A Dynamic Duo

Steelers fans and coaches are still pinching themselves over their good fortune on draft day.

Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians appears positively giddy with visions of Rashard Mendenhall paired with Willie Parker in the same backfield. Arians, who was an assistant coach in Indianapolis when Edgerrin James was in his prime, likens Mendenhall to James, who has been one of the game's elite running backs during his distinguished career.

Not to get ahead of ourselves – Mendenhall has yet to don a uniform in the NFL – but the comparison seems right on. James and Mendenhall have very similar styles of running; and, if anything, Mendenhall may be a tad faster and a little bigger than James.

Mendenhall's likeness to James is striking. Both players even wore the same uniform number (No. 5) in college (James at Miami; Mendenhall at Illinois).

The prospect of having a young Edgerrin James in his prime, with his whole career ahead of him, and running out of the same backfield as Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger …oh yeah, that's exciting for Steelers' fans.

Parker himself welcomes the addition of Mendenhall. Of course he does. After all, the Steelers cannot keep giving Parker 370 carries a year and expect him to last very long, or be optimally productive. Mendenhall can only help Parker's productivity and longevity.

Like everybody else before the draft, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls had no idea Mendenhall would fall all the way to the Steelers at pick No. 23. It seemed impossible. Figuring the Steelers would address offensive line later in the draft, and having reservations about all the top wide receivers as first-round picks, and having qualms about most of the defensive players likely to be available, we advocated drafting Miami safety Kenny Phillips – our rationale being, among other things, that pairing the best safety in the NFL (Troy Polamalu) with the best safety coming out of college (Phillips) would give the Steelers better value at that point in the draft than other options.

This is way more exciting. Pairing Parker (the NFL's leading rusher until his broken leg, from which he will be fully recovered by training camp) with Mendenhall (one of the top running backs, and arguably the best running back coming out of college) presents possibilities for a truly Dynamic Duo.