Background and career
Kelvin Lee Beachum Jr. (born June 8, 1989) is an American professional football offensive tackle. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL draft. He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals.
Beachum played offensive left tackle at Southern Methodist University. He was a four-year starter for the Mustangs and competed in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. He played alongside Josh LeRibeus, who was later picked in the third round of the NFL draft by the Washington Redskins.
Coming out of college, Beachum was projected by the majority of analysts to be selected in the seventh round or be a priority undrafted free agent. He was ranked as the 24th best offensive guard although he played tackle in college. Many analysts and scouts were conflicted on his position due to his height. Beachum was invited to the NFL Combine as an offensive tackle and was able to complete all the drills and positional workouts. On May 14, 2012, he participated at Southern Methodist University's Pro Day and decided to do only the bench. Although he lacked size for an offensive tackle, scouts complimented his lateral movement and quickness off the ball.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Beachum in the seventh round (248th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. He was the 20th and last offensive tackle taken and was the third offensive lineman drafted by the Steelers in the draft. On May 10, 2012, the Steelers signed Beachum to a four-year, $2.14 million contract with a signing bonus of $49,816. He entered training camp competing with Max Starks, Marcus Gilbert, Mike Adams, and Chris Scott for a starting offensive tackle position. The Steelers named him the third left tackle on their depth chart behind Starks and Adams to begin the regular season. On September 23, 2012, Beachum made his professional regular season debut in a 34–31 loss to the Oakland Raiders. On November 18, 2012, he earned his first career start at right tackle in a 13–10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens after Marcus Gilbert was placed on injured reserve with torn tendons in his ankle and backup Mike Adams had an ankle injury. He finished his rookie season with a total of five starts in seven games, played 314 offensive snaps, and earned a -2.8 grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF). Beachum was graded -2.9 in pass blocking after allowing 18 pressures on 205 pass blocking snaps.
With the departure of Starks, Beachum entered training camp competing for the vacant left tackle position with Gilbert and Adams. He was named the backup to starting right tackle Gilbert and starting left tackle Adams to begin the regular season. He earned his first start of the season in the Steelers season-opener, beginning the game as a tight end, during a 16–9 loss to the Tennessee Titans. During a Week 6 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Beachum was named the starting left tackle in place of Adams and remained the starter for the remainder of the season. Beachum finished the 2013 season with 12 starts in 15 games and played 840 offensive snaps, earning an -0.4 grade from PFF.
Beachum entered the regular season in 2014 as the Steeler's de facto starting left tackle. He finished his third season starting all 16 regular season games and was ranked the fifth best left tackle by PFF. He also earned the fifth highest grade among tackles, finishing with a +21.7 overall grade from PFF and a 97.5 grade in pass blocking efficiency. Beachum finished third in pass blocking efficiency, behind only Andrew Whitworth and Joe Thomas. Entering his last year of his rookie contract, the Steelers offered Beachum a contract extension, but he declined their offer.
