College Eye: What the Steelers Can Expect From Lamarr Woodley

The Steelers started a brief two-player run on Michigan defenders when they picked defensive end Lamarr Woodley with the 46th pick in the draft. If the Steelers intend on sticking with their 3-4, Woodley will have to switch to OLB in the pros. A view on his chances from a guy who watched him play four years...

PROS: Four-year college player who's been consistently productive when healthy. Though he's played mostly defensive end, Woodley does have some experience as a linebacker in the 3-4, as Michigan made an experimental switch when he was a sophomore. Has consistently harassed quarterbacks over the course of his career and has been even better against the run. He's capable of taking on an offensive tackle one-on-one, and driving him back a step or two to string out an outside run to his side. Tough customer who has played through injury, a character guy who was a captain.

CONS: Is a bit big and stiff to play OLB. He's hovered around 270 for the last couple years. The 3-4 experiment ended after a year partially because Woodley was much more effective with his hand down. He only had four sacks as an OLB, though he did have 16 total TFLs and 70 tackles. When
he dropped into coverage he looked like the defensive lineman he really was.
Woodley's also had a nasty habit of fading late in the year, either because those nagging injuries have caught up to him or he just can't crack the tougher offensive tackles better teams have.

OVERALL: You have to give Pittsburgh the benefit of the doubt when it comes to linebackers, but Woodley is an odd fit for the 3-4. He can't be used as anything but a standup DE unless he loses some weight and his coverage comes around. Unfortunately, Woodley's tendency to disappear in the really big games makes me believe that his pass rush won't transition to the NFL particularly well.

The good news: he's a really underrated run defender, a hard worker, and a smart player who will probably be adequate after a couple years. He's got a high floor -- he'll be a contributor for a long time -- but a low ceiling.