Based on what I saw last season I only think that one of the players the Steelers picked last season will make a impact down the road for them and that is Mike Wallace.  In the first round the Steelers look DE/DT Ziggy Hood (#32 overall) out of Missouri.  He played in all 16 games for the Steelers last season and he made 8 whole tackles, had 1 sack and he defensed 2 passes.  Not too impressive.  Guard Kraig Urbik came in the 3rd round (#79 overall) out of Wisconsin wasn’t good enough to get on the field as a rookie.  WR Mike Wallace (3rd round, #84 overall) out of Mississippi showed that he is more than capable of replacing Hines Ward when he retires but for now he will be the #3 WR on the Steelers.  Wallace played in all 16 games for the Steelers last season and he caught 39 passes for 756 yards (19.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 48 yards (9.6 ypc).  Wallace helped out on special teams too as he returned 1 kickoff for 26 yards and he also had 3 tackles last season.  CB Keenan Lewis (3rd round, #96 overall) out of Oregon State was a complete bust last season playing in 4 games in which he had 1 tackle.  CB Joe Burnett (5th round, #168 overall) out of Central Florida also didn’t add much to the Steelers last season.  He played in 15 games and made 17 tackles last season.  RB Frank Summers (5th round, #169 overall) out of UNLV spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  DE Ra’Shon Harris (6th round, #205 overall) out of Oregon didn’t play for the Steelers last season.  They cut him and the Panthers picked him up.  He played in 2 games for the Panthers but then they cut him and he returned to the Steelers.  Center A.Q. Shipley (7th round, #226 overall) out of Penn State didn’t get on the field for the Steelers last season.  TE David Johnson (7th round, #241 overall) out of Arkansas State played in 15 games for the Steelers last season and he caught 2 passes for 9 yards.

GRADE FOR 2009:  D+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Steelers have placed 23-year old cornerback Keenan Lewis on the Injured Reserve List with a back injury ending his season.  Lewis played in 4 games this season and he made 1 tackle.  Lewis was picked in the 3rd round last April out of Oregon State.  The Steelers can’t afford to miss like this in the draft.  The Steelers’ corners have 0 INTs this season and Lewis still couldn’t break into the line-up even as a dime back when he was healthy.  That really speaks volumes about what the Steelers think about Lewis.

The early returns on last April’s NFL Draft are not looking too good for the Steelers.  DE/DT Ziggy Hood (1st round, #32 overall) has only mustered 1 tackle to this point in the season for the Steelers.  OG Keith Urbik (3rd round, #79) has not got onto the field yet for the Steelers and they expected a lot more out of him.  WR Mike Wallace (3rd round, #84 overall) is the only rookie producing for the Steelers this season.  He has caught 21 passes for 368 yards (17.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Wallace has also carried the ball 3 times for 40 yards (13.3 ypc) and he has 2 tackles this season.  CB Keenan Lewis (3rd round, #96) has not got on the field this season just like fellow 3rd rounder Keith Urbik.  CB Joe Burnett (5th rounder, #168) has 8 tackles this season for the Steelers.  TE David Johnson (7th round, #241 overall) has caught 1 pass for 4 whole yards so far this year.  7th rounder A.Q. Shipley (#226 overall) has not played this season.  RB Frank Summers (5th round, #169 overall) and DE Ra’Shon Harris (6th round, #205 overall) aren’t even with the team anymore.  Horrible drafts like this one will catch up to the Steelers eventually so they need to start doing a better job in April.

The Steelers thought they had a steal in the draft last season when they took Limas Sweed (WR) out of Texas.  But, he only caught 6 passes for 64 yards (10.7 avg) as a rookie last season.  When Nate Washington decided to leave for the Titans as a free agent the Steelers felt that Sweed would step up and replace him as the #3 WR.  Boy has he failed them this season so far.  He has caught 1 whole pass for a whopping 5 yards.  He just can’t catch a football, period.  Lucky for the Steelers that they drafted Mike Wallace this season.  He has stepped up into the #3 WR role for the Steelers as he has caught 12 passes for 147 yards (12.3 avg) so far this year.  Sweed is so far down on the depth chart that I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he winds up with another team as early as next season.

The Steelers like Johnson as more of a H-Back.  He is 6′2″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  He caught 45 passes for 760 yards (16.9 avg) with 9 TDs in his 4-year career at Arkansas State.  Look for Johnson to have a hard time getting a lot of playing time as a rookie.