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With the first of their two fifth round picks, the Steelers select Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson. Richardson is 6’4″ and weighs 194 lbs. He ran a 4.43 40 yard dash at his pro day, which would have been one of the top few at the combine. He also had a vertical jump of 38.5″, which would have been one of the highest at the combine.
In his 13 games last season, Richardson had 16 pass breakups, 58 tackles, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and one interception. In 2012, he had 15 passes defended. Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake recruited Richardson to UCLA while he was coaching there, so he has a very good idea of what he thinks Richardson is capable of.
Richardson did have an off field issue that may have been a concern for teams. In 2010, he was dismissed from UCLA after a felony arrest involving a stolen purse. The charges were dropped, but Richardson moved on to Arizona. Coach Lake said that Richardson has good size and speed, and is good in coverage. He also reiterated what Coach LeBeau said yesterday: cornerback wasn’t as big a need as it was perceived to be.
