Consider Randle El replaced

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, May 01, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers draft the way they play -- aggressively.

Buried at the bottom of the NFL draft order by virtue of their Super Bowl
victory, the Steelers couldn't just sit there and wait for whatever filtered
down. So after a couple of hours of fidgeting last Saturday afternoon, they
traded up seven spots with the New York Giants (giving up their third and
fourth-round picks) to snag Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

Then they reclaimed two third-round picks with other trades and used them
for Syracuse University DB Anthony Smith and Florida State WR Willie Reid.

The end result, among other things, is that the departure of Antwaan Randle
El to free agency has been largely overcome. Holmes has the speed (4.39) to
stretch defenses the way Randle El did, and Reid was his school's all-time
leading punt returner (another Randle El forte).

Cedrick Wilson will probably fill Randle El's starting spot at wide
receiver, but Holmes and Reid should see a lot of action as extra wideouts
in third down formations.

Even picking at No. 25, the Steelers got the first wide receiver in the
draft in Holmes, who caught 53 passes for 972 yards and 11 touchdowns as a
Buckeye last season. And Reid may have been a steal -- his statistics at FSU
last season were shrunken somewhat by some minor injuries.

Smith could be another coup. Syracuse had a dreadful 2005 season (1-10), but
most of the problems lay on the offensive side. The defense spent as much
time on the field as any unit in the country, and Smith was everywhere -- 71
tackles (50 solo), six interceptions, eight pass breakups, five tackles for
loss and three sacks. He also blocked a punt, giving him six for his career,
which means he'll probably start out his Steeler career paying dues on
special teams.

The selection of quarterback Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green, taken in Round
Five, may have been a reflection of Steeler coach Bill Cowher's hatred of
mistakes. Like starter Ben Roethlisberger, another MAC product (Miami of
Ohio), Jacobs was a prolific passer without being careless -- at one point
in his career, he threw 224 straight passes without an interception.

Some draft pundits expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to take Southern Cal RB LenDale
White, thus re-filling the retiring Jerome (The Bus) Bettis' role as a red
zone beast of burden. The fact that they didn't address that need, at least
in the first five rounds, may indicate that Duce Staley is expected to be
healthy again.
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