A Pittsburgh Steelers team source reportedly told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the team “wouldn\’t touch” former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy in the 2013 NFL draft because his big toe “had been fused.”
This news makes the Steelers decision to draft Michigan State running back Le\’Veon Bell over Lacy, who had surgery last offseason to repair a turf-toe problem that had bothered him for a while, a little more understandable. Lacy wound up being the fourth overall running back selected in draft when the Green Bay Packers took him with the 61st overall selection later in round two.
The Steelers no doubt did their due diligence with Lacy and even had him in for a pre draft visit, presumably to check out his big toe. The former Alabama running back did, however, manage to play in 14 games last season and rushed for 1,322 yards and 17 touchdowns on 204 carries.
As I mentioned in previous post, a large selection of the Steelers fan base will forever measure Bell against Lacy from this day forward, but you can clearly see why the Steelers chose to go with Bell over Lacy and why the latter of the two fell way out of the first round after being considered to be the best running back in the 2013 draft class.
