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Draft Value Board - Defense (Final Update)

April 23, 2004 by Steel Haven

The court decision to keep Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett out of the regular draft along with some last minute, minor shuffling of the rankings has changed things enough to warrant publishing a new version of the value boards. Any additional Steeler specific comments that were not included in the 4/16 version are in red.

  Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
DT *Vince Wilfork - Miami
*Tommie Harris - Oklahoma
Marcus Tubbs - Texas
Darnell Dockett - Florida St
*Randy Starks - Maryland 		*Igor Olshansky - Oregon
*Donnell Washington - Clemson
Terry Johnson - Washington (DE)
Dwan Edwards - Oregon State
*Matthias Askew - Michigan St 		Isaac Sopoaga - Hawaii
Chad Lavalais - LSU
Tim Anderson - Ohio St
Tommy Kelley - Miss State (DE)
*Ahmad Childress - Alabama
DeMarco McNeil - Auburn
Steelers Notes: Harris (6'2.4", 292, 4.79)+ would provide value in the first round, although there does not appear to be an immediate need at DE with Smith and von Oelhoffen slated to start. Starks (6'3.3", 314, 5.16) has not worked out well and could conceivably drop to 44. He played at end in a 3-4 in college and would be an intriguing choice. Washington (6'5.7", 323, 5.00), Johnson (6'2.7", 302, 4.77) and Askew (6'5.3", 301, 5.26) would also possibly fit at end in the 3-4. Johnson really improved his stock at the combine. All are unlikely choices though since the FO usually tries to find 3-4 DE's in the third round or later. A couple of third round prospects that bear watching are Anderson (6'3.2", 307, 5.02) and Kelley (6'5.6", 299, 4.97). Anderson improved his stock at Ohio State's pro day with Cowher in attendence. Kelley had a very good combine workout and looks like a perfect fit as a 3-4 end. Depth is also needed inside, but since Hampton went to the Pro Bowl last year no DT that projects as a 3-4 NT is likely to be picked on the first day.
DE *Kenechi Udeze - USC
Will Smith - Ohio St (OLB)
Jason Babin - Western Mich
*Antwan Odom - Alabama 		*Marquise Hill - LSU (DT)
Travis LaBoy - Hawaii (OLB) 		Shaun Phillips - Purdue (OLB)
Bobby McCray - Florida (OLB)
Isaac Hilton - Howard (OLB)
Steelers Notes: Udeze (6'2.7", 273, 4.79) and Hill (6'6.6", 296, 5.26) would provide value in the first and second round respectively if the FO decides to go against form and select someone to play end earlier than usual. Smith (6'2.4", 267, 4.60) could conceivably be the best player available at 11. He seems to have the skills to stand up outside in a 3-4. His size, speed, and athleticism would be welcome additions on the edge. However, after resigning Haggans and drafting Jackson last year it is hard to envision another OLB being added to the mix in round 1. The draft stock of Babin (6'1.5", 260, 4.65) has risen to the point that he is unlikely to be available at 44. LaBoy (6'3.2", 263, 4.69), Phillips (6'3.3", 253, 4.72), McCray (6'5.7", 251, 4.74) and Hilton (6'3.3", 267, 4.57) could all be considered on day 1 as developmental 3-4 OLB's.
ILB Jonathan Vilma - Miami Daryl Smith - Ga Tech (OLB) Courtney Watson - Notre Dame (ILB)
Rod Davis - Southern Miss
Richard Seigler - Oregon St
Steelers Notes: Depth behind Bell and Farrior will probably be addressed on the second day. Vilma (6'0.4", 233, 4.61) and Smith (6'1.4", 234, 4.61) seem out of reach. They are both a bit undersized anyway. Watson (6'1.3", 238, 4.55), Davis (6'2", 238, 4.72) and Seigler (6'2.5", 243, 4.88) could all be considered if they happen to slide into the fourth round.
OLB DJ Williams - Miami Karlos Dansby - Auburn
Teddy Lehman - Oklahoma
Michael Boulware - Florida St
Dontarrious Thomas - Auburn (ILB) 		Demorrio Williams � Nebraska
Steelers Notes: Traditional 4-3 OLB's will not get much consideration, especially on the first day. Dansby (6'3.3", 247, 4.63) and Thomas (6'2.5", 244, 4.56) could play inside in a 3-4. Lehman (6'1.4", 237, 4.55), Boulware (6'2.1", 227, 4.48) and Williams (6'0.6", 232, 4.54) don't really fit.
CB *DeAngelo Hall - Va Tech
Dunta Robinson - South Car
*Chris Gamble - Ohio St
Ricardo Colclough - Tusculum
*Ahmad Carroll - Arkansas 		Will Poole - USC
Derrick Strait - Oklahoma
Keith Smith - McNeese St
Shawntae Spencer - Pitt
Jeremy LeSueur � Michigan 		Joey Thomas - Montana St
Nathan Vasher - Texas
Rich Gardner - Penn St
Keiwan Ratliff - Florida
Steelers Notes: Hall (5'10", 202, 4.40) and Robinson (5'10.5", 186, 4.37) are a cut above. If the first rounder is used on something other than a QB the smart money is that one of them will be the pick. There is alot of depth at CB and solid value should be available at picks 44 and 75. Gamble (6'1.6", 196, 4.52) is sliding after posting disappointing 40 times. His size and athleticism should keep him in the first round. Colclough (5'10.5", 189, 4.49), Carroll (5'9.5", 195, 4.35) and Smith (5'11.6", 200, 4.51) have seen their stock soar. Spencer (6'0", 176, 4.48) is also shooting up draft boards after not even being invited to the combine. His slight build remains a major concern in run support. LeSueur (6'0", 197, 4.55) is a big corner that could be hurt by the decision to more strictly enforce the 5 yard chuck rule. Strait (5'11.0", 198, 4.54), Poole (5'10.1", 184, 4.64), Vasher (5'10", 175, 4.50) and Ratliff (5'10.6", 193, 4.60) were all productive collegians that have disappointed in the post season. Strait and Poole might lack the upside of some of the other corners, but after Hall and Robinson are still probably most likely to help immediately. Poole was apparently sick during his pro day and is expected to run again for teams in the week leading up to the draft. Vasher actually ran a 4.65 at the Texas pro day, but greatly improved that time in an individual workout for the Bears and at a second personal pro day performance. Thomas (6'0.7", 195, 4.47) did not quite show the athleticism of the other small college projects, but his size speed ratio should get him drafted on the first day. Gardner (5'10.5", 199, 4.50) has worked out better than expected and could also sneak into the first day.

