A Blast from the Past: Fifth Round, Part 1

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Jason Bridge/USA Today Sports

The fifth round has been kind to Kevin Colbert during his tenure as Steelers GM. A number of bargains have been found by him, the scouting team, and the coaching staff since 2001. Let’s see how he has done since 2010.

2010 was a chance for Kevin Colbert to really make his mark.  The Steelers had three picks—their regular pick and two compensatory picks. As Draftinsider.com wrote in May of 2010:

A plethora of talent was acquired in the fifth round.

With the first pick they chose OT/OG Chris Scott. 2010 was the year the Steelers seemingly first got serious about fixing the manifest deficiencies in the offensive line. Besides taking center Maurkice Pouncey in the first round they grabbed Scott in the hopes, I suppose, of getting a cheap upgrade at guard. But alas, it was not to be, not for the Steelers, anyhow.

Scott was moved to guard but only played in two games for the Steelers before they cut him at the end of the 2011 season. He was then picked up and cut by several other teams before landing in Carolina. And while he hasn’t been a starter there, he’s still on the roster and has two Super Bowl appearances on his resume. Which is pretty good for a fifth-round pick.

To be fair, he was competing with a third-round pick, Trai Essex, and beat out 2009 third-round pick Kraig Urbik. Of course, both Scott and Essex were eventually beaten out by UDFA Ramon Foster.

With the first of their compensatory picks the Steelers took CB Crezdon Butler. This was part of their campaign to improve the secondary. Butler was considered by most to be a depth/developmental prospect, although prior to his senior year he was projected as a late first-round pick. Draftinsiders said:

Later in the round, Crezdon Butler of Clemson was chosen. In need of improvement along the secondary, the Steelers did more to help said area by re-acquiring Bryant McFadden in a draft day deal than they did via the draft process itself. Butler has nice size and is rather physical but struggles to turn and run in coverage.

Butler didn’t stick in Pittsburgh. He did manage to make the 53-man roster his first year on special teams, but was waived after the following training camp. Since then he has been on 10 different rosters and is now on the Lions’ roster, for the moment anyhow. He has been the starter in several games for various teams, and the Lions signed him to a one-year contract in March.

Finally, the Steelers chose a guy who became a bit of a fan favorite. It was perhaps in part because of his name. It was always fun to watch the television broadcasts and see whether the commentators got his name the right way around. He was also a pretty fierce guy on special teams. Here’s what the Draftinsider guys had to say in 2010:

Two selections later, Utah linebacker Stevenson Sylvester became the next linebacker added to the mix. Unlike the two prospects which proceeded, Sylvester definitely projects inside; particularly to the Mack position used by Pittsburgh. He will struggle to find a roster spot this season with the likes of both Keyaron Fox and Larry Foote already entrenched in the two deep behind the starters. Sylvester should embrace special teams until an opportunity may arise. With this bevy of prospects chosen in this particular round, each should help try and establish quality depth behind somewhat struggling units.

Sylvester stuck longer than any of the other guys, making it through the 2013 season before being cut for good. Ironically, he’s the only one not playing now. The Bills picked him up in July of 2014, and just over a month later he was IR’d with a PCL tear. That was the end of his NFL career, although his Wiki page lists him as a free agent.

And how about my BLA pick for 2010? I chose S Myron Rolle. He did eventually become a Steeler, briefly, but not until after he was drafted (in the sixth round) by the Titans. They cut him in 2012, the Steelers picked him up, but he didn’t stay a Steeler for long, either. It was beautiful while it lasted.

Since there were so many picks to cover in 2010, I’ll pick up the following years in the next post.

For the seventh round picks in 2010-11, click here; for 2012-13 click here. For the 2010 sixth round pick, click here, and for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 picks, click here.

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