Rd. # Player Pos. College 1 32 Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest General Manager: rmatheny

With the 32nd pick of the 2009 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith.

Here is rmatheny's reasoning for the pick:

With the 32nd pick in the draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the luxury of not needing to upgrade too many positions. With the departure of free agent Bryant McFadden, they now have a hole to fill in their secondary. With that being said, Alphonso Smith was a player they expected to be off the board at this point, drafted by the Dolphins or the Ravens at pick 25 or 26. The Steelers are happy to have him at number 32. Alphonso Smith is like glue to receivers, often times running parallel with them on routes as if he knew them himself. Smith has no qualms about contact and will often be seen coming up to support the run. Pitt will most likely utilize him as a nickelback in his first few seasons but don't be surprised to see him line up opposite of Ike Taylor in his rookie season.