″, 313 pounds) on the map for Pittsburgh. Neither of them posess the kind of strength Hampton has, but then again few players in the league do — at the Pro Bowl strength competition, Hampton was bested only by Larry Allen, who managed to lift the 225-pound bar a mere one more time than Hampton. But Echols matches Hampton pound for pound, while Cohen’s smaller size would make him a more likely fit in a 4-3 scheme.

A switch to more 4-3 isn’t very predictable until next season, even if a defensive tackle is drafted this season. The team will likely experiment with it if a third tackle is added, but the tell-tale sign of more dramatic change in defensive philosophy will be whether they re-sign Hoke next year.

In part one, we took a look at the overall make-up of the position as it currently stands, with an analysis of Hines Ward and Cedric Wilson, 2006’s official starters. Today we’ll look at emerging stars and the immediate and long-term future of the group.

Santonio Holmes came up big in 2006. On a team that focuses on running and generally makes use of experienced players over rookies, the youngster really made an impact. His 49 catches and 824 yards put him second on the team in receiving behind perrenial number-one target Ward — and 3.6 yards more per catch. He was regarded entering the 2006 draft as the best receiver, but the knock on him was that it was a draft that was especially thin at the position. Still, he managed great numbers for a number-two receiver in a run-oriented offense. He also returned punts, but while he did return one for a touchdown, he did fumble several of them away. That combined with some rare off-field problems with the law, put a damper on an otherwise-stellar season for the rookie that included a season-capping 67-yard overtime touchdown against the Bengals in the season finale.

Nate Washington also put up numbers that statistically looked good in his third season, looking more and more like a viable third option. However, the one statistic not commonly reported is dropped passes, and Washington had more than his fair share in 2006. He largely made up for it with his insane 17.8 yards-per-catch average on 35 receptions, four of which went for touchdowns. Washington is an exclusive-rights free agent, but his impact on the team in 2006 — and the fact that his salary under a new contract would undoubtedly be less than what Cedric Wilson is due to receive if he isn’t cut — will probably put Washington on the field in black and gold at least for one more season.

Given more pressing needs on the offensive line and at outside linebacker, the Steelers likely won’t take a receiver until at least round three — which is a shame, given the outstanding talent available. However, the Steelers’ front office and Personel Director Kevin Colbert excel at finding talented bargains, as is evidenced by players like running back Willie Parker (undrafted free agent), among others. One unlikely option would be dangling some trade bait — say, Joey Porter — in front of the New England Patriots to snag one of their two first-round picks and pick up either South Carolina’s Sindey Rice or Washington State’s Jason Hill. Rice is just outstanding, but has inexplicably been predicted to go very late in the first round on almost every draft board. And Hill? All he does is run the 40 in 4.32 seconds.

Two to three years from now it’s a safe bet to assume this group of receivers will be led by Santonio Holmes, probably across the field from Nate Washington and some mid-round 2007 draft pick in the slot. Holmes has the speed and the hands of a number-one option with no fear of going across the middle of the field, and just needs to get his head more in the game to go to the top tier. Washington has an unnatural ability to make the nearly impossible catches, but seems to lose focus when the ball hits him in the numbers. If those issues can be corrected, the Steelers have the makings of another Ward/Randle-El combination on their hands.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
- Day 1: ROUND 3 OR 4
- Day 2: ROUND 5 IF NOT DAY 1

Wide Receiver is a difficult position to analyze in a single post, so this is going to be split into two parts. it’s the only position besides the offensive line — which is actually thee positions — where there can be five on the field at one time. But at times there can be as few as one. It’s a position where depth is extremely important, in part because of the numbers required but also because teams often only keep a single big-play receiver on the roster. A gifted receiver can be a coach’s dream, but also his nightmare. See Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson for a few examples of top-tier players who can polarize an entire nation.

The Steelers’ depth at the position cannot be understated. Right now, the receiving corps. consists of Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Cedric Wilson, Nate Washington, Willie Reid, Lee Mays, Sean Morey, Rasheed Marshall and Walter Young. Ward, Holmes, Wilson and Washington combined for all but four receptions credited to the entire group, but expect the distribution to change a little in 2007. New offensive coordinator Bruce Arians has plans to utilize four-wide-receiver sets more often, taking advantage of historically run-oriented first and second downs to try and spread defenses out. And with only one of those players — Ward — absolutely guaranteed to start in 2007, training camp is going to be a very active time for the group.

