If you were starting the Steelers from scratch and could keep only ONE player...

[Galax Steeler]

I had to go with ward a good physical reciever and hard hitter.

[steelerstrade]

I think if you are building a winner in the mold of "Steelers strategy" then you would never take a guy like Harrison, Ward or any of the other 30 or older guys. Why not Harrison? Well 3 years from now, he will likely want Joey Porter type money (as he should) and see a decline in his play each year after. Ward and anyone else over 30 just isn't your prototypical player you build around because of age factors. That leads me to Woodley and Polamalu. I am a huuuuuge Woodley fan, even purchased his jersey down at Station Square before the 2007 season even started. But unfortunately I think it is much easier to fill the OLB position with a star in Pittsburgh than it is to find a once every 30 years (per team) safety like Polamalu.

[SteelMember]

I chose Troy pruely based on his versatility. Normally I would choose an interior d-lineman-Hampton, but because I believe Troy has the ability to impact every play, even from a secondary position, I went with his overall athleticism.

[SteelersMongol]

Troy. No question about it.

[MasterOfPuppets]

if harrison were 5 yrs younger, i'd go with him,but he isn't, so ya gotta go with woodley who is only going to get better, and should have another 10 good years in him. tough not to go with polomalu, but he could only be 1 more concussion away from retirement.

[stlrtruck]

Since I've already got Ben, I took Troy. While I'd love to have Harrison and Woodley, it's easier to draft a LB to fit into the system than type of player that Polamalu is on the field.

[steelerstrade]

As a side note...I personally would put a little more focus on the O-line in the draft than I fear we have done in (recent) years past. Not saying first round picks but maybe a second here or there on linemen sprinkled in with some nice moves in FA. $100 mil to a starting QB and $550k to the backup makes you realize what you should be protecting.

[Steely McSmash]

Woodley for youth and rarity of talent.

If this is from age 22 I'd go with Aaron Smith.

I expect Troy to have to retire in about 2 years because he can't stop hitting people with his head. Missles are awesome but they're not re-usable.

[Dino 6 Rings]

Troy

I've seen how our defense plays when he's not in the lineup...and its gross.

Give me Troy and I'll build a defense around him that will compete week in and week out.

[steelreserve]

I picked Holmes, with Troy a close second.

Those are all great players, but if you're rebuilding a team from scratch, then you have to basically disqualify Hampton, Smith, Farrior, Harrison and Ward right off the bat, just because they're past the midway point of their careers. Nothing against them, but that's just an inescapable fact unless you think they'll be playing until they're 45.

That leaves Troy, Parker, Holmes, Woodley and Mendenhall.

For Mendenhall, it's too early to tell how good he's going to be, so he's out.

Parker, as we've seen the past 3 years, is not a back you can use in every situation -- and RB is one of the easier positions to pick up someone who's at least adequate. So he's gone.

Woodley is great, but we also seem to have an innate ability to develop great pass-rushing linebackers. So my hope is that we'd be able to do that with the next guy also, whoever he was.

That leaves Troy and Holmes ... Holmes looks like he can be a great receiver in this league for the next 10 years. We always could use someone like that to throw to, plus he's become a decent returner.

Troy is a one-of-a-kind talent, but I had to put him second because it just seems a lot harder for one man to carry the team on defense than on offense. You can avoid him, scheme around him, a number of things -- but on offense, you get to choose who's the playmaker.