Steelers Select Mike Adams and Sean Spence in 2nd & 3rd Rounds
Friday night turned into every holiday all wrapped up into one pick when the Steelers selected David DeCastro out of Stanford. An Alan Faneca in the making, DeCastro will immediately contribute to the offensive line and will improve pass blocking as well as the running game. But what can be said of the Steelers 2nd & 3rd round picks?
The Steelers went with OT Mike Adams out of Ohio State. A big guy at 6’7″ and 323lbs, Adams brings some great size – some Max Starks size – to this offensive line. Pundits out there believe that Adams could have gone much earlier than he did because he is that good, but teams questioned his character because of his history with wacky tobacky. The Steelers didn’t see it as a big deal and pulled the trigger to take Adams. The consensus from just about everyone is that no one is sure if Adams is a ‘plug and play’ type of player right now. The offensive line is currently a young bunch with Pouncey, Gilbert and DeCastro – but there is experience that comes with these guys already. Adding Adams could be risky, but chances are he will learn and condition quickly.
The 3rd round got even dicier for the Steelers when they went with LB Sean Spence from Miami. 5’11” (6′ if he puts lifts in his shoes) and 231lbs, Spence is a bit undersized for the type of linebacker Steelers fans are used to seeing every Sunday. The reaction from the NPC war room was a big ol’ ‘WTF?!’ At least at first that’s what we were saying. But looking at Spence a little more, and the guy is actually not that bad of a pick. The Steelers lack speed in pass coverage in the middle of the field. Spence could be that guy to help out guys like Timmons (who he will back up in his rookie season). Scott Brown from the Trib got a hold of Keith Butler following Spence’s selection, and Butler is hot for this guy. Butler also went into pretty good explanations about the current status with Sylvester and Worilds and how they fit into all of this. I’m not as in love with this guy quite yet. Let him work out special teams for a season and let’s see where he goes. He has pretty darn good potential and that means a good pick for the Black and Gold.
One huge question also surrounding rounds 2 & 3 was – What about Bobby Massie? A great solid Tackle, many had Massie going to the Steelers in the second round. That didn’t happen. Not only did that not happen, but Massie has yet to be selected? What’s wrong with this guy that he didn’t jive for the Steelers as well as many other teams looking for added depth at the offensive line?
My overall grade for Rounds 2 & 3 is: B
The Steelers have 7 more picks to go tomorrow. NT is a huge position the Steelers need to address tomorrow. We’ll more than likely see another linebacker, corner and possibly a RB (but hopefully not until pick 240 or later) taken tomorrow.
What’s everybody else thinking?