Steelers are stealing

April 26, 2008 9:10 PM

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

Is anybody watching the Pittsburgh Steelers?

While so many teams are trading back and forth, the Steelers quietly laid in the weeds today and landed Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall and Texas receiver Limas Sweed.

Uh oh.

Running back and receiver weren't necessarily needs for the Steelers, but the talent of these two players were too good to resist. Both received first-round grades in most projections, and Pittsburgh landed them with the No. 23 and No. 53 overall picks.

The Steelers still need offensive linemen, particularly at tackle. They continued their trend of skipping linemen in the first and second rounds for the sixth straight year. Look for them to make a run at linemen tomorrow.

But Pittsburgh's offense should be even more dangerous next season with this pair. Mendenhall will back up tailback Willie Parker and both will have opportunities to wear down the defense, while Sweed is the big-body third receiver the Steelers are looking for.

NFL draft, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rashard Mendenhall, Limas Sweed

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