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May I just say...DeCastro...


Ward4HOF

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...is everything he was advertised to be, and more. I know, this is out of 'left field', but I just got to thinking recently, is all.

When he was drafted by us, 23rd over all, and through the draft process, he was to be the next 'Steve Hutchinson'. Of course, Seahawk fans, and one in particular, felt that was blasphemy and that DeCastro was highly overrated.

Fast-forward 3 years, and the 2015 season we really start to see the consistency; he'd already flashed greatness here and there, but to be truly great, you have to perform at the highest levels on a consistent basis--just ask AB!

There was also this ridiculousness, I remember, of how Kevin Zeitler, taken a few picks later later by the Bengals, might actually be the better pick, and by extension, the better OG. 5 years later, One of these two stand at the top of the rankings...consistently...while the other is on a whole-other team, mired in 'goodness', not 'greatness'.

I say all this because I feel it just gets buried; people talk out their behinds, because they know it will never be addressed again, 5 years later, but most importantly, I bring this up to remind everyone not to take this 'greatness' for granted. And while you might find an occasional article, that just wants to be 'different' that may put a different OG atop the heap the past couple of years, the fact of the matter is, we have the best in the NFL, bar-none.

Also, depending on what you consider Bell to be, this potentially means we have the best player at 4 positions, out of, depending how you look at it, between 18-26 or so, possibilities:

AB, Heyward, Bell, DD

QB - RB - TE - WR - OT - OG - OC - NT - 3T - 5T - 4-3DE - 3-4OLB - 4-3OLB - ILB - MLB - CB - FS - SS - P - PK

(And yes, Heyward is arguably atop the 3-4 DEs...at worst he's 2nd...but, but Watt???  Yeah, I know, but I'm talking 3-4DE right now, not 3-4OLB...oh, you meant the 'other' Watt, well, I'm talking now, not two yesrs ago.)

Anyway, those are pretty good odds, when you consider we have high-level players at other positions as well, such as QB, PK (laugh all you want), and yes, OLB. I think Dupree gets 'pooped' on a little too harshly. It would be lovely for him to be more active in the pass rush game, but the rest of his game is solid, IMO.

Anyway, I'm going down a 'rabbit-hole' here, my point is, DD is often the forgotten man, and has lived up to his billing, and if someone were to do one of those 're-draft' exercises of the 2012 draft right now, DD would likely be a top 5 pick, IMO--he's that special.

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I remember predraft reading about how he was good but Stanford having Luck and a “finess running game” made him look better than he was. 

 

I remember the targets being Hightower and Mercilus that year too and when DeCastro was there the talking heads were freaking out about how the Steelers should trade down; and Mel Kiper being the only one saying he would run to the podium for DeCastro as he was a Steeler OL through and through. 

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he was a gift in the draft, no way he should have lasted that late.  It would have been a good rookie season if he didn't have that injury, what a scare that was. He returned to play well and then the rest is history. A perennial Pro bowler and should be all pro a few times too FWIW. He might be the best to wear 66 for us eventually if you can believe that. 

We got a gift there and a steal in AB. If we could get an OLB next it would really help. I don't expect a DDC or AB , but some help will help.

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8 hours ago, 3rivers said:

Just looked at that draft and I would say DDC is in the top 5 for sure. Thank all the teams that drafted from 5 until when we drafted. 

The best OG is always undervalued.  The Colts did a huge reach on Nelson this last draft.  Yes he is a good guard.  Perhaps excellent but OGs are easier to get than CB or edge rushers or OTs.  DD should have gone in the late teens as normal for the best OG ( unless the draft has no talent)

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2 hours ago, jebrick said:

The best OG is always undervalued.  The Colts did a huge reach on Nelson this last draft.  Yes he is a good guard.  Perhaps excellent but OGs are easier to get than CB or edge rushers or OTs.  DD should have gone in the late teens as normal for the best OG ( unless the draft has no talent)

looking at that draft, if you were to do that one all over, where do you think DDC should get drafted? 

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In hindsight, DD could be top 10.  But where does Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Harrison Smith, Josh Norman, LaMarr Miller, Kirk Cousins, Hightower, Whitney Mercilus, T.Y. Hilton or Janoris Jenkins or Kelechi Osemele.  All taken after DD.  With hindsight, The Steelers could draft Bobby Wagner, Kelechi Osemele, T.Y. Hilton,Josh Norman, George Iloka, and Beechum ( because the Steelers did well there) or Vontaze Burfict.

But the draft is never done in hindsight.  almost every draft, the valued positions are QB, CB, DE/DT pass rushers and LT.  WR could be in that list.  OG always have players on either side of them.  They rarely have to make plays on an island.  They always can have help.  That is why they are undervalued.

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45 minutes ago, jebrick said:

In hindsight, DD could be top 10.  But where does Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Harrison Smith, Josh Norman, LaMarr Miller, Kirk Cousins, Hightower, Whitney Mercilus, T.Y. Hilton or Janoris Jenkins or Kelechi Osemele.  All taken after DD.  With hindsight, The Steelers could draft Bobby Wagner, Kelechi Osemele, T.Y. Hilton,Josh Norman, George Iloka, and Beechum ( because the Steelers did well there) or Vontaze Burfict.

But the draft is never done in hindsight.  almost every draft, the valued positions are QB, CB, DE/DT pass rushers and LT.  WR could be in that list.  OG always have players on either side of them.  They rarely have to make plays on an island.  They always can have help.  That is why they are undervalued.

Ugh...I just closed my post...so, starting over...again...

I understand what you are saying, but aside from Wagner and Smith, none of those players can claim to be at the top of their respective position, so while Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Harrison Smith, and Kirk Cousins, I would expect, would be drafted ahead of DD right now in a re-draft, the likes of Josh Norman, LaMarr Miller, Dont'a Hightower, Whitney Mercilus, T.Y. Hilton, or Janoris Jenkins don't hold a candle to DD. And Kelechi Osemele is, at best, the 5th? 6th? best OG, so H2H, he loses out and would be somewhere in the late teens/20s, due to positional value. THAT is where the drop off happens, IMO, not for the best player AT that position. They are all very good players, but they all easily file in line behind DD in a re-draft.

DD is the guy, along with Pouncey on a bit less effectual level, that makes those 'holes' that Le'Veon oh, so patiently waits to open for him.  Without those opening, he's JAG.  DD can make your RB look like a star...well, at least make him look better than he really is, at the very least.

So basically, IMO, DD is picked 5th, maybe 6th, in case there were 1 or 2 other players you didn't mention that we are all forgetting from that draft.

 

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21 hours ago, Dcash4 said:

I always wonder if I would have defended some of his actions if he was here...I hope not, but I always wonder...

You're always more likely to defend a player if they're on your team... especially a really good player like Vontaze Burfict... but his blatant disregard for player safety and obvious attempts to intentionally injure players wouldn't have flown with me even if he was here. He's crossed the line too many times. James Harrison had a rep for being dirty, but I never really saw CLEAR intent to injure... just a lot of incidental contact with a helmet that people try to label as dirty, and some poor form tackling on his part. Not even saying that James Harrison wasn't dirty at all, just that he wasn't as blatantly dirty as Burfict.

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