Steelers 2012 NFL Draft Class at a Glance

Three days, seven rounds, 253 players and Mel Kipper Jr. is already getting ready for next year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the 2012 NFL Draft armed with 10 picks, and ended up taking nine players. By position their picks breakdown this way:  3 offensive lineman, 1 defensive lineman, 1 linebacker, 1 running back, 1 wide out, 1 corner, and 1 tight end.

Steelers Picks in the 2012 NFL Draft:

1. David DeCastro, guard, Stanford University

2. Mike Adams, tackle, Ohio State University

3. Sean Spence, linebacker, University of Miami

4. Alameda Ta’amu, nose tackle, Washington University

5. Chris Rainey, running back and kick returner, Univeristy of Florida

6. (no pick, traded to Washington Redskins to move up in 4^th)

7. Toney Clemons, wide receiver, Colorado University

7b. David Paulson, tight end, Oregon

7c. Terrence Fredrick, cornerback, Texas A&M

7d. Kelvin Beachum, guard, Southern Methodist University

Deviation from Discipline Policy

Although the Steelers do not deserve the halo that many (including yours truly) try to affix to them, they do run one of the cleaner NFL shops.

And the team has a reputation for both avoiding players with off the field issues and weeding out those that have them. Yet three of the nine players the team selected have histories with discipline issues.

The first two are relatively minor. Chris Rainey got into trouble for sending threatening text messages to an ex-girlfriend. Assuming this is an isolated incident, it is no biggie.

Sean Spence also ran afoul of some NCAA regulations regarding conduct with an agent and accepting gifts. Again, this is nothing to overlook entirely, but it is also not a grave offense.

The biggest issue involves Mike Adams, who tested positive at the NFL Scouting Combine for marijuana. And this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened for Adams.

Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin were very open with the press about this issue. Adams transgression got him knocked off of the Steelers draft board, and it was only after Adams reached out to them and agreed to take certain actions, that the Steelers restored him to their board.

Marvel Smith, Colbert’s first 2^nd round pick in 2000, had a similar history and developed into a Pro Bowl left tackle for the Steelers. There’s no guarantee that Adams will pan out the same way, but the Steelers have taken a significant risk. Colbert acknowledged as much, admitting that if things didn’t work out with Adams, he would be responsible.

The Steelers are of course not finished adding to their roster. As soon as the draft ends, the mad dash for rookie free agents begins.

The Steelers have made many of those moves already. When the list is finalized, Steel Curtain Rising will bring it to you in full.

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Steelers Draft Toney Clemons 3 Others in the 7th Round

The Steelers closed out the 2012 NFL Draft by picking Colorado wide receiver Toney Clemons with their own 7^th round pick. Clemons is a western Pennsylvania native who graduated from Valley High School.

Pittsburgh also had 3 compensatory picks, and used those on tight end David Paulson of Oregon, cornerback Terrence Fredrick of Texas A&M, and offensive tackle Kelvin Bechum of SMU.

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Steelers Draft Chris Rainey in 5th Round

After focusing almost exclusively on offensive and defensive lineman during the first two days of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Steelers finally turned their attention to the skill positions in the 5^th round by selecting running back Chris Rainey in the 5^th Round.

Rainey is a little undersized, standing at 5’8” and weighing in at 180 pounds, but he was successful at Florida and in the view of Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain, injects some athleticism into the backfield that the Steelers currently lack.

Writing on PG Plus, Ed Bouchette made some of the same observations, yet came to different conclusions, questioning whether Raineywould actually fit into the offense, comparing him to Stefan Logan.

Logan, aka “Joystick” was a training camp sensation in 2009 and made the team as a kick returner. Although he did well returning clicks, he lacked position flexibility and was ultimately forced off the team by the emergence of AntonioBrown in 2010.

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Steelers Draft Alameda Ta'amu in 4th Round

Kevin Colbert has never shied from wheeling and dealing to move up to grab a player he thought was going to grow into a winner. He did in 2003 and 2006 with Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes.

He did it again in 2012 by trading up 10 spots to draft nosetackle Alameda Ta’amu of Washington State in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Ta’amu is a behemoth, standing six for 3 and weighing in at 348 pounds. That’s right, three hundred forty eight pounds. 

As Ta’amu is the first nose tackle drafted by the Steelers since they chose Casey Hampton in 2001, speculation will immediately focus on whether or not Ta’amu is now the heir apparent for Casey Hampton.

That’s a tall order to fill, as Big Snack has anchored one of the most successful runs in defensive football in modern history.

Fighting Fourth Round History?

If Kevin Colbert has had the midas touch when it has come to first round picks, his luck in the fourth has been something far more pedestrian.

Larry Foote (2002) and Ike Taylor (2003) came to the Steelers as 4^th round picks, and both started in Super Bowls XL and XLIII.  Willie Colon also turned out to be another wise 4^th round pick in 2006.