The future — beyond 2007 — needs to be figured into the Steelers’ immediate plans. Hines Ward will be entering his 10th season come September, and the Super Bowl XL MVP is coming off a season in which injuries became far more common than he’s become accustomed to in his career. He was forced to sit out two games in 2006 — twice what he had missed in the previous eight seasons combined — but his production still managed to fall pretty much in line with his numbers from the previous five seasons. However, his salary cap numbers are beginning to reach the level that most people would consider “astronomical” for people not named Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. He’s due just short of $6 million this season, and by 2009 that number will be approaching $9 million. Not one Steelers fan would want to see Ward become a cap casualty, but given his price and age two years from now, it remains a possibility.

Here and now, it’s a safe bet to assume Cedric Wilson will be let go. He’s due $500,000 as a prorated portion of his signing bonus and a base salary of $1.9 million. Cutting Wilson means the team is stuck with his signing bonuses of $500,000 in both 2007 and 2008 counting against the cap, but that’s a far cry from the $1.9 million they’d save.

Those two aside, the money for the remaining receivers is astoundingly low, so it’s a pretty good assumption that all will return. The group has two wildcards: Washington and Reid. Washington had an acceptable season for a fourth receiver, with 35 catches and four touchdowns. Reid spent most of the season injured, so the jury remains out on him.

In Part 2, we will take a closer look at Santonio Holmes, make some predictions about the team’s future at Wide Receiver and examine other changes we can expect come September.

DRAFT POTENTIAL:
Day 1: NOPE. NO WAY, NO HOW.
Day 2: POSSIBLE, BUT UNLIKELY

Tight ends are a valuable asset in this league. They make great targets on trick plays, they serve at times as an additional offensive lineman, they can draw linebackers away from screens, they can receive screens, and if they’re fast enough they can even be downfield threats (see Steelers’ secondary enemy numero uno, Baltimore Raven Todd Heap). No other position is used with such versatility, and yet no other position that regularly handles the ball gets so little attention from the public — or opposing defenses.

That means good skills and diversity is important. The Steelers have rediscovered the usefulness of the position over the last two seasons with the arrival of Heath Miller. Combined with Jerame Tuman, they offer the same sort of one-two punch delivered by Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis during the 2005-06 Super Bowl run — albeit, not to the same extent, but similar nonetheless.

While he’s definitely no burner, Heath Miller is deceptively fast for his size. His height and long legs give him a slow, long stride similar to that of former NFL running back Herschel Walker, or the great Jim Brown. That doesn’t play to his advantage when trying to juke a defender, but let’s be honest here: when is the last time you saw a tight end run an out-and-up? Oh, and he is a mere 6′5″ and 256 pounds.

On the other side of the coin there’s Jerame Tuman. While ever so slightly smaller than Miller (6′4″, 253 pounds), Tuman is a considerably better blocker but lacks the speed and hands that Miller posesses. Tuman has been a member of the Steelers since his rookie year, signed as an undrafted free agent. He took over the starting job after former standout Mark Bruener left, and since the arrival of Miller has worked very well as the other bookend when the Steelers line up in a two-tight-end formation.

The team re-instated the tight end position as a large part of their passing offense when they signed Miller, who is known for his ability to make tough catches. While Tuman is capable of playing as a receiving tight end, his strong point is, without a doubt, his well-honed blocking skills.

With the two-tight-end sets so prominent in the team’s playbook, the team needs at least a third tight end on the roster. They signed former Buffalo Bill Tim Euhus on Feb. 15, shortly after signing undrafted rookie Jon Dekker to the practice squad. What either of them are capable of remains to be seen.

With much more pressing needs at offensive line, cornerback and outside linebacker, the only position likely to get less attention in the draft than tight end this year is quarterback. Free agent options look great if you want a starter, but the Steelers have two solid performers with experience. Expect the team to pick up one of the lower-rated free agents near the end of the summer, or possibly sign an undrafted rookie free agent. They need depth at nearly every position, especially when looking beyond 2007, so a position with four options available is likely to get shuffled to the back burner.