FanHouse Evander Hood

If the Steelers have any plans to extend the contracts of any veterans, they won't have to worry that chief negotiator Omar Kahn will be distracted by signing draft picks.

Nearly a week before training camp opens on July 31, the Steelers have already signed every one of their draft picks. First-round pick Evander Hood became the final draft pick to sign when he agreed to a five-year deal with the Steelers on Sunday.

We're still a month away from training camp, but Pittsburgh is almost finished with signing all of their draft picks. Tight end David Johnson, the team's seventh-round pick, signed on Friday, making him the seventh of the team's nine picks to sign.

The only two rookies left unsigned are the two the Steelers most need in training camp. First-round pick Evander Hood, who is expected to be the team's No. 3 defensive end, and third-round pick Kraig Urbik, who is expected to battle for a starting job at offensive guard, are still unsigned, although with a month to work out those deals, it shouldn't be that hard to get the deals worked out.

Casey Hampton is heading into the final year of his contract, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn't exactly taking it easy on the Steelers nose tackle.

Last year, Hampton showed up too fat for training camp (well fatter than normal), so Tomlin sat him out of practices until he melted away some of the extra pounds. He ended up playing his normal key role as the anchor of the Steelers' defensive line, but that hasn't earned him a pass from Tomlin. When asked if Hampton is in better shape this year, Tomlin could have easily said something like: "I'm sure he will be because Casey's a professional," or something like that to send a message while also going out of his way to not needle the big man.

Instead, he made it clear that he's not going to coddle Casey.

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

When you're picking No. 32, you can't expect the draft to be flashy, but you can expect it to be productive. Of the last 10 final picks of the first round, eight of them became solid starters including Todd Heap, Al Wilson, Mathias Kiwanuka and Anthony Gonzalez.

This definitely wasn't a flashy draft for the Steelers. Barring injury, Evander Hood, Pittsburgh's first-round pick, won't be starting until 2010 at the earliest. If third-round pick Kraig Urbik (right) doesn't beat out Darnell Stapleton for a starting guard job, no rookie will likely start for the Steelers this year.

Of 18 national mock drafts that came out in the final days before the draft, none had Evander Hood coming to Pittsburgh. So it's safe to say there was some surprise when the Steelers took the Missouri defensive tackle.

But it wasn't a big surprise around Pittsburgh, as Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Ed Bouchette, the dean of the Steelers press corps, had picked it in his pre-draft preview. And when centers Alex Mack and Eric Wood both were picked earlier in the first round, Pittsburgh was left to take Hood as the best available player at a position of need.

It's amazing how a player can rise and fall in the final weeks of the draft. Tyson Jackson hasn't played a game since early January. All through January, February and March, he was looked at as a defensive end who could go somewhere between No. 10 and No. 20.

But now in the final days before the draft, all of a sudden multiple mock drafts are predicting Jackson to go No. 3 overall. We'll find out soon whether it's a true rise or some subterfuge.

With the draft just hours away, here is a final look at who the mock drafts are picking to go where. This is a roundup of 17 different mock drafts, all of the mock drafts are from this week and most are from the last day as experts try to refine their final predictions. Everyone will get No. 1 right, as everyone predicts the Lions will take Matt Stafford.

To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round. Click here for the rest of the breakdowns, beginning with quarterback.

DT B.J. Raji (Top 15 pick), DE/OLB Brian Orakpo (Top 15 pick), DE Tyson Jackson (Top 15 pick), DE Aaron Maybin (mid-first round), DE Robert Ayers (mid-to-late round), DE Everette Brown (mid-to-late first round), DT Peria Jerry (late first round).

Teams can never have enough defensive linemen and the good news for teams this year is there are a number of linemen with solid first round grades. The picking is better for teams looking for an edge rusher than a big monster to absorb blockers, but there is a little of both, with Raji looking like a potential stud 3-4 nose tackle or 4-3 defensive tackle while Jackson projects as either a run-stuffing 4-3 defensive end or a perfect fit as a 3-4 DE. For teams who don't pick in the top 15, Jerry is another productive inside run-stuffer with enough athleticism to also get some pressure on the quarterback.

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

The Indianapolis Colts enter the 2009 season as one of the NFL's marquee franchises. They have made the playoffs nine of the last 10 seasons, and have won at least 12 games for six straight seasons. There's a reason for that. Well, there are many reasons, but everything starts with how well the Colts draft. Beginning with the franchise-making decision to take Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in 1998, Bill Polian has missed once in the first round. I imagine Colts fans are pretty trusting of their Team President when Roger Goodell strolls to the podium.

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

Last year the Falcons proved what an excellent draft and a couple of free agent signings can do to a previously awful team. First-round picks Matt Ryan and Sam Baker and second-round pick Curtis Lofton all became immediate starters while free agent signee Michael Turner turned into the team's best back since Jamal Anderson was in his prime.

There's less riding on this year's draft than last year's, but Atlanta needs to add depth to what's still a pretty thin roster. There is not nearly as much need for immediate starters this year, but there are still a lot of positions where the Falcons could use a talent upgrade.

So who is your team going to pick? No one can say for certain, but we can find out what the conventional wisdom is. For the second time this draft season, we're surveying a multitude of mock drafts to try to get some inclinations on which way your NFL team will go come draft time.

By looking at 13 different mock drafts, we can also figure out which picks are the true wild cards of this draft, like the 49ers at No. 10 and the Jets at No. 17, that will affect how the rest of the draft shapes up. Matt Stafford is still the favorite to be No. 1, but there are a lot of disagreements after you get past the Lions' pick.