But Danny Farmer, Colbert’s first 4^th round selection in 2000 got cut in training camp. The story was the same with Fred Gibson in 2005. Mathiad Nkwenti (’01) did little more than carry a clipboard.

Colbert’s luck with fourth round picks hasn’t been helped by Mike Tomlin’s presence, as the two have selected Ryan McBean, Dan Sepulveda, Tony Hills, and Thaddus Gibson.

Cortez Allen, the Steelers 2011 4^th round pick, has already bested his predecessors from the Tomlin era, so perhaps Ta’amu can continue the upward trend.

Video Profile of AlamedaTa’amu

Dan Gigler, author of the Post-Gazette’s Blog and Gold, wrote a lengthy profile of Ta’amu, arguing that if the Steelers were patient, Ta’amu could be a late round steal.

Time will tell if Gigler was right, but he left an impressive resume on tape:

Welcome to Steelers Nation Mr. Ta’amu.

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Steelers Draft Sean Spence in 3rd Round

The Steelers concluded the second night of the 2012 NFL Draft by addressing another area of need when they selected Miami linebacker Sean Spence in the third round.

Spence played outside linebacker for the Hurricanes, but the Steelers are projecting him it inside linebacker.

With James Farrior gone, Larry Foote is penciled in as the Steelers starter. Stevenson Sylvester, who joined the Steelers via the 5^thround of the 2010 NFL draft, will also get a chance to compete for playing time.

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Steelers Take Mike Adams in 2nd Round

Do you think Ben Roethlisberger will sleep just a little more soundly tonight?

For four long years the Steelers neglected (or at least were unable to address) the offensive line with premium picks in the NFL draft.

The broke away from that trend beginning in 2010 with the selection of Maurkice Pouncey and Marcus Gilbert in 2011.

In 2012 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers they have slammed the door shut on that era with a thunderous thrust. Less than 24 hours after selecting David DeCastro with theirfirst round pick, the Steelers picked Mike Adams from the University of Ohiowith their second round pick.

In less than a day, their offensive line has gone from being characterized by undrafted rookie free agents to one studded with high round picks.

Of course, these players still need to deliver. The time for that will come at St. Vincent’s in Latrobe this summer. But no one can say that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert aren’t taking offensive line building with the utmost seriousness.

Willie Colon to Guard?

Mike Tomlin is loath to start rookies. The Steelers Digestreported that he went so far as to feign that Flozell Adam was fighting for a starting job to avoid prematurely anointing Maurkice Pouncey as a rookie.

But Marcus Gilbert is pegged as the Steelers starting left tackle, and Mike Adams will at least get a shot at starting on the right side, which is Willie Colon’s position.

For years commentators outside the team have argued that Colon’s natural position is tackle, not guard, although oft-discussed move to guard never materalized. There’s no certainty that it a shift to guard would materailze in 2012, in fact the odds would be against it, but this pick does at least pave the way for rumor to become reality.

Profile of Mike Adams

Mike Adams comes to the Steelers from OSU. He stands at 6’7” and weighs 316 pounds. Prior to the draft there had been discussion that the Steelers might select Adams in the first round. As it turns out, they got him for less.

Here is a SB Nation video profile on Mike Adams.

Thanks go out to Michael Bean, of Behind the Steel Curtain and his  team at SB Nation for putting this together. For more SB Nation videos, click here.

In the mean time, welcome to Pittsburgh and welcome to Steelers Nation Mr. Adams.

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Steelers Draft David DeCastro in First Round of 2012 Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers effectively killed two birds with one stone. The franchise, at least since Kevin Colbert came on board, have resisted the temptation to reach for need in the draft.

Yet the Steelers have real needs on offensive line, specifically at guard.

Tonight, in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Stanford guard David DeCastro with the 24^th pick. DeCastro was rated by many as the number one overall guard in the draft.

The Steelers, according to Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette, never thought he’d be there when their turn came to pick.  Kevin Colbert admitted that they considered trading up when saw DeCastro slipping, but he and Mike Tomlin sat tight and were rewarded.

The Steelers offensive line, once an area of team strength, has been a unit in disarry for the past two years. Although much of the chaos as been caused by injury, the simple fact is that the Steelers “plug and patch” strategy of offensive line building has caught up with them.

They began moving away from that with the decisions to pick Maurkice Pounce in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and Marcus Gilbert in thesecond round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Tonight they took another step by adding DeCastro.  Welcome to Steelers Nation David DeCastro

David DeCastro Profile Video, Courtesy of SB Nation

Thanks to Michael Bean, founder and editor of Behind theSteel Curtain, and current head of the SB YouTube video project for pulling this together. For more SB Nation Videos, click here.

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