Poole worked out again for scouts on Friday, 4/16. He weighed in at 194, running 4.50 with the wind and 4.59 against the wind. While the times were not great when combined with his regaining weight lost to illness this was definitely a positive development.
S *Sean Taylor - Miami
*Sean Jones - Georgia 		*Matt Ware - UCLA (CB)
Bob Sanders - Iowa
Stuart Schweigert - Purdue 		*Jason Shivers - Arizona St
Will Allen - Ohio St
Madieu Williams - Maryland
Steelers Notes: The likelyhood of a first day safety being drafted appears remote with Polamalu and Hope having been selected on the first day the last two years and Logan being resigned in the offseason. Taylor (6'2.4", 228, 4.51) was surprisingly not invited by the NFL to the attend the draft and his stock appears to be falling. Should he unexpectedly make it to 11, he will probably keep right on falling unless a trade is worked out to move down with a team that has targeted him. Ware (6'2.2", 210, 45.1) played CB the last two years and his size would be intriguing. Whether he is fluid enough in coverage to remain at corner in the pros is the big question.


  Rounds 4-5 Rounds 6-7 Others
DT Darrell Campbell - Notre Dame
Junior Siavii - Oregon St
Eric Taylor - Memphis
*Amon Gordon - Stanford
Rodney Leisle - UCLA
Jorden Carstens - Iowa St
Mondre Dickerson - Tennessee
Brandon Kennedy - North Texas 		Chad Pugh - TCU
Cedric Hilliard - Notre Dame
Ryon Bingham - Nebraska
Jared Clauss - Iowa (DE)
Corey Williams - Arkansas St
Jon Bradley - Arkansas St
Damane Duckett - East Carolina
Jeremy Caudill - Kentucky 		Ryan Boschetti - UCLA
Grant Bowman - Michigan
Anthony Bryant - Alabama
Larry Burt - Miami, Ohio
Brandon Calton - East Tenn St
Dietrich Canterberry - UNLV
Christian Ferrara - Syracuse
Louis Gachelin - Syracuse
Doug Goodwin - Boston College
Norman Heuer - Michigan
Spencer Johnson - Auburn
Patrick Kabonga -Nebraska
Anthony Maddox - Delta St
Aaron McConnell - Pittsurg St
Sean Mulcahy - Connecticut
Mike O'Brien - Western Ill
Ifo Pili - BYU
Kyle Rasmussen - Michigan St
Jeff Ruffin - Illinois
Linnis Smith - Texas A&M
Craig Terrill - Purdue
Tai Tupai - Washington St
Ken Veal - Georgia
Paul White - Hampton
Jeremy Williams - Washington St
Jeff Womble, Florida St
Matt Zielinski - Duke
Steelers Notes: Siavii (6'4.4", 344, 5.22), Kennedy (5'10", 312), Pugh (6'2.7", 317, 5.85) and Hilliard (6'1.4", 307, 5.22) would provide much needed depth behind Hampton at a reasonable cost. Siavii's draft status could be affected by off the field issues. Kennedy has been unable to workout due to an ankle injury. Campbell (6'3.7", 302, 5.14), Gordon (6'2.2", 302, 5.02), Carstens (6'5.4", 305, 5.08), and Clauss (6'5", 287, 4.98) are possibilities for depth at DE.

