Fans of offensive football, rejoice. The Steelers more than adequately addressed their skill position needs when they drafted Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall and Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed with their first two picks. "I feel good about those two guys because I do believe they are weapons," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I feel fortunate that they were sitting on the board." On the second day of the draft, the Steelers got around to patching some of their holes on defense. Unfortunately, they didn't get around to acquiring younger players in the trenches, unless you count the Steelers taking UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis in Sunday's third round and announcing that he'll play linebacker. As for acquiring more interior linemen to help stop the likes of Jacksonville's Fred Taylor on key third-down situations, the Steelers struck out. "It is impossible in any year to address the entire team. There's going to be positions you don't draft," director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. "Quite honestly, I'd love to get a player at every spot, but that's unrealistic." One round after selecting Davis, the Steelers selected their only lineman of the draft with the 130th overall pick -- Texas offensive tackle Tony Hills, who missed the end of his senior year after breaking his leg. While discussing Hills' future with the Steelers, assistant coach Larry Zierlein was asked about a current player on the roster who is expected to contend for a starting job in 2008. Chris Kemoeatu's star is on the rise. In the team's strongest endorsement of Kemoeatu to date, Zierlein said the left guard job is Kemoeatu's to lose. "Chris is going to get the shot," Zierlein said. "I'll tell you what: I have a lot of confidence in that guy." Zierlein's explanation for the Steelers' faith in Kemoeatu, a sixth-round pick in 2005, offered insight into the team's draft strategy of bypassing linemen early. "He was ready to play last year," Zierlein said. "He was ready, and Kendall (Simmons) kind of won the thing, but it was close. When we came out of training camp, preseason games, the grades were close. But this kid is ready to play." Kemoeatu, the heir apparent to departed veteran Alan Faneca, shores up a position that wasn't addressed in the draft. And while the loser of the Sean Mahan-Justin Hartwig competition at center is expected to receive a look at left guard, it will probably be as Kemoeatu's backup. Prior to yesterday, the coaches rarely mentioned Kemoeatu's name. Now he has a good chance of starting. "The thing I told him (Kemoeatu) the other day, 'It's obvious to me, when you see blitzes, you understand it all. Just become a little more vocal,'" Zierlien said. "He understands things. I like him, I really do. I think he's going to be a good player." Seeing is believing. Tribune-Review
