This article hit one of my alerts and figured I would share:
http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/20...d-look-with-some-of-the-nfls-top-pitt-talent/
The other day, we discussed the fact that the Steelers haven’t really been keen on acquiring SEC talent until very recently. Of course, Pittsburgh has made up ground in other areas by nailing draft picks from other conferences, but it’s a little strange the Steelers have avoided tapping into the talent in their own backyard.
The University of Pittsburgh, at this point in time, is a middling, average college football program at best, but they can claim some of the NFL’s most elite talent as alumni. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they just haven’t been in position to take any of these players from the school that shares a facility with them.
But let’s imagine if they did. Here’s how different the Steelers roster would look if they could have gotten their hands on one of these six elite University of Pittsburgh talents:
Larry Fitzgerald, WR
The man affectionately known as “Larry Legend” nearly became the first player from the University of Pittsburgh to win the Heisman Trophy since Tony Dorsett. He was selected with the third overall pick of the 2004 draft. Obviously, the Steelers were in no position to draft Fitzgerald since they haven’t had a top five draft pick since 1970, but things would’ve looked much different in Pittsburgh had the Steelers been able to retain the hometown guy. For starters, Fitzgerald would’ve instantly given the Steelers arguably the best receiving duo in the league with him and Hines Ward. He has over 12,000 career receiving yards and 89 touchdowns, but only enjoyed four seasons of relatively stable quarterback play when Kurt Warner was in town. Then again, selecting Fitzgerald likely would’ve left Ben Roethlisberger on the table, and the Cardinals are now dealing with the ramifications of a monster deal Fitzgerald signed several seasons ago, so the Steelers probably came out on top of this one.
LeSean McCoy, RB
McCoy seemed destined for stardom from the get-go. In fact, the only reason he attended Pitt in the first place is because a dislocated ankle voided his commitment to the University of Miami. Either way, the University of Pittsburgh got several good years out of “Shady” before he was ultimately selected in the second round of the 2009 Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, he quickly became one of the league’s best running backs. In 2008, the Steelers selected Rashard Mendenhall with their first round pick, so springing for McCoy probably wasn’t in the budget. Granted, Mendenhall was a good, solid player for the Steelers, but his career doesn’t come close to what McCoy has done. Adding McCoy to the Pittsburgh offense would’ve given them a dangerous threat out of the backfield while providing stability to the entirety of the offense. McCoy is still only 27, so if the Steelers did draft him, he would likely still be in a Pittsburgh uniform, which probably would’ve prevented Le’Veon Bell from being drafted. Again, the Steelers look to have come out on top.
Andy Lee, P
Normally, in terms of game-altering effectiveness, the punter isn’t the first position that would come to mind. But over the last decade or so, the Steelers haven’t enjoyed any semblance of consistency in their punting department. While it can be argued the punting aspect of football is a black and white, win or loss scenario, it’s still important to acknowledge Lee could’ve given the Steelers a four-time All-Pro punter and provided stability to the special teams. Lee was a sixth-round draft choice, meaning San Francisco clearly visualized his talent, and in doing so acquired arguably the best punter in the league not named Pat McAfee.
Darrelle Revis, CB
Revis is a bit of an interesting candidate for this list because he very well may have ended up in a Pittsburgh uniform if it wasn’t for the team drafting directly in front of them scooping up the All-American. The Steelers watched as the Jets selected the hometown Revis, who unlike everyone on this list so far, is actually from the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Fortunately, the Steelers drafted Lawrence Timmons that season, which is a great trade off, and from 2007 through 2012, the Steelers had one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. Of course, the addition of a lock-down cornerback like Revis is always a welcome addition. Try imagining a scenario where a secondary including Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Revis isn’t terrifying for the league’s other 31 teams. More than anything, if the Steelers had drafted Revis and still had him on the roster, he could have gone a long way in helping their current woes in the secondary. Revis is, however, one of the highest paid players in the league, and his contract could have done some serious damage to the Steelers’ cap situation.
Jabaal Sheard, pass rusher
Although Sheard doesn’t possess the accolades of any of the previous inclusions, he’s been nothing but solid since he was selected in the second-round of the 2011 NFL Draft. The Patriots signed Sheard to a contract this offseason, so you can probably assume he’s a Pro Bowler this season. The Steelers selected Cameron Heyward in 2011, but if they could have found a way to ensure Sheard ended up wearing black and gold, some of the Steelers’ pass rushing woes could’ve been eased slightly. Sheard has been one of the best run defending linebackers in the league, so if nothing else, his addition to the Steelers could help sure up a revamped front seven.
Aaron Donald, defensive lineman
It’s been a while (like three years) since Pitt has sent a perennial All-Pro to the NFL, so when Donald was selected by the Rams in 2014, it broke Pitt’s mini dry spell. In his first season, Donald collected nine sacks, ranking second in the league as far as defensive tackles are concerned, made the Pro Bowl and was selected as the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Not a bad start at all. The Penn Hills native, by all accounts, is among the best, young defensive players in football. He weighs only 285 pounds, so if he would’ve ended up in Pittsburgh he would be playing defensive end, but a defensive line with Cameron Heyward and Donald as your 3-4 bookends would be one of the most fearsome in the NFL. Donald clearly possesses the capabilities to be an elite pass rusher at the defensive tackle position, but he skills could probably translate to end position in a 3-4 scheme.
