The Steelers selected DE Stephon Tuitt in the second round of the NFL Draft and RB/WR Dri Archer in the third round.
The following is a little bit of what was said about them.**
Defensive Line/Assistant Head Coach John Mitchell on Tuitt: "I'm pretty happy. I think we got a really good football player. As a defensive line coach, we see defense a little different. We (play) from the inside out rather than from the outside in. There are three things when I evaluate a player that I look for. One, can this player stay on his feet? Two, is he physical? And three, will he run to the ball? A lot of other people put a lot more premium on guys who can rush the passer, but in this division and in this league, if you do not stop the run you don't have a chance to win many football games. The thing that I like about Stephon is that he can stack, he can shed, he can get off, and he can run to the ball."Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau on Tuitt's skill set in sub-package football:** "You got to have some big guys out there no matter how much of a speed package you put out there. If an opponent is playing extra wide receivers on first down, that is spread formations, but they run the ball a lot. It's not until you get into third down or longer situations, that you can say that they are in a passing mode. So you need big people. We probably do as much as anybody, in changing personnel around and rolling people around. You always have to have power on the field. A big guy like Tuitt suits that purpose no matter what the down and distance is. He has value on all downs."
Second-round pick Stephon Tuitt on being drafted by the Steelers: "It's a blessing to be part of this defense, and tremendous. I can't wait to get there tomorrow and help this team and be part of an organization that many people don't get a chance to be part of and I get a chance to be part of."**
Running Backs Coach James Saxon on Archer:"The one thing to the kid's credit is he's as tough as any of the kids I've been around and he's going to learn to do a number of different things. We are going to try and put him in a position where he is going to succeed. Whatever way we can find to get this kid the ball or to have him involved in our offense we are going to do that as a staff. Todd Haley is going to do a great job with that. We are all going to work together to get this guy in the right place.Third-round pick Dri Archer on being drafted by the Steelers and what he knows about the team:** "I actually followed them a little bit growing up. I had the chance to meet Coach (Mike) Tomlin at the combine as well as the rest of the staff. I know it's going to be a great organization to play for and I'm just ready to get started."