Taylor (6'2.4", 304, 4.83) made an official visit to Pittsburgh and is reportedly one of the fastest risers in the draft. He is a two gap run stuffer that would fit perfectly as a 3-4 end.
DE Darrion Scott - Ohio St
Dave Ball - UCLA (DT)
Bo Schobel - TCU
Nathaniel Adibi - Va Tech (OLB)
*Robert Geathers - Georgia
Andrew Shull - Kansas St
Gabe Nyenhuis - Colorado
Greg Taplin - Michigan St 		Jared Allen - Idaho St
Claude Harriott - Pitt (OLB)
Spencer Johnson - Auburn (DT)
*Tony Hargrove - Ga Tech (OLB)
Raheem Orr - Rutgers (OLB)
Trevor Johnson - Nebraska
Shawn Johnson - Delaware
Kalen Thornton - Texas
Kevin Emanuel - Florida St
Constantin Ritzmann - Tennessee 		Farouk Adelekan - Houston
Charlie Anderson - Mississippi
James Davis - Va Tech
Quinn Dorsey - Oregon
Jason Frank - Northern Ill
Greg Gathers - Ga Tech
Louis Hobson - Purdue
Howard Hodges - Iowa
Thomas Houchin - Kansas St
Erasmus James - Wisconsin
Ronald Jones - Southern Miss
Alain Kashama - Michigan
Darrell Lee - Florida
Tom Martin - Boston College
Nautyn McKay-Loescher - Alabama
Brian Montesanto - Arizona St
Omar Nazel - USC
Kevin Nesfield - Purdue
Antonio Smith - OK St
Tyson Smith - Iowa St
Michale Spicer - Western Carolina
Larry Stevens - Michigan
Derrick Strong - Illinois
Josh Thomas - Syracuse
John Thompson - La Monroe
Khaleed Vaughn - Clemson
Steelers Notes: Scott (6'3.1", 289, 4.87) has the size and skills to provide immediate depth at end. Ball (6'5.2", 274), Schobel (6'5", 271, 4.88) and Allen (6'6", 265, 4.72) would need to add bulk to their long frames. Ball begged off running at both the combine and his pro day which could hurt his stock. Adibi (6'2.6", 254, 4.64), Harriott (6'3.5", 252, 4.73), Hargrove (6'3.6", 269, 4.69), and Orr (6'3", 258, 4.73) are possible developmental prospects at OLB. Hargrove looks like an especially good fit, but he declared early after sitting out his junior season due to academic issues.
ILB Niko Koutouvides - Purdue
Cody Spencer - North Texas
Jorge Cordova - Nevada (OLB)
Jonathon Harrell - Northern Iowa (OLB)
Grant Wiley - West Va (OLB) 		Caleb Miller - Arkansas (OLB)
Carl Diggs - Michigan
Rich Scanlon - Syracuse
Sean Tufts - Colorado
Lewis Moore - Pittsburgh (OLB)
Kellen Brantley - Wake Forest (OLB)
Reed Boyd - Texas
Ryan Fowler - Duke (OLB) 		Allen Augustin - Florida St
Dante Balestracci - Harvard
Gino Capone - Penn St
Marc Dailey - Fresno St
Nick Duffy - Nortern Ill
Patrick Durr - Northwestern
Matt Farrior - Florida
John Garrett - Baylor
Jeremiah Garrison - South Carolina
Shaka Hill - Memphis
Ray Holdcraft - Utah
Kitwana Jones - Hampton
Mike Lambinjo - Michigan St
David Lusky - Eastern Mich
Jeff Mack - Wiconsin
Chad Mascoe - Central Fla
Jared Morris - Texas A&M
Robert Peace - Tennessee
Brandt Quick - Tulane
Vegas Robinson - Va Tech
Roderick Royal - McNeese St
Joe Siofele - Arizona
Mike Tanner - BYU
Daryl Towns - Nevada
Ben West - Minnesota
Drew Wood - Colorado St
Steelers Notes: There isn't really alot here of special interest. Koutouvides (6'2.4", 244, 4.71), Spencer (6'2.5", 242, 4.66), Cordova (6'1.4", 237, 4.67) and Wiley (6'0", 233, 4.76) could be worth a look as backups. Harrell (6'1.4", 242) is hurt and has not worked out in the postseason.
OLB Keyaron Fox - Ga Tech
