When the Steelers drafted Mike Adams in the second round of the 2012 draft, the idea was that he’d join with center Maurkice Pouncey and guard David DeCastro to give the the team a young foundation on their offensive line.
It hasn’t worked out that way as Adams struggled mightily as a pass blocker at left tackle, getting benched after being abused by Vikings defensive end Jared Allen this season and leading the Steelers to make a trade for Levi Brown. Brown never played for the team, but Kelvin Beachum has taken over as the starter. That’s left Adams to take on a different role.
The team has started inserting him into games as a tight end, causing him to report as eligible 26 times in last weekend’s victory over Buffalo. The Steelers ran the ball on 22 of those plays and Adams blocked well, earning him a compliment from coach Mike Tomlin even as Tomlin made it clear that Adams hasn’t solved the problems that forced him off of tackle in the first place.
“He’s doing a really nice job with what we’re asking him to do as a tight end, and it’s provided some good gas for us in that regard,” Tomlin said, via the Beaver County Times. “I don’t want to equate that to tackle play. Obviously, it’s a different set of issues.”
Unless Adams starts catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger over the second half of the season, it’s hard to see a big future for Adams in Pittsburgh when they only trust him to be a sixth run blocker.