Should The Steelers Go Smaller School In The Draft? B2B

It seems the Steelers M.O. for several years now in the draft has been primarily about taking guys from big schools, big conferences, established players who have faced tough competition. Hell, we have veritably drafted most of the draftable players from football factories Ohio State and Florida recently.

This trend is particularly obvious in the later rounds of the draft, where the PS are much more likely to take a big conference guy who fell unexpectedly or a warm body from a big program.

However, when they have delved beyond the BCS schools, they've had really great success... Mind blowing, actually, when you consider the projection necessary to make a pick like that. There have been a few busts in there and a couple of ho hum players, but there has been, arguably, more bang for the buck in the smaller school guys since 2004.

Here's a list by year:
2004: 1.11 Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Miami, Oh. HOFer and 2SB trophies
2004: 2.38 Ricardo Colcolough, CB, Tusculum Not a good pick, but he did contribute
2004: 7.212 Eric Taylor, DE, Memphis I don't even remember him
2005: 6.204 Chris Kemoeatu, G, Utah Not a good player but he started a lot of games
2005: 7.228 Shaun Nua, DT, BYU Didn't pan out
2006: 4.131 Willie Colon, G, Hofstra good value for a small school 4th round guy
2006: 5.164 Omar Jacobs, QB, Bowling Green no room at the inn
2008: None (coincidentally the worst draft in this sample era)
2009: 5.168 Joe Burnett, CB, UCF contributed but dumped after seeing a lot of snaps in 2009
2009: 5.169 Frank Summers, RB, UNLV didn't fulfill his fatback potential
2009: 7.241 David Johnson, FB/TE, Arkansas State solid contributor for a 7th rd pick
2010: 3.82 Emmanuel Sanders, WR, SMU hasn't lived up to the pick but contributes as #3
2010: 5.166 Stephenson Sylvester, LB, Utah had some big special teams years
2010: 6.195 Antonio Brown, WR, Central Michigan Pro Bowl homerun of a 6th rd pick
2011: 4.121 Cortez Allen, CB, The Citadel appears to be the real deal
2011: 5.162 Chris Carter, LB, Fresno State contributed but injuries derailed so far

and sorted by success:
2004: 1.11 Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Miami, Oh.
2010: 6.195 Antonio Brown, WR, Central Michigan
2006: 4.131 Willie Colon, G, Hofstra
2009: 7.241 David Johnson, FB/TE, Arkansas State
2011: 4.121 Cortez Allen, CB, The Citadel
2010: 3.82 Emmanuel Sanders, WR, SMU
2005: 6.204 Chris Kemoeatu, G, Utah
2004: 2.38 Ricardo Colcolough, CB, Tusculum
2011: 5.162 Chris Carter, LB, Fresno State
2009: 5.168 Joe Burnett, CB, UCF
2010: 5.166 Stephenson Sylvester, LB, Utah
2005: 7.228 Shaun Nua, DT, BYU
2006: 5.164 Omar Jacobs, QB, Bowling Green
2009: 5.169 Frank Summers, RB, UNLV
2004: 7.212 Eric Taylor, DE, Memphis

Basically, 2/3 of the players met or exceeded expectations based on where they were picked. that's outstanding return on draft investment. 1st-3rd rounds, 1 HOFer, 1 Pro Bowl, 1 mild bust. 4th-7th 5 starters, 3 contributors, 4 did not contribute. When you look at these draft years, it's stunning how few impact or even contributing players are drafted after the guys on this list, making this group even more worthy of respect.

Also, other than whatever you make of Ben’s issues, you’ll note a refreshing lack of character issues with the guys on this list, even though there were some red flags before they got to Pittsburgh. Whomever is scouting smaller school guys deserves praise and more input to the rest of the draft.

To my way of thinking, I think there should be a willingness to take some chances in the later rounds... the current strategy has filled out a solid roster but seems lacking in a certain character that may be available later in the draft from less heralded players. Those small school guys frequently had to work manically and with fewer resources to get noticed... maybe there's some self-motivation and leadership qualities they could bring to the party.

Great read from B2B