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Steelers select Florida safety Matt Elam in second round of SB Nation Bloggers Mock Draft

It came down between Elam and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, but Elam's explosive ability, and the need the Steelers have at safety in the next two years, Elam was the better choice, according to the Triumverate of Two.

By Neal Coolong
Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Steel34D heard the Cowboys read off "Eric Reid, safety, Louisiana State University" and slammed his hands on the table.

Not out of frustration, mind you. Out of excitement.

He grabbed the Sharpie and official draft card, scribbled a name furiously on it, threw it at an intern to run to the podium, forgetting the Triumverate of Two were heading up the Steelers War Room in Pittsburgh, and weren't at the draft itself.

Standing up, he violently threw his chair back, and did his best Pete Weber impression.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!? I AM!"

Everyone stared in confusion and fear.

And happiness.

The Steelers have selected their safety of the future, Florida's Matt Elam.

Now...there may have been a member of the Triumverate of Two who was somewhat critical of Elam previously. The root of that critique was based somewhat in the idea of the Steelers drafting him in the first round - which obviously isn't the case here.

There are flaws. We recognize those flaws - mainly, he's an in-the-box safety much more than he's a deep safety. The plays he's able to make around the line of scrimmage are impressive. He has a heat-seeking missile gear when we sizes up a ball carrier in front of him.

While there are several examples in this highlight film, one against LSU stands out.

At the 2:24 mark, he comes down to the box from up top, recognizes the run and locks in on the running back. He accelerates and makes the play in the backfield. It's that stop-to-start speed that makes him a valuable prospect.

He looks more like the kind of player who can have success against the run, and the plays he's making are oftentimes incorrectly attributed to interceptions. At least the ones in this film are oftentimes overthrows (some of them woefully bad), it's the plays he's making around the line of scrimmage.

Our goal was to infuse athleticism with our two picks, and with Elam joining Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson, we feel we've done that.

So who do you think YOU are, NFL?? WE ARE!


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