Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Grade:

Round 1, #17 – DE Jarvis Jones, Georgia – Grade: A+

-Jones is one of the singular best picks of this entire draft. He is a perfect fit in Pittsburgh, and is tremendous value at this pick. He should be an immediate starter and impact pass rusher.

Round 2, #48 – RB Le’veon Bell, Mich. State – Grade: B-

-The Steelers definitely needed a running back, but with Eddie Lacy (among others) still on the board, I think they should have gone in another direction. Bell has a chance to be a pretty good running back, but he has to run lower and show some more toughness.

Round 3, #79 – WR Markus Wheaton, Oregon St. – Grade: A-

-This is a fantastic pick by the Steelers as Wheaton could have gone in the 2nd round. He is very quick and a really good route runner, who should quickly become a weapon for the Steelers. With their long term depth chart up in the air at receiver this is a great pick-up.

Round 4, #111 – S Sharmarko Thomas, Syracuse – Grade: A-

-The Steelers traded up to land Thomas and I think it was well worth it. Thomas has a lot of value and upside, he gives the Steelers a quality safety behind Polumalu and Clark, and also a guy who should really boost their special teams play. Even if the Steelers starting safeties are healthy I’d expect Thomas to get a fair amount of playing time.

Round 4, #115 – QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma – Grade: C+

-The Steelers needed to draft a young quarterback to back-up Ben Roethlisberger, but this is a reach. Jones has really struggled the last year an a half in college and really looks to be a project.

Round 5, #150 – CB Terry Hawthorne, Illinois – Grade: C+

-Hawthorne had a great junior year, but a really down senior campaign. He has some promise, but might need a year or two to develop. Still it is a solid pick for the Steelers secondary that lost one of their top corners.

Round 6, #186 – WR Justin Brown, Oklahoma – Grade: C

-An interesting receiver with size and speed, Brown transferred from Penn State his senior year to Oklahoma. He was never overly productive, but adds some interesting depth here.

Round 6, #206 – LB Vince Williams, FSU – Grade: B-

-Intriguing late round inside linebacker prospect. Very good against the run, offers some nice depth and a little potential for the Steelers.

Round 7, #223 – DT Nick Williams, Samford – Grade: C+

-Small school guy, has some intriguing promise. Could help the Steelers down the road.

Overall: A-

-The Steelers did a tremendous job landing Jarvis Jones in the first round. He represents tremendous value and is just a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. The Steelers pass rush has fallen off the last two years, but that shouldn’t be the case next season with Jones there. Pittsburgh also addressed a number of their other key needs in landing a RB, WR, S, back-up QB and depth at CB, ILB and DL. I also like the Steelers getting aggressive and trading up to get Shamarko Thomas. Pittsburgh sacrificed a 3rd rounder next year, but they will have extra picks do to losing some free agents so they should be okay. I would have gone with different players than Bell and Jones, but other than that you can’t find much to complain about this draft.