Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.

[Kingmagyar]

Steelers Depot has always been a good source of news about the team and today I read a mock draft that actually makes a strong case for the Steelers taking :

USC's Nick Perry with the first pick assuming Whitney Mericilus is not available.

Harrison isn't getting any younger and the team may know more about his back then anyone will tell. If Perry is another Lamarr Woodley or even better it makes sense to take the best available player. They also had him in for a visit along with 3 other OLBs.

They also could morph into a 4 man front at times during the season with Perry, and Woodley on the ends and Hood and Heyward at the DTs similar to the multiple fronts you can see from the Patriots from week to week.

There also is some rumors of Worilds moving to the inside. He has the right speed as he ran a 4.49 40 at his pro day and his slowest time was still a hair faster then Hightower's 40 time.

I've also suggested recently that Harrison could finish out his career on the inside. It certainly would ease the pressure on his back from having a heavy tackle bearing down on him on every snap and we know he plays the pass well and is explosive. Imagine Harrison blitzing up the middle with only a running back standing in his way? Harrison could play until he is near 40 on the inside.

The 2nd inside LB of a 4-3 team can often be masked by the better players around him so maybe a pass rushing OLB is more a value then a 2nd ILB to the Steelers. Maybe the Steeler's biggest fear for their defense is not age, but not having a pass rushing outside linebacker. We will see in a little over 24 hours.

[cbrunn]

i could see Nick Perry being the pick ... not sure how i would feel about it , but surely makes them more versatile