Sometimes re-draft exercises can be quite fun, especially when looking back quite a few years and seeing some of the top talent that slipped through the cracks. Fans can wonder “what if?” when it comes to teams at the top of drafts getting the picks right in the moment.
Other times, re-draft exercises can be silly hypotheticals. In the case of the 2010 re-draft exercise from Pro Football Focus Monday morning, that’s exactly the case, considering what they did with the Steelers in that 2010 re-draft.
At No. 18 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Steelers sat tight and drafted center Maurkice Pouncey, giving the franchise a perennial All-Pro center and one of the best of his generation.
And yet, in the re-draft exercise, PFF’s Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema pass on Pouncey for the Steelers to draft offensive tackle Russell Okung.
No, seriously.
“Pouncey was a great pick for the Steelers, but Okung earned the better PFF grades throughout their careers. The Steelers also needed help at offensive tackle at the time,” PFF writes regarding the selection of Okung over Pouncey in the re-draft. “In his 11-year career, Okung recorded a single-season PFF overall grade below 69.9 only once.”
Okung was a fine player, one that played 11 seasons across the NFL with the likes of the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers. He played in 7,886 snaps and had a 72.8 overall grade, allowing just 259 career pressures and 29 sacks.
He went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks over the Broncos and was a two-time Pro Bowler, starting 131 career games.
But passing on Pouncey to take Okung seems a bit ludicrous, considering their careers.
Yes, the Steelers needed OT help entering the 2010 season, considering Max Starks and Jonathan Scott shared time at left tackle and Flozell Adams started at right tackle. But with Ben Roethlisberger in his heyday, the Steelers were able to get away with some struggles at tackle.
But Pouncey solidified the offensive line and became the anchor for the Steelers up front. Across 10 seasons with the Steelers, Pouncey earned nine trips to the Pro Bowl, was a first- or second-team All-Pro five times (two firsts, three seconds), and was third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, which is crazy for a center.
He’s a lock for the Steelers’ Hall of Honor after starting in 134 career games and was much more valuable to the Steelers in the locker room as a leader than Okung ever was at any point in his career.
In the re-draft, Pouncey ultimately lasted until No. 32 overall with the New Orleans Saints, seeing a couple of offensive linemen drafted over him in the exercise, including former Steelers’ offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva. In total, the Steelers saw four players go in the re-draft exercise, including WR Antonio Brown, WR Emmanuel Sanders, Villanueva and Pouncey.
All were deserving, but seeing the Steelers pass on Pouncey at No. 18 to draft a tackle is just as head-scratching as it gets, considering Pouncey’s resume.
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