A Mock with McClain Falling

Rolando McClain will be the pick if he can fall past Denver, Miami, and New York(Giants).

You do not pass up on an elite player of McClain's status. Not only that, he would be an amazing special teams player while waiting for his starting role(which I believe he would pick up towards the end of the year, more towards next year).

If he can get past those teams, you realistically can get him given other teams' needs. San Fran will not pay to have two Pro Bowl ILBs. Tennessee needs DL help. Seattle just spent last year's 4th overall to take Aaron Curry. Buffalo needs help on both sides of the line. Cleveland and Oakland are the two likely teams to shock all and take McClain. However, this is a pipe dream.

This is how the 1st round would have to shake out for McClain to fall:

1. St. Louis- QB Jimmy Clausen- They NEED a franchise QB. They get theirs here.

2. Detroit- DT Ndakumong Suh- Big need, great player. This could also be McCoy.

3. Tampa Bay- DT Gerald McCoy- Big need, great player. This could also be Suh.

4. Washington- QB Sam Bradford- Snyder likes big names, and Shanahan will want his QB for the future.

5. Kansas City- OT Russell Okung- Huge need, Albert needs to slide back inside.

6. Seattle- S Eric Berry- One of the worst secondaries in the NFL will get the next Ed Reed.

7. Cleveland- CB Joe Haden- Need an infusion of talent at the CB level. Haden is the pick. Could also be
Berry if Seattle were to take Haden.

8. Oakland- DE Derrick Morgan- Amazing triangle and 40 numbers land him in Oakland.

9. Buffalo- OT Anthony Davis- They need talent on the OL. This pick would be a QB...but the best are gone.

10. Jacksonville- QB Tim Tebow- Tebow alone would bring all the fans back to Jacksonville, despite his performance.

11. Denver- DT Dan Williams- Have a feeling they will throw everyone a curve ball and reach a little bit to get their NT for the future.

12. Miami- WR Dez Bryant- Amazed he got past Denver....they pounce.

13. San Francisco- OT Bruce Cambell- They need OT help. Staley is strictly a RT, and Campbell could be one hell of a LT.

14. Seattle- OT Bryan Bulaga- Walter Jones is a shell of his former self and Sean Lockler is a RT. Protecting Hasselback is imperative with his health problems that past few years.

15. New York(Giants)- DT Brian Price- Their DTs accounted for 4.5 sacks. The year they won the Superbowl, they accounted for almost 10. They need an interior dominating presence.

16. Tennessee- DE Everson Griffen- Both starting DEs are free agents, and Vanden Bosch is getting up there in age. Griffen is super athletic, and Fisher will fall in love with his potential.

17. San Francisco- OLB Brandon Graham- While they got more pressure and better play out of there defense, Graham would bring the pass rushing talent that they have needed over the past two years.

18. Pittsburgh- ILB Rolando McClain- The Steelers historically take the BPA. They will be thrilled with McClain.

19. Atlanta- CB Donovan Warren- They need CB help. Grimes is a nickel CB at best, and he has a long history of can't keeping up with good WRs.

20. Houston- FS Earl Thomas- The key to winning the AFC North is beating Manning and the Colts. In order to do that, they must improve their porous secondary. Thomas is the true playmaking DB the Texans need.

21. Cincinatti- WR Damian Williams- The Bengals need a deep threat to Palmer and the Bengals open up the offense. Their offense sputtered towards the end of the year when they couldn't go deep, allowing defenses to defend the short and intermediate passing game. Also put more defenders in the box to contain Cedric Benson.

22. New England- DE Jared Odrick, Penn State- The Patriots traded away Seymour prior to the start of last season, and the absence was noted. Wilfork maybe gone too, so I think New England goes DL here.

23. Green Bay- OT Charles Brown- The Packers stay put and take the BPA available. Rodgers showed that he can be great when he has protection, something that the Packers line needs to improve.

24. Philadelphia- DE Carlos Dunlap- Andy Reid loves drafting linemen with great potential. Dunlap had never lived up to his, so Reid will take him to prove the world wrong.

25. Baltimore- WR Golden Tate- He reminds me a lot of current WR Derrick Mason. If Mason retires, that leaves Joe Flacco with Mark Clayton. Ouch.

26. Arizona- TE Jermaine Gresham- Severely disappointed that Brandon Graham didn't last this long, they give new starting QB Matt Leinart an amazing TE to help him when he gets pressured.

27. Dallas- G Mike Iupati- Dallas loves to run the ball. I have heard reports that Dallas loves the run blocking beast. He also is a huge OL, which Dallas has a history of drafting.

