Pittsburgh Steelers Select Washington’s Alameda Ta’amu in 4th Round

It’s been a great three days for Kevin Colbert as the Pittsburgh Steelers have added three foundation pieces through the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. They haven’t been the sexy picks that fans like but you win Super Bowls with good foundation guys and Colbert clearly has his eye on the future.

Colbert realized that franchise-quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has taken too many unnecessary hits over the past few years and decided to do somet

hing about it. Colbert also realizes that no Roethlisberger equals no chance for the Steelers so give him a ton of credit for addressing a major weakness.

That credit should continue into today when Colbert addressed the other line with the Steelers fourth-round pick, selecting Washington’s Alameda Ta’amu.

Ta’amu is in the mold of a Casey Hampton, standing 6’3″, weighing 348 pounds and should fit in nicely at the nose tackle in a 3-4 defense.

Like Hampton, Ta’ami isn’t a pass-rusher, but he’s big and strong and can occupy more than one blocker at a time. He definitely has the upper body strength, putting up an impressive 35 reps on the bench press at the combine.

Here’s a look at the scouting report from Todd McShay and Scouts Inc. on the newest Pittsburgh Steeler.

"A massive, wide-body NT with classic two-gapping traits. Needs work on leverage and playing with consistent gap-discipline. Stronger upper body than lower body. Arms are shorter than ideal. However, when playing with leverage can be a hand full for offensive linemen. Creates a strong initial surge in one-on-one battles."

Pick Analysis:

I absolutely love the draft that the Steelers are having and that includes the pick of Ta’amu. He’s a value pick here and likely is the eventual replacement for Hampton. His lack of pass-rushing skills mean that Ta’amu is likely only a first and second down player, but he can stuff the run effectively and should work himself into the rotation this season.

Here’s a look at first-round pick David DeCastro

Here’s a look at second-round pick Mike Adams

Here’s a look at third-round pick Sean Spence

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