Lawrence Timmons News

Urlacher has always been a force in the middle. And, his knowledge of the NFC North could have aided the Steelers this season.

With Pittsburgh in the middle of their OTAs, I certainly can't blame Mike Tomlin for trying to stress the importance of the aforementioned phrase to his players.

As has been the case several times in recent Pittsburgh Steelers history, consecutive playoff seasons gave way to a marginal campaign in 2012 that saw the Steelers post an 8-8 record, missing out on the playoffs behind the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North.

Terms were not disclosed. Pittsburgh selected Williams with the 206th overall pick, the team's second pick of the sixth round.

The AFC North blog will conclude its rankings of each position this week with defense.

Along with the debates over who the Steelers should have picked and when, there has been an undercurrent of discord in Steeler Nation over the outcomes of recent drafts, and the inevitable comparison of the quality of players drafted by Mike Tomlin versus those picked by former head coach Bill Cowher.

Before I begin this post, I just want to say that I am really rooting hard for Sean Spence to somehow resume his N.F.L. career.

Tis the season for Top Whatever lists, and the Steelers look to add a few more in 2013 to various Top Players rankings.

McFadden performed well enough in camp last year to earn a practice squad spot, which he translated into an active roster spot by season's end.

Much has been made about the 2013 draft class, but if the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to succeed this season, they must have contributions from last year's draft picks.

One of the areas of concern for the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the 2013 NFL draft was inside linebacker.

The 6-foot-2 Jones will be introduced at a 5 p.m. Friday news conference at the Steelers' South Side offices.

If this draft had been based on needs, then the Steelers last weekend ignored one of their neediest positions -- inside linebacker.

The Steelers' 2013 draft class will soon discover something that few others have had in their rookie years with them: Opportunity.

At some point the Steelers had to take an inside linebacker today. While many hoped that they would fill the need with Penn State's Michael Mauti, Colbert & Co.

Jones passed for 16,646 yards in four seasons with the Sooners, the third-highest total in major college football history.

First of all, let me give kudos to Colbert & Co. for their selection of Jarvis Jones in Round 1 yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have taken linebacker Jarvis Jones of Georgia with their first-round pick in the NFL draft.

Frustrating. The Universal Constant in Pittsburgh is the position of Linebacker, but last season was one of disappointment as the unit failed to produce the Steeler Standard.

While I will agree that the 2013 draft class is not as "top heavy" with elite talent as the "Class of 2012," "worst" is definitely not an adjective that I would use to describe this year's crop of players.