Uyi Osunde - Connecticut (DE)
Gilbert Gardner - Purdue
Alex Lewis - Wisconsin (ILB)
Marquis Cooper - Washington (SS)
Brandon Chillar - UCLA
Maurice Jones - South Fla (ILB)
Roderick Green - Cent Mo St (DE) 		Bryan Hickman - Kansas St
Leon Joe - Maryland
Landon Johnson - Purdue
Josh Buhl - Kansas St
Reggie Torbor - Auburn
Greg Richmond - OK St
Kendyll Pope - Florida St
Derrick Pope - Alabama
Kevin Mitchell - Oregon
Kellen Brantley - Wake Forest
Cols Colas - Va Tech (DE)
Colby Bockwoldt - BYU 		DD Acholonu - Washington St (DE)
Steve Baggs - Bethune Cookman
Troy Bennett - Temple
Isaac Brown - Washington St
Jason Clark - Miss St
*Brooks Daniels - Alabama
Rod Day - Louisville
Jameel Dumas - Syracuse
Tyler Gottschalk - Wyoming
Tyjuan Hagler - Cincinnati
Marques Harris - Colorado (DE)
TJ Hollowell - Nebraska
Pasha Jackson - Oklahoma
John Leake - Clemson
Mike McNeil - Western Carolina
Paul Nixon - Minnesota
Josh Ott - Boston College
Terrell Paul - Southern Miss
Eric Pauly - Colorado St
Robert Reynolds - Ohio St
Tor-El Robinson - Bethune Cookman
Lee Russell - Western Ill
Lorenzo Scott - Ball St
Melvin Simmons - USC
Grant Steen - Iowa
KT Stovall - Appalachian St
Willie Strother - New Mexico
Deryck Toles - Penn St
Renauld Williams - Hofstra
Cornelius Wortham - Alabama
Kevin Worthy - Iowa
Steelers Notes: Osundi (6'3.1", 251, 4.80), Green (6'2.2", 245, 4.75), Torber (6'2.3", 354, 4.65), Richmond (6'1.2", 233, 4.74), and Colas (5'11.5", 240, 4.58) could provide depth on the outside. Lewis (5'11.6", 227, 4.55) is a possibility inside, although he is small. Chillar (6'2.7", 253, 4.74) and Jones (6'0.6", 249, 4.71) have nice size and could be worth a look inside despite a lack of top speed. Fox (6'2.1", 229, 4.76), Gardner (6'1.2", 229, 4.65) and Cooper (6'3.2, 223, 4.58) do not seem to have a place in the 3-4.
CB Greg Brooks - Southern Miss
Bruce Thornton - Georgia
Kevin Millhouse - Hawaii
Roc Alexander - Washington
Marcell Allmond - USC
Jenaro Gilford - BYU
Chris Thompson - Nicholls St
Chris DeLoatch - NC A&T
Vontez Duff - Notre Dame 		Randy Jordan - Kansas St
Lawrence Richardson - Arkansas
Rufus Brown - Florida St
Dexter Wynn - Colorado St (KR)
Von Hutchins - Mississippi
Stanford Samuels - Florida St
Michael Waddell - North Carolina
Jabari Greer - Tennessee
Curome Cox - Maryland
Marvin Jackson - Chadron St
Christian Morton - Illinois 		Dwight Anderson - South Dakota
Kevin Arbet - USC
James Bethea - California
Decory Bryant - Georgia
Leonard Burress - Kentucky
Ted Crawford - South Carolina
Jason David - Washington St
Kendall Edwards - Fresno St
Randall Gay - LSU
*Greg Golden - NC St
Michael Harden - Missouri
Eddie Jackson - Arkansas
Michael Jovilette - Arizona
Nate Jones - Rutgers
Alfonso Marshall - Miami
Josh Minkins - Louisville
Zach Norton - Cincinnati
Janssen Patten - Bowling Green
Jacques Reeves - Purdue
Jonas Rutledge - SMU
Benny Sapp - Northern Iowa
Daryl Shaw - Wake Forest
Jeff Shoate - SD St
Tony Tiller - East Tenn St
Sean Weston - Texas A&M
Lawrence Williams - Lehigh
Lenny Williams - Southern
Corey Yates - Southern Miss
