Steelers select WR Toney Clemons in 7th round
With the 231st pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Toney Clemons, a WR from Colorado.
Clemons is a Pittsburgh native who is probably happy to be coming home.
He started his career at the University of Michigan, and played there for 2 years before transferring to Colorado, where he finished his collegiate career.
As a senior at Colorado, he was named by the coaches as the winner of Colorado’s John Mack Award, given to the team’s most outstanding offensive player.
Toney Clemons
Steelers fans know that Ben Roethlisberger likes big receivers, and none of the Steelers’ current receivers fit that description. But Toney Clemons will be a move in that direction. Clemons is 6’2″ tall. That makes him the tallest wide receiver on the Steelers roster.
Clemons is a big, physical wide receiver who isn’t afraid to go across the middle. Because of his size, Clemons is adept at muscling cornerbacks and breaking tackles. He’s also been known to run over a few cornerbacks and safeties. Moreover, he’s a very physical blocker, which is sure to go over well with Steelers fans.
He’s not particularly fast in game situations. So don’t believe the hype that you’ve probably been reading on other sites about how fast he is. While he did run a fast time (4.36) at his pro day, he was never able to perform at that speed during games . In fact, he didn’t excel at getting separation from his defenders, and he only scored 11 touchdowns during his entire college career. Instead, he used his size and strength to beat his man. That’s why his style of play is most often compared to Anquan Boldin.
We’ve already got Mike Wallace to take the top off of the defense, so I don’t think that Big Ben will mind having a receiver who is better at fighting off defenders than he is at blowing by them.
Welcome to the Steelers, kid. You’re joining a talented group of receivers. It’s going to take a lot of work to earn playing time.
ummm he ran a 4.36 40yrd dash at his pro day what do you mean he’s not particularly fast ???? o_O
1Don,
I pay no attention to pro days and Combine results. They’re artificial. Football players don’t play in track spikes on rubberized tracks. Game speed is very different than track speed.
Clemons never became a breakaway threat at Colorado. He only had 11 touchdowns during his entire college career. He seldom broke away from his defender the way Mike Wallace does. His size and strength were his primary weapons, not his speed.
2You lost any credibility you had when you said he’s not fast. If you think he would have been drafted without running that 4.36, you are wrong. He has talent and his size is great, but his speed is his best weapon and will help him play in the NFL
3D.,
Sigh. As I already stated, he didn’t show his speed in his actual games. He wasn’t invited to the Combine, and the one good time (4.36) that he ran at his Pro Day was the only thing that made most teams even consider him as draftable. Without that one time, he would have been an unrestricted free agent at best.
Everyone seems to be focusing on his 4.36. But he also ran a 4.53 that same day. And he even said that the 4.36 was the fastest that he’s ever run in his life.
I always tell my readers to ignore the Combine and Pro Days, and to pay attention to what the player did on the field. You’d be well advised to do the same.
4I have been reading and trusting your analysis for years now. Don’t let these few numb skulls get to you^^
5Thanks Steelerific,
I actually understand where these guys are coming from. They’ve read that he ran a time that sounds impressive. So they latched onto that one piece of information.
What they don’t seem to realize is that prior to him running that time, most scouts didn’t think he was that fast. He doesn’t play like he’s that fast.
Does anyone actually believe that a 6’2″ wide receiver with good body strength wouldn’t have been invited to the Combine if he also had blazing speed?
That one 40 yard run caught everybody by surprise. Nobody thought he could do that. He never looked that fast on the field. In fact, most scouting services didn’t even have him listed as a draftable WR. But that one 40 yard dash at his Pro Day changed everything for him.
IMO, it’s much more important what a player does on the field. If scouts don’t realize that he’s fast from watching his game film, then HE’S NOT FAST (in game situations). I don’t care what he does while wearing track spikes.
I’m glad the Steelers got Clemons. Big Ben likes tall receivers. But I don’t expect him to play like Mike Wallace. I expect him to be more like Heath Miller or Hines Ward; a strong, sure-handed guy who will fight off a defender to get the ball.
6It’s so true, track speed and football speed are not the same thing, but you don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. Go to youtube and watch a highlight video. I didn’t see a single clip of him getting behind the defense.
It is true that a guy who doesn’t look fast on the field but runs a 4.4 40 is different than a guy who doesn’t look fast on the field because he runs 4.6 40. It may turn out that his game speed will increase, but it probably won’t. The scouts I’ve read have concerns about his work ethic, hands, even strength, but he’s a worthy developmental project and I like having another receiver we can call Tone.
7I seen his highlights on you tube…. he looks super slow on the field.
8I watched highlights too, and he definitely doesn’t play “super slow.” He’s definitely a bit more of a strider, smoother running than burst