28. San Diego- NT Mount Cody- They loved Jamal Williams when he was healthy. Something tells me they take Cody due to the lack of talent at NT. They are also in a position to take the BPA.

29. New York(Jets)- OLB Jerry Hughes- Word has it that the front office and staff have given up on former 1st round pick Veronon Gholston. If that is the case, OLB once again becomes a huge need with Orlando Pace's contract up after the next season.

30. Minnesota- CB Kyle Wilson- The Vikings are in desperate need of CB help. Antoine Winfield missed a lot of last season, and Cedric Griffen tore his ACL on one of the final plays in the NFC Chamionship Game. Wilson worked himself into the 1st round in the Senior Bowl, and a good showing at the Combine will cement his status as a 1st round pick.

31. Indianpolis- DT Lamarr Houston- Houston is one of those players that the Colts fall in love with: super quick, strong, and great shooting gaps and getting pressure.

32. New Orleans- DE Jason Pierre-Paul- It is believed that starting DE Charles Grant will not be back in New Orleans next season. The Saints can ill afford for their already suspect defense to take another hit.

Now, with the first round being done, this is how I project the Steelers to finish out:

2. NT Cam Thomas, North Carolina- His stock has skyrocketed and may not escape out of the 3rd round. Whether Hampton comes back or not, Thomas could be one hell of a NT. He has a very wide and massive frame, has a very good bull rush and rip moves, is stout against the run, and can help collapse the pocket. He also showed good conditioning at the Senior Bowl.....he could be a 3 down NT.

3. OLB Austen Lane, Murray State- He played some OLB at the Senior Bowl and looked good doing it. Lane is a phenomenal pass rusher and is more than big enough to excel against the run. There was no difference between him and the other "big boys" out there on the field. He could be another all star at OLB for us.

4. OT Ciron Black, LSU- Most draft sites and experts have him as a mid round prospect. I think he could be a steal for the Steelers as a RG or RT. Black has excellent size, build, and athleticisim to be a dominant RG or a more than adequate RT. He is dominant in the run game, and his pass protection is at a high level. I think he might be a better RG than RT. I have Black here because I think he could backup RG and RT. I also think Colon is going to get extended either this year or next depending on his level of play....apparently the Steelers see something I do not see.

5. FS Robert Johnson, Utah
The king sized safety rebounded in his senior compiling six interceptions, six pass deflections, 70 tackles, and 4 tackles for loss. He is the perfect candidate to learn behind Clark and then start within the next two years.

5c. CB Chris Chancellor, Clemson
Elite speed, great hands, and showed flashes of being a shutdown CB at the East/West Shrine practices and games. Needs to add some muscle to his frame to handle the more physical WRs of the NFL.

5c. DE C.J. Wilson, East Carolina
Wilson is very intriguing prospect at 6'3" 284lbs. While he does not have the prototypical size....he has logged a 4.78 in the 40 yard dash. He reminds me a lot of young Brett Keisel, who I think could be a solid starting DE for the Steelers down the road.

6. WR Marcus Easley, Connecticut
You know this guy is going to work hard - he was a walk-on and had just five receptions entering the year. As a senior, he logged 48 catches for 893 yards and eight touchdowns. This sounds like the classic Steelers type of player.
7. RS Trindon Holliday, LSU
While I am not trying to get rid of Logan, I would like to give him some competition. I think Trindon Holliday could have had a Dexter McCluster type of impact at LSU.....if they had a QB. Holliday got more looks at RB when Scott and Williams went down with injury, and he impressed me as a guy who be a solid change of pace back every once and while for Mendenhall. He has played RB and WR for LSU, and he is an elite return specialist.

7c. ILB Josh Hull, Penn State- Why get him if we just got McClain? Why not? He is solid LB from a great program. He has all the qualities you look for in a thumper. He will be this year's special team ace.

I would then hope that the roster would shake out like this:

Roster
QB/ Ben, Dixon, Batch
RB/ Mendenhall, Moore, Holliday, Davis
TE/ Heath, Spaeth, Johnson
WR/ Ward, Holmes, Wallace, Sweed, Logan
OL/ Starks, Kemo, Hartwig, Essex, Colon, Foster, Black, Legursky, Urbik
DL/ Smith, Hamp, Keisel, Hood, Thomas, Eason, Hoke
LB/ Harrison, Woodley, Timmons, Farrior, McClain, Lane, Frazier, Fox, Bailey
CB/ Ike, Gay, Lewis, Burnett, Chancellor, Madison
S/ Polamalu, Clark, Johnson, Carter
ST/ Reed, Sepulveda, Warren/Retkofsky

Practice Squad
RB Redmen
DE Harris
WR Easley
WR Cherry
DE Wilson
DT McClendon
LB Lee
CB Williams