Steelers Notes: Brooks (5'10.2", 173, 4.53) and Thornton (5'10.3", 197, 4.45) could help immediately, but will probably never develop into anything more than nickel backs. Alexander (5'11.1", 185, 4.39) is worth a look because of his speed and Allmond (6'0.5", 201, 4.50) because of his size. Millhouse (6'0.7", 208, 4.41) and Gildord (6'1.2", 188, 4.47) are two MWC performers with size/speed ratios that can't be ignored. Thompson (6'0", 189, 4.53) and DeLoatch (6'2.2", 214, 4.51) are small college sleepers that opened some eyes at the combine.
S Brandon Everage - Arkansas
Dexter Reid - North Carolina
Etric Pruitt - Southern Miss
Gibril Wilson - Tennessee
Deandre Eiland - South Carolina (CB)
Arnold Parker - Utah (CB)
Rashad Washington - Kansas St
Guss Scott - Florida 		JR Reed - South Fla
Tony Bua - Arkansas
Glenn Earl - Notre Dame
Erik Coleman - Washington St
Rashad Baker - Tennessee
Keith Lewis - Oregon
Brett Hudson - Arizona St (CB)
Maurice Sikes - Miami
Qiunton Williams - Wake Forest
Kentrell Curry - Ga Tech 		Ryan Aycock - Texas Tech
JaMaine Billups - Iowa St
Levy Brown - Florida A&M
Greg Carothers - Washington
Derrick Cash - Baylor
Obi Chukwumah -Wake Forest
Elbert Craig - OK St
Daryl Dixon - Florida
Mark Graham - Buffalo
Michael Grant - Mars Hill
Jack Hunt - LSU
Charles Jones - Alabama
Gerald Jones - San Jose St
Brian King - West Va
*Omar Laurence - South Fla
Nate Loughran - St Cloud St
Scott Mackey - Grand Valley St
Bryce McGill - Fresno St
Medford Moorer - Colorado
Ben Nauman - Augustana
Dakari Pearson -Texas
Rayshaun Reed - Troy St
Justin Sandy - Northern Iowa
Lawrence Turner - Oregon St
Kevin Verpaele - South Fla
Eli Ward - Minnesota
Virgil Williams - Washington St
Dennard Wilson - Maryland
Marcus Winn - Alabama St
Michael Woods - Middle Tenn St
Steelers Notes: Everage (5'11.5", 194) has not been able to workout due to a shoulder injury. Pruitt (6'0", 196, 4.62) did not run well at his pro day. Expect both to fall farther than their on the field play would suggest. Reid (5'10.7", 205, 4.44), Wilson (6'0", 199, 4.42), Eiland (5'11.3", 207, 4.40), Parker (6'2.1", 214, 4.45), Scott (5'10.3", 204, 4.50) and Reed (5'10.4", 201, 4.57) have all fared better in the post season. Parker is a player that I have personally had my eye on because of his combination of size, speed, and athleticism.
K/P Nate Kaeding - Iowa (K) David Kimball - Penn St (K)
BJ Sanders - Ohio St (P)
Josh Scobee - La Tech (K)
Kyle Larson - Nebraska (P)
Andy Lee - Pittsburgh (P)
Nicholas Setta - Notre Dame (K)
Donnie Jones - LSU (P) 		Kurt Ansel - Kansas (P)
Steve Azar - Northern Ill (K)
Billy Bennett - Georgia (K)
Robert Billings - Middle Tenn St (P)
Nick Browne - TCU (K)
Drew Dunning - Washington St (K)
Brent Garber - Duke (P)
Mark Gould - Northern Arizona (P)
Brandon Hannum - Toledo (P)
Aaron Hunt - Clemson (K)
Nate McKinnie - Appalachian St (P)
Tim Parker - Arizona St (P)
David Rysko - Eastern Mich (P)
Cody Scates - Texas A&M (P)
Sando Sciortino - Boston College (K)
Brent Smith - Mississippi St (K)
Scott Verhalen - East TX Baptist (P)
Kirk Yliniemi - Oregon St (K)
Steelers Notes: Punter is not an issue with the signing of Gardocki. Kaeding would likely provide an upgrade over Reed and Markham. It is doubtful that the Steelers will be willing to pull the trigger on him early enough to actually procure his services. Kimball isn't worth spending a pick on even though he had a nice combine.

