Our LT of the future is...

Kelvin Beachum! At least it should be and I'll tell you why. When do you remember a Steeler LT having as good of a 3 game stretch as Beachum is just coming off of? When do you remember a Ravens game when Terrell Thuggs was silenced, SILENCED?! Thuggs did absolutely nothing against Beachum. Neither did Elvis Dumervil when they lined him up on the right side. These are two of the premier pass rushers in the league.

I know, I know. Beachum doesn't have the ideal size for a LT. He just doesn't look the part. All I've got to say about that is that we have two guys in Adams and Gilbert that look the part and what have they done. JACK SQUAT, that's what! Beachum has excellent feet, he's quick to the punch, he's a fighter, he's a smart guy and his technique is sound. He was a 3 year starter at LT in college in more of a passing program. HE'S DOING A HECKUVA JOB PROTECTING BEN'S BLIND SIDE!

We've invested enough in LT candidates over the last few years in the draft. Beachum has done a very good job and I think will continue to get better. Let's let him have what he's earned!

 

i agree ...and think about that was not even at 100% (he has knee trouble from a month)

anyway i would draft another one in the middle rounds like hurst or scherr

 

Why?

 

told ya so. heart and work ethic. arm legnth and will. brains and athleticism.

seriously, i'd like to draft another guy that is Left tackle capable. play him on the right or if he's better play him on the left. we need the speed and athleticism matched up now with the guy next to them. it really doesn't have to be a #1 pick to do this. there are some good LT capable guys in this draft. erving and matthews are probably out of our reach now. i hate lewan, and see him as a mike adams all over again. i'm not totally sold on kouandjio either. beachum makes it so we don't have to panic and reach. another big plus to him.

 

So since it's the offense's turn at #1, meybe we could take a QB, hey?? LMAO

 

I'm on the fence.

I agree with you that he's been very impressive. What's funny is we tend to go after these big athletic, long armed, dudes like Adams... and their technique is so bad they never pan out.

I think Beachem is showing there's value in the guy that uses his head, over resting on his physical assets. To me though, it's just risky to assume that he's the guy after a stretch of just a few games. Even Adams and Gilbert have looked very good in spurts.

If we fail to grab a LT in the draft and it looks like Beachum had a few good games, we could be in for another long season. There's also the fact that in gaining a LT, we lose our OL swiss army knife. If he truly is a stud pass protector then it's worth it, if he's not though... Then he probably has more value moving around (including at center if we don't re-sign Pouncey).

What sucks is he just got hurt. I would say leave him at LT the rest of the season and that gives you a solid 8 games to look at him there and make a decision.

 

put the best on the field and worry about moving guys after, if needed. what's the worth in having a swiss army knife if he's sitting on the bench and you have to start a guy with a lesser skillset?

i really don't care for these overly tall tackles. no leverage. long arms, but beachums are 3/4" shorter than adams. that's it. that's not a big difference when he can get under guys pads. most rushers are not 6-8 guys. long arms and mobility are the key. throw some intelligence in with it and a great work ethic to succeed and you have a beachum. play him. add to what is a known commodity. big tall long armed, guys with no footwork do not help you.

i think adams has some worth, but not as a 1 or 2 LT. as a 3rd LT and a RT he could be an asset. only if he keeps improving, though. i think adams got a wake up call getting benched. he has these spurts like right after getting caught in the drug test prior to the draft. he seemed to man up. then the stabbing and tomlin saying he had no grace period. then the benching and we saw a little fire out of him as the extra TE. keeping him hungry is the battle.

i prefer linemen with long arms , intelligence, footwork, mobility and a good work ethic at the 6-3 -- 6-5 range.

 

Bingo! Intelligence is the key for an offensive lineman. To me, they need to be the most intelligent players on the team. We've had a few smart guys and man, we've had some dumb ones too (Kemoeatu, Colon, etc.). I think Beachum is a very smart guy as is DeCastro. Foster seems to be above average as well and so did Velasco. That's why our line was starting to come together. We had some smart guys manning the line and they figured out how to come together as a cohesive unit and play effectively. It's just a shame that the injury bug (or the cheap shot bug, not sure) took its toll against the Rats!

 

If Beachum is playing up to snuff why is he not the long term solution?

Adams or Gilbert are gone once their contracts are up.

 

Beachum actually gave up 2 hurries and a hit on 53 snaps. Still a nice surprise IMO

 

I like Beechum, seriously, he along with DD are my favorite OL.

I'm not sold on him being our future full time LT. I'm not sure he built to last an entire full schedule. He is the smallest OT playing in the NFL. I also like his versatility which we need on gamedays.

I think part of the success over the past several games of our OL as far as allowing sacks is actually on Ben. He has been running a lot of the no-huddle and getting rid of the ball in 2.? seconds. Not holding the ball has made this OL look better than it actually is.

Brando Albert is going to be a UFA. we probably don't have the funds to sign him but if we could that would free up our 1st rd pick so we could draft a top CB.

Cajun-

 

I think we need a CB way worse than we need a LT at this point. Beachum has done a great job since moving full time over there. Give him another year and draft a LT in the middle to later rounds if need be.

 

problem is that there is not a revis / haden type of cb in this draft

 

Aye.

I have half a mind that we'll go MLB before CB, to give us some more options in both pressure and coverage.

 

I agree.

 

Yup. Unless there's some Earl Thomas/Kenny Vaccaro-type DB sitting there for us, I think it's much better value to try to pressure the QB rather than trying to take away one of his targets. With the way some of these top QB's throw those back shoulder passes it's becoming nearly impossible to stop the pass without a ferocious pass rush.

Bolster the OL, front seven or give Ben another toy with our top pick(s). Find some size/speed guys in the later rounds to throw to the wolves in the secondary. Not a good time to be a DB, unless you enjoy getting harrassed every Sunday by the opposing offense and officials, and then during the week by the fans and media.

 

And I'd be fine with leaving Beachum at LT until he starts to suck and we have a replacement ready, if it ever happens. Having him on our roster should not prevent us from picking a Jake Matthews (or equivalent), however. I'd HATE to get into another Max Starks desperation situation where we have to franchise Beachum two years in a row because we have no other options.

We shouldn't have to scheme around a bad OL. Let's fix it.

 

With Beachum, Velesco, Pouncey, DeCastro and Gilbert that could be a very good offensive line. With Levi Brown, Adams, Foster, and Whimper in reserve.

Now if Adams and Brown could live up to their draft status we would be golden.

But I would not use a first round pick on a LT unless one of the can't misses are there. I still would take one in the later rounds.

 

i'm more and more for jace amaro te .

 

But can we run the ball? Right now, the Steelers are 28th in rushing yards. That's terrible. Why did the Rooney's want BA replaced? Wasn't it to run the ball? I'm not saying ditch these guys, but except for Pouncey and DeCastro, these guys are all replaceable.

 

we should draft that one from way down there in the loouusianna swamp. he ain't got a tooth in his head, stands about 6-7 and wrestles aligators. he also plays barefoot. stonger than an ox and dumber then a hoe handle. a love child between terry bradsaw and Shelby. they just point at which guy they want him to mull. that's what i'm talkin about.

 

Hasnt velasco shown that even pouncey is replaceable?

 

For all the love for Beachum in this thread, I'll play devil's advocate...

While he's definitely played the best at LT this season, he's far from stellar. As someone else mentioned he gave up 2 hurries and 1 hit in the Ravens game before leaving...

PFF isn't the end all be all but Beachum's been around a 0 or slightly in the negative most of the season.