Over the course of the last seven games of the 2013 season, Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum played very well and during his Monday press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if the SMU product showed enough to stake claim to the position moving forward into next season.
“He did a very good job at representing what he is capable of, but obviously, I’ll expect him to continue to improve,” said Tomlin. “I will not allow him to have an opportunity to exhale or seek comfort in regards to that. He’s got a big offseason and training camp ahead of him, but he’s in a pretty decent position from that regard.”
During that seven game stretch, Beachum, who took over as the starter at left tackle following the loss in London to the Minnesota Vikings, only allowed two sacks, two hits and five hurries in 204 pass blocking opportunities. If you are scoring at home, that translates into a stellar 96.4 pass blocking efficiency ratio.
Beachum’s emergence should give the Steelers coaching staff some comfort in regards to the left tackle position moving forward and at this point, I will be very surprised if the team drafts a tackle, or any offensive lineman for that matter, in the first four or five rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft. In fact, I won’t be surprised if they decide not to draft any offensive linemen.