Others are listed in alphabetical order
*Underclassmen
+All measurements are either from the combine or a supervised pro day workout. Reported forty time is an average of all 40 times when more than one were run. Reported height is to the eighth of an inch where available. So a height of 6'4.6" is 6 feet, 4 and 6/8th inches.

Numeric Breakdown of 2003 Selections - Defense#
  Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Total
DT 5 1 0 5 4 4 3 22
DE 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 28
LB 1 8 6 3 3 3 3 27
DB 6 8 4 8 7 10 8 51
K 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
P 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2


Numeric Breakdown of 2002 Selections - Defense#
  Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Total
DT 4 2 2 2 2 3 3 18
DE 4 4 2 2 3 1 8 24
LB 2 2 6 6 5 2 3 26
DB 6 6 10 8 8 8 6 52
K 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 3
P 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2


Numeric Breakdown of 2001 Selections - Defense#
  Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Total
DT 5 3 4 2 1 2 7 24
DE 4 3 3 3 0 7 5 25
LB 1 4 5 6 3 3 4 26
DB 6 7 9 4 5 7 7 45
K 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3
P 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2

#These tables are intended to give an estimate of how many players are usually drafted at each position in each round. Draft classes are different so the numbers should not be taken literally. This is really being included because more players than can actually be drafted are listed in the draft value boards. This is especially true in later rounds where the difference in value between prospects is much less pronounced and more players than can actually be drafted in a specific round based on raw numbers carry a grade for that round. Because there are only so many draft slots players with a low 3rd round grade will be available on the second day and players with a 5th or 6th round grade could well come off the board in the 7th round or go undrafted.
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