NFL Draft 2011: Steelers’ Draft Philosophy About to Be Challenged

April 16, 2011   ·   Andrew Pregler   ·   Jump to comments

What often defines an average drafting team from a good or even great drafting team is the presence, or lack, of draft philosophy.
For the Steelers under Kevin Colbert and the excellent coaching staff, this year possesses a real challenge to their philosophy for two main reasons: drafting for need over talent, and the drafting strategy for the secondary.
The idea of drafting for need over talent is a little more flexible than it seems. The Steelers have this habit of drafting players who will fill a need in the future after learning their system, but at the time looks like a talent based pick.
With the exception of Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, every other pick has filled a need, but not an immediate one.
The Steelers bucked that trend last year with Maurkice Pouncy, who surprised everyone with his ability to lead the offensive line.
Tomlin's other first round picks (Lawrence Timmons, Rashard Mendenhall and Ziggy Hood) all looked like players who he knew could f...

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