The offseason is the season for NFL team Mount Rushmore discussion and list. Lots and lots of list. The MMQB is not immune from such list building as they now have a 2014 All-Emerge Team for both the offense and defense. Not surprisingly, Pittsburgh Steelers guard David DeCastro made the offensive team.
Chief MMQB list builder Andy Benoit writes:
This is another player who might not be eligible to “emerge” in the technical sense. Most fans know DeCastro; he entered the league two years ago as just the seventh true guard in 14 years to be taken in the first round. But he was quickly forgotten after his rookie season was all but lost to injury. Last season, a healthy DeCastro was up and down, but some of the ups were astoundingly high (his performance in Week 7 against the Ravens was the most dominant of any guard’s in 2013, save for Andrew Whitworth’s debut inside against the Chargers in Week 13) and his downs became fewer and less frequent. Given the paucity of quality guards in the league right now, DeCastro is just one or two steps away from pushing for All-Pro honors.
This is the second list that we have come across so far this offseason that DeCastro has made. Just last week he made the NFL.com All-Under-25 Team, but I do not believe he received a trophy or a certificate suitable for framing for that.
With Mike Munchak now on board as the Steelers new offensive line coach, it will be pretty disappointing if DeCastro doesn’t receive All-Pro honors in 2014. DeCastro is a technician just as Munchak was during his playing days and like Steelers radio color commentator and former offensive lineman Tunch Ilkin said recently, the Hall of Famer should be able to teach DeCastro a few more nuances of the game, among other things.
