The Green Way?

KFFL reports that the Steelers had conversations with Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway at the Combine today. Greenway will likely be long ago drafted by the time the Steelers pick (to the Raiders? Browns? Rams?), so what gives? Is it a just-in-case? A smokescreen? Signs of a possible trade-up? I'm tempted to say it's the first one. But it's not like I know.

Speaking of smokescreens, reports are now surfacing that the Texans are shopping the #1 pick. Not a bad move; the Texans have a ton of needs and RB isn't really among them. It will be interesting to see if someone gets so enamored of Bush, Leinart, or Vince Young that the giveaway seems worth it. Some traditionally aggressive teams, including the Raiders and the Ravens, are in shouting distance.

Memories of Orpheus Roye

A second post for the night: Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette predicts in Sunday's paper that the Steelers will lose not just Randle El (the Eagles and Bears are targeting him) and Chris Hope, but Brett Keisel as well. If they do lose Keisel, it may be to the Browns, who are hungry for defensive linemen. And Keisel is a good one.

If it happens, the team's priorities in the draft could change. Perhaps this is why the Steelers are talking to Babatunde Oshinowo?

A Combine-d Effort

The Steelers, like the rest of the league, are sniffing about at the NFL Combine. According to KFFL, the Steelers have talked to Stanford DT Babatunde Oshinowo, who, at 6' 304 lbs, would make a great nose tackle in the 3-4. The Steelers, obviously, don't need another of those. They also talked with Monmouth WR Miles Austin (6'2", 215 lbs), and have shown interest in Auburn WR Anthony Mix (6'4", 235). See a trend? Mix even took pains to compare himself to Plaxico Burress. Cowher has also expressed an interest in QB/WR/RB/S/whatever Michael Robinson, the QB from Penn State. Robinson apparently still hopes to have a shot at playing QB. Miami (OH) WR Martin Nance (another big guy, at 6'4", 213) made sure during his interview to mention his existing chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger, his one-time college quarterback. Big Ben is apparently also working out in California with Jeremy Bloom, who is much smaller than the other receivers listed here.

Obviously, a lot of teams will interview a lot of guys. But isn't it fun to scrutinize?

There's Still Hope (Maybe)

Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com's best football writer, is reporting that the Steelers have begun the process of negotiating to keep Chris Hope off of the free agent market. Nothing has passed the initial, verbal stage, but the Steelers are showing their interest.

Interestingly, today's Post-Gazette reports that NBC's newest football analyst, Jerome Bettis, said that the Steelers think they can "stand to lose" Hope because of the bargaining power he has.

Which wouldn't rule out the sort of feel-out that Pasquarelli is reporting. The problem, as both analysists point out, is that the Steelers have no viable replacement for Hope. Free agency offers few options, perhaps the best being Lance Shulters. But come on: Lance Shulters?

Venues like this are good for antsy speculation, but only time will tell.

The Falling Mighty

This from KFFL (a great clearinghouse for football news): "The Sports Xchange reports the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to do something with LB Kendrell Bell, who will count more than $7.2 million against the team's 2006 salary cap after experiencing an unproductive first season in Kansas City last year. Bell could well end up being a cap casualty."

Not long ago, Kendrell Bell looked like the next in a line of Steeler linebacking greats. He was fast, agile, and he hit like a musk ox. (Seriously. Have you ever seen a musk ox hit?) Now he's in danger of getting cut from one of the crappiest defenses in the AFC.

Thanks for the memories, Kendrell.

KFFL also reports that Steelers' OT Trai Essex has been arrested in South Beach and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. First Duce, now this? Come back, Jerome, come back!

Steelers Draft Thoughts

Okay, listen: I know that the NFL draft is still over two months away, and that free agency hasn't even begun, but I'm already obsessed. I've been scouring draft sites and pondering mock draft possibilities, and here are my thoughts:

• Steelers' first-round pick? Nick Mangold, the center from Ohio State. Certainly, free safety and wide receiver are bigger needs, but here is my rationale. The best players at both positions, and the only first-round locks at this point, will be gone by the mid-point of the first round, well before the Steelers pick. Those among next bunch of players at both positions will be available at the end of the second (even the third) round: wideouts like Hank Baskett and Mike Hass, safeties like Greg Blue, Darnell Bing, and Pat Watkins. Of course, not all of those players will be available, but some will. Jeff Hartings made the Pro Bowl this year, but his age and his salary threaten his place with the team. In the best scenario, Hartings plays one year with Mangold as his apprentice, then decorously steps aside.
• Antwaan Randle El may return. He wants to be a Steeler, and, while his free agent stock certainly rose in the Super Bowl, it rose in the Steeelers' eyes, too. My uninformed opinion is that the WR least likely to return is Cedric Wilson. And that includes Quincy Morgan, who could provide a complement to Ward and allow ARE to move back into the slot. If so, the pressure to draft a WR in the early rounds decreases.
• Many are predicting that the Steelers will draft a QB on the second day, who will be the team's emergency quarterback behind Charlie Batch. It seems likely. It also seems likely that the team will spend a draft pick on a tight end: Kranchik was claimed off of the practice squad by the Panthers, and Tuman is going to be a decent TE in another uniform next year.
  
• What about a running back? Not long ago, people were linking the Steelers to LenDale White. White will be gone long before the Steelers pick, but folks yakking on the web seem convinced that the Steelers desparately need a RB. They forget, apparently, that the team deactivated Duce Staley for half the year because they couldn't find a place for him on the active roster. They had too many good running backs. Now they have lost one, which gives them just the right number. Staley's durability is a concern, but a big investment in a back would be foolhardy. A running back is a second-day pick.

Cheers.