Monday, April 28, 2008
Dennis Dixon tore up his knee late last season but was worth a fifth-round pick.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dennis Dixon isn’t debating how high he would have gone in the NFL draft if he hadn’t torn up a knee. Or how much money the injury cost him. Or if he would have avoided going to a team that recently signed its starting quarterback to a $100 million contract.
Dixon, one of college football’s best players last season for Oregon before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, wants to be a quarterback in the NFL. If it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers who give him that chance, that’s OK.
The Steelers didn’t need to draft a quarterback during the second day of the NFL Draft, but felt Dixon was worth a fifth-round gamble. Even if some teams felt he’s too slender at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds to take the punishment of pro football, and some wanted to move him to another position.
The injury prematurely ended his season with three games remaining and, with it, any chance of the Ducks playing in a major bowl or Dixon possibly winning the Heisman Trophy.
Some of his potential: His excellent speed. His ability to throw the deep ball. His athleticism, His playmaking.
Much as the Steelers drafted Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall on the first round Saturday to complement Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker, Dixon gives them down-the-road protection should Roethlisberger or backup Charlie Batch get hurt.
“Yes, coach [Mike] Tomlin likes me as a quarterback,” Dixon said. “He likes what I can bring. I can throw the ball at different levels with strength. I know I have a lot to work on, and I’m willing and ready with open arms.”
So is Tomlin to see exactly what Dixon can do. Dixon is expected to be ready for training in three months.
“First and foremost, he is a quarterback, but we are excited about some of the potential things that he can do in packages and so forth,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers were expected to draft multiple offensive linemen, but ended up with only one — Texas tackle Tony Hills in the fourth round. He was a college teammate of second-round pick Limas Sweed.
With their third-round pick, the Steelers drafted outside linebacker Bruce Davis, the son of the former Raiders and Oilers offensive lineman of the same name who once opposed Steelers star lineman Joe Greene.
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Hills also tore an ACL and injured a foot in high school, but started 24 games in college and made the all-Big 12 team despite breaking a leg late last season.
Sweed is coming back from a wrist injury.
In the sixth round, the Steelers took West Virginia safety Ryan Mundy, a Pittsburgh native, and Iowa linebacker Mike Humpal. Mundy played at Woodland Hills High in suburban Pittsburgh, then began his college career at Michigan before transferring to West Virginia — taking the reverse route of new Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez.