FanHouse

To get a sense of who the experts think the Steelers will pick, here's a roundup of the Steelers pick in 14 mock drafts. If you've been following any mock drafts this year, you won't be surprised to see that Branden Albert is the popular pick.

NFL.com's Pat Kirwin: Gosder Cherlius, OT, Boston College
NFL.com's Vic Carucci: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
SI.com: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
The Sports XChange: Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco: Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
CBS Sportsline's Clark Judge: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
ESPN.com's Hashmarks: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
Rivals.com: Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
Scout.com: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
NFL Draft Countdown: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
Football's Future: Gosder Cherlius, OT, Boston College
Pro Football Weekly: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
New Era Scouting: Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
Scout's Notebook: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia

Albert is still the pick for the Steelers in 8 of the 14 mock drafts I checked, but that's actually a trend away from him being the consensus pick--a month ago it was hard to find anyone who wasn't predicting the Steelers would take Albert. What's becoming worrisome is the thought that Albert just won't be there. Fellow FanHouser Ryan Wilson has recently pointed out in a pay article over at Steel City Insider that Albert's stock is rising, and there's now a good chance that he'll be gone in the first 15 picks.
If that happens, all of a sudden all bets are off. There's a chance that none of the Steelers likely offensive tackle targets will make it to No. 23. The problem is that the Steelers need a left tackle more than a right tackle--and while this is a great offensive tackle draft, the left tackles: Jake Long, Ryan Clady, Chris Williams and Albert (if you consider him a left tackle) could all be gone. That would leave the Steelers to chose between some potential right tackles: Jeff Otah and Gosder Cherlius or opt to fill another need.

What's interesting in this roundup of mock drafts is how little debate their is about which positions are the Steelers needs. Every one of these drafts has the Steelers taking either an offensive tackle, Albert (a guard/tackle) or a cornerback. Considering the Steelers gaping holes on the line, and the potential problems at cornerback in 2009, that makes sense.

But right now, I'm just hoping that somehow Albert will be there and all these mock drafts will be correct.