Steelers take punter in the fourth round

Daniel Sepulveda of Baylor was a two-time Ray Guy Award winner.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pretty easy to tell that Bill Cowher wasn't making the picks or applying his considerable leverage in this Pittsburgh Steelers draft.
Cowher always was a forceful and persuasive figure during the 1992-2006 drafts, when the Steelers drafted a total of zero punters. It became readily evident he's no longer around when, with only the fourth pick made by the Steelers under new coach Mike Tomlin, they drafted Baylor's Daniel Sepulveda -- the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy award as college football's best punter.
Get this -- the Steelers not only went for a punter, they traded their sixth-round pick to Green Bay for the chance to move up seven spots in the fourth round. All for a guy who will be on the field for maybe 65 of their 1,000 or so plays next season.
However, as the Steelers see it, they've drafted a player who will immediately start giving their defense better field position, and will do so for a long time.
"Quite frankly, we felt like we were trading up to get a starting position," director of football operations Kevin Colbert said Sunday. "This kid is going to potentially be our starting punter. We were willing to give up that sixth pick because we had the multiple picks in the fourth and fifth, and we just decided to eliminate the margin for error. He was really the one guy left that we would have considered drafting, so we went ahead and made the move."
Not surprising
It wasn't a surprise that the Steelers went for a punter, even if they hadn't drafted one since taking Harry Newsome as a 1985 eighth-rounder -- a round that no longer exists. They were unhappy with holdover punter Chris Gardocki (36.7 yards per punt net average) last season, and the 37-year-old Gardocki was due to make 1 million this season.
That the Steelers made such an effort to get Sepulveda was unexpected, especially given that only two other punters were drafted: Maryland's Adam Podlesh, on the fourth round by Jacksonville, 10 picks ahead of Sepulveda, and Michigan State's Brandon Fields by Miami on the seventh round.
Sepulveda had four punts blocked as a freshman but none since. A left-footed punter who walked on at Baylor as a linebacker, he has such a strong leg that he occasionally outkicks his coverage.
"I think the fourth round sends a pretty strong message," Sepulveda said, referring to his chances of being the punter next season. "I also recognize that if you don't get the job done, you won't be the guy."
Other second day picks
A day after taking outside linebackers Lawrence Timmons of Florida State and LaMarr Woodley of Michigan with their first two picks, they chose Oklahoma State defensive end Ryan McBean with their other fourth-round pick.
The Steelers also picked up an offensive guard in Cameron Stephenson of Rutgers, despite waiting until the fifth round. That position was seen as a draft priority because both starting guards, five-time All-Pro left guard Alan Faneca and Kendall Simmons, are unsigned past this season.
Also drafted were Louisville cornerback William Gay, on the fifth round, and wide receiver Dallas Baker of national champion Florida on the seventh round. Baker made 21 touchdown catches in the last two seasons, but dropped in the draft because of his poor 40-yard dash times.
However, the Steelers didn't add a big back to complement Willie Parker, something they told Parker they planned to do. Now, they may wait until other teams start cutting players before training camp to pick up another runner.
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