Remembering underappreciated Steelers is a new series where we will give praise to some of the forgotten or underappreciated Steelers players in recent years. Some of these guys definitely didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but they played their role and played it well. This installment focuses on Kelvin Beachum.
Kelvin Beachum was one of the Pittsburgh Steelers late-round draft steals of the past decade (of course, Antonio Brown takes the top spot). Beachum was a seventh round pick out of SMU in the 2012 NFL draft. Expectations likely weren’t very high for Beachum, who was probably just drafted as a rotational, depth player. That’s the role he had entering his rookie year, but it didn’t take long for that role develop into something bigger.
Remembering Kelvin Beachum
From Backup to Starter
Entering the 2012 season, Kelvin Beachum was the Steelers third-string at both tackle positions. He wasn’t expected to get much playing time. Things changed in Week 11 though, when Beachum made his first career start against the Baltimore Ravens. Marcus Gilbert was placed on IR and backup Mike Adams was also injured, opening the door for Beachum. He went on to start four more games that year. Though he wasn’t yet the player he would eventually become, 2012 was a promising start to Beachum’s career.
In 2013, Beachum entered the season as the backup to both Gilbert and Adams at each tackle position. Through five weeks, Adams wasn’t the player the Steelers expected him to be when they drafted him in the second round of the 2012 draft. It was time for a change, and Beachum took over as the starting left tackle in week six. He would remain the starter for the remainder of the season. Over the course of the season, Beachum played 79% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps. It was clear heading into 2014 that Beachum would be their full-time left tackle.
Full-Time Starter
2014 was by far the best season of Kelvin Beachum’s Steelers career. For starters, he played every single offensive snap, the only time he did that in four seasons in Pittsburgh. Along with that, the 2014 offensive line was one of the Steelers best units of last decade. The group of Beachum, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Gilbert was spectacular for the Steelers, especially in the passing game. Though he wasn’t the biggest name on the list, Beachum was definitely one of the best in 2014. He finished the season as PFF’s number five left tackle and number three pass blocker in the NFL. Big things were expected for Beachum and the Steelers in 2015.
The 2015 season didn’t get off to a good start for the Steelers offensive line. Pouncey broke his leg in a preseason game with the Green Bay Packers and would miss the whole season. Unfortunately, Beachum would soon join his teammate on IR. In a Week 6 game with the Arizona Cardinals, he suffered a torn ACL. With Beachum having declined a contract extension prior to the season, that game with Arizona was the last game he played with the Steelers.
After the 2015 season, Kelvin Beachum signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite only playing four seasons in the black and gold, he was a key part of one of the league’s best offenses. His 2014 season was spectacular and he deserved a lot more credit for his performance that year. It was sad to see him go, but it was great to see him return to form in Jacksonville and then with the New York Jets.
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