The Steelers have released RB Najeh Davenport after they failed in attempts to trade him.  Davenport played in 28 games in two seasons with the Steelers and he carried the ball 167 times for 720 yards (4.3 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 33 passes for 377 yards (11.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Steelers won’t miss Davenport with the additions of Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore in the off season.  Still, don’t look for Davenport to be out of work long as he did do a good job for the Steelers the last couple of seasons.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a solid running game last season but they weren’t satisfied so they signed Mewelde Moore and drafted Rashard Mendenhall in the first round of the NFL Draft.  But, Willie Parker will likely still be the main running back for the Steelers this season.  He didn’t play near as well in 2007 as he had in the past so that led to the drafting of Mendenhall.  Parker’s game is outside the tackle box as he is very, very fast.  His weakness sometimes is running between the tackles and he’s not as good of a receiver as he should be.  Parker played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Steelers and he carried the ball 321 times for 1,316 yards (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 164 yards (7.1 avg).  Look for a lighter workload keeping Parker fresh and healthy this season.  Parker has now played in 54 games (46 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 945 times for 4,198 yards (4.4 ypc) with 19 TD runs.  He has also caught 75 passes for 620 yards (8.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

The Steelers were doing cartwheels when RB Rashard Mendenhall fell into their laps in the first round.  He perfectly fits into the Steelers’ power running game.  He’s big, fast and he can catch the football.   In essence, he can do it all.  Look for him to eventually replace Parker in the near future as the feature back……maybe even during his rookie season.  If nothing less, Mendenhall will get the ball near the goal line which was a problem last season for the Steelers.  Mendenhall started 13 games for Illinois last season and he carried the ball 262 times for 1,681 yards (6.4 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He also caught 34 passes for 318 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Mendenhall has a huge upside.

Mewelde Moore is the perfect #3 type running back as he is fast and he’s a good receiver.  Moore might be the third down back for the Steelers this season.  He played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 20 times for 113 yards (5.6 ypc).  He also caught 6 passes for 48 yards (8.0 avg).  Look for Moore to get more playing time on offense this season than he did last year in Minnesota.  Moore has now played in 54 games (11 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 264 times for 1,285 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 116 passes for 1,093 yards (9.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Najeh Davenport is still around to provide some muscle off the bench.  He also caught some long passes from Ben Roethlisberger last season as he just would go deep when Ben was scrambling.  Davenport played in 15 games (1 start) last season for the Steelers and he carried the ball 107 times for 499 yards (4.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 18 passes for 184 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Davenport won’t get as much playing time as he did last season but he still will produce when called upon.  Davenport has now played in 67 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 384 times for 1,788 yards (4.7 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also has caught 50 passes for 484 yards (9.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Gary Russell is still around but he will be fighting an uphill battle to make the Steelers’ roster based on the 4 guys ahead of him on the depth chart.  Russell played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last season as a rookie and he carried the ball 7 times for 21 yards (3.0 ypc).  He did not catch a pass last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A

The only thing that could stop Ben Roethlisberger from having another great season is his offensive line.  The Steelers chose not to do anything about the biggest weakness on the team which could lead to Roethlisberger taking a lot of hits this season.  But, Roethlisberger is a tough guy that can handle the beating.  He looks down the barrel of the gun and gets rid of the football.  He has a good arm and he can take off an run if need be.  Roethlisberger played in 15 games (all starts) for the Steelers last season and he completed 264 of 404 passes (65.3%) for 3,154 yards with 32 TD passes and only 11 interceptions (104.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 35 times for 204 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  The Steelers did add a couple of weapons in the draft for Roethlisberger in RB Rashard Mendenhall and WR Limas Sweed.  Sweed will give the Steelers the big target that they have been missing since Plaxico Burress bolted town a couple of years ago.  Look for Roethlisberger to build on his impressive career numbers with another solid season in 2008.  He has now played in 56 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 908 of 1,436 passes (63.2%) for 11,673 yards with 84 TD passes and 54 interceptions (92.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 154 times for 515 yards (3.3 ypc) with 8 TD runs.

Charlie Batch finally started to look his age last season.  But, that doesn’t mean he can’t handle the offense for a couple of games if Roethlisberger needs time off.   He played in 7 games (1 start) for the Steelers last season and he completed 17 of 36 passes (47.2%) for 232 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (52.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for -7 yards (-0.6 ypc) as he got to kneel down quite a bit at the end of games.  Batch has just enough arm and mobility to still be effective running the Steelers’ offense.  He has now played in 70 games (50 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 818 of 1,459 passes (56.1%) for 10,033 yards with 57 TD passes and 44 interceptions (77.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 162 times for 609 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs.

A couple of youngsters will battle it out for the #3 job in Pittsburgh.  Rookie Dennis Dixon is coming off a severe knee injury but he’s a very talented guy.  His best asset is his play action which should fit well in the Steelers’ offense.  Jared Zabransky is the QB who will battle Dixon for the right to hold a clipboard.  He’s the QB that led Boise State to the huge upset in a Bowl Game over the Oklahoma Sooners a couple of years ago.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A

This pick was a bit of a reach for the Steelers as Mundy isn’t much of a playmaker.  He is 6′1″, 215 pounds with about average speed.  Mundy played in 47 games (31 starts) at West Virginia & Michigan and he finished with 145 tackles, 6 interceptions and he broke up 11 passes.  Think special teams if Mundy even makes the team.

Mike Humpal is a tweener as he lacks some oomph against the running game inside and he lacks the speed needed to play on the perimeter.  But, he always plays hard and that makes up for some of his shortcomings athletically.  Humpal is 6′2″, 238 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  He played in 38 games (24 starts) at Iowa and he finished up with 197 tackles, 1 sack and 11 tackles for a loss.  Humpal projects as a backup linebacker and special teams player for the Steelers.