While the Steelers haven’t really been in position to select any of the fine Pitt talents who have entered the draft, their impact on the league has been significant, so maybe in the future the Steelers can take a more internal approach in yielding some local talent.
http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/20...d-look-with-some-of-the-nfls-top-pitt-talent/
The other day, we discussed the fact that the Steelers haven’t really been keen on acquiring SEC talent until very recently. Of course, Pittsburgh has made up ground in other areas by nailing draft picks from other conferences, but it’s a little strange the Steelers have avoided tapping into the talent in their own backyard.
The University of Pittsburgh, at this point in time, is a middling, average college football program at best, but they can claim some of the NFL’s most elite talent as alumni. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they just haven’t been in position to take any of these players from the school that shares a facility with them.
But let’s imagine if they did. Here’s how different the Steelers roster would look if they could have gotten their hands on one of these six elite University of Pittsburgh talents:
Larry Fitzgerald, WR
The man affectionately known as “Larry Legend” nearly became the first player from the University of Pittsburgh to win the Heisman Trophy since Tony Dorsett. He was selected with the third overall pick of the 2004 draft. Obviously, the Steelers were in no position to draft Fitzgerald since they haven’t had a top five draft pick since 1970, but things would’ve looked much different in Pittsburgh had the Steelers been able to retain the hometown guy. For starters, Fitzgerald would’ve instantly given the Steelers arguably the best receiving duo in the league with him and Hines Ward. He has over 12,000 career receiving yards and 89 touchdowns, but only enjoyed four seasons of relatively stable quarterback play when Kurt Warner was in town. Then again, selecting Fitzgerald likely would’ve left Ben Roethlisberger on the table, and the Cardinals are now dealing with the ramifications of a monster deal Fitzgerald signed several seasons ago, so the Steelers probably came out on top of this one.
LeSean McCoy, RB
McCoy seemed destined for stardom from the get-go. In fact, the only reason he attended Pitt in the first place is because a dislocated ankle voided his commitment to the University of Miami. Either way, the University of Pittsburgh got several good years out of “Shady” before he was ultimately selected in the second round of the 2009 Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, he quickly became one of the league’s best running backs. In 2008, the Steelers selected Rashard Mendenhall with their first round pick, so springing for McCoy probably wasn’t in the budget. Granted, Mendenhall was a good, solid player for the Steelers, but his career doesn’t come close to what McCoy has done. Adding McCoy to the Pittsburgh offense would’ve given them a dangerous threat out of the backfield while providing stability to the entirety of the offense. McCoy is still only 27, so if the Steelers did draft him, he would likely still be in a Pittsburgh uniform, which probably would’ve prevented Le’Veon Bell from being drafted. Again, the Steelers look to have come out on top.
Andy Lee, P
Normally, in terms of game-altering effectiveness, the punter isn’t the first position that would come to mind. But over the last decade or so, the Steelers haven’t enjoyed any semblance of consistency in their punting department. While it can be argued the punting aspect of football is a black and white, win or loss scenario, it’s still important to acknowledge Lee could’ve given the Steelers a four-time All-Pro punter and provided stability to the special teams. Lee was a sixth-round draft choice, meaning San Francisco clearly visualized his talent, and in doing so acquired arguably the best punter in the league not named Pat McAfee.
Darrelle Revis, CB
Revis is a bit of an interesting candidate for this list because he very well may have ended up in a Pittsburgh uniform if it wasn’t for the team drafting directly in front of them scooping up the All-American. The Steelers watched as the Jets selected the hometown Revis, who unlike everyone on this list so far, is actually from the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Fortunately, the Steelers drafted Lawrence Timmons that season, which is a great trade off, and from 2007 through 2012, the Steelers had one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. Of course, the addition of a lock-down cornerback like Revis is always a welcome addition. Try imagining a scenario where a secondary including Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Revis isn’t terrifying for the league’s other 31 teams. More than anything, if the Steelers had drafted Revis and still had him on the roster, he could have gone a long way in helping their current woes in the secondary. Revis is, however, one of the highest paid players in the league, and his contract could have done some serious damage to the Steelers’ cap situation.
Jabaal Sheard, pass rusher
Although Sheard doesn’t possess the accolades of any of the previous inclusions, he’s been nothing but solid since he was selected in the second-round of the 2011 NFL Draft. The Patriots signed Sheard to a contract this offseason, so you can probably assume he’s a Pro Bowler this season. The Steelers selected Cameron Heyward in 2011, but if they could have found a way to ensure Sheard ended up wearing black and gold, some of the Steelers’ pass rushing woes could’ve been eased slightly. Sheard has been one of the best run defending linebackers in the league, so if nothing else, his addition to the Steelers could help sure up a revamped front seven.
Aaron Donald, defensive lineman
It’s been a while (like three years) since Pitt has sent a perennial All-Pro to the NFL, so when Donald was selected by the Rams in 2014, it broke Pitt’s mini dry spell. In his first season, Donald collected nine sacks, ranking second in the league as far as defensive tackles are concerned, made the Pro Bowl and was selected as the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Not a bad start at all. The Penn Hills native, by all accounts, is among the best, young defensive players in football. He weighs only 285 pounds, so if he would’ve ended up in Pittsburgh he would be playing defensive end, but a defensive line with Cameron Heyward and Donald as your 3-4 bookends would be one of the most fearsome in the NFL. Donald clearly possesses the capabilities to be an elite pass rusher at the defensive tackle position, but he skills could probably translate to end position in a 3-4 scheme.
While the Steelers haven’t really been in position to select any of the fine Pitt talents who have entered the draft, their impact on the league has been significant, so maybe in the future the Steelers can take a more internal approach in yielding some local talent.
