FanHouse Mike Mickens

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Jerry Jones might be a little eccentric, but the guy can spot talent. When it isn't top picks like Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith coming to the Cowboys, it is undrafted guys like Tony Romo or late third-round guys like Jason Witten. Even Patrick Crayton in the seventh round was a success for Dallas.

This year, the Cowboys traded down, but didn't really snag anyone that is going to blow your hair back. Jason Williams of Western Illinois is a player that might see some time for Dallas this season. In college, Williams was a fumble-forcing machine, knocking loose six his senior seasons.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

The Steelers are never big players in free agency, so the draft is of vital importance to the Steelers ability to contend year in and year out. With two Lombardi trophies and another AFC Championship appearance in the past five years, it's clear that Kevin Colbert and the Steelers' scouting department have done their job well.

The Steelers rarely draft players to start right away. Even 2003 first-round pick Troy Polamalu played only sporadically as a rookie and last year's top two picks, Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed, will be asked to play much bigger roles in 2009 than they did in 2008.

With the draft less than a week away, it's time to start firming up the draft boards. When the draft begins, the Steelers will have multiple needs, although thankfully there is no position where the Steelers don't bring back a projected starter with some experience.

The Steelers bigger need is to plan ahead for 2010, when free agency could rip apart much of this past year's Super Bowl champs. With that in mind here are four plausible draft classes for the Steelersn as prepared by friend the Steelers draft nut, all of these include no trades. Every player is projected to go in a round where multiple draft experts still have them available on the board. There are a few spots where it is noted that it is less likely that player is still on the board when the Steelers pick in that round, but none of these are absurd stretches. Which of these classes would you prefer and why?

I love the draft, but a friend of mine puts me to shame. He has set aside a chunk of his brain to analyze the draft year-round. And when spring arrives he shifts into top gear, putting together mock drafts throughout the spring,

With his permission, here's a reprint of one of his recent seven round mock drafts, and another scenario that maps out why it may make sense for the Steelers to trade down. The mock drafts assume that the Steelers will receive a fourth-round supplemental pick for losing free agent Alan Faneca last year, and they pick up an additional seventh-round pick from last year's trade of Sean Mahan to the Buccaneers.

Both drafts requires players to be available per the NFL Draft Scout overall player rankings when the Steelers select, and include no trades by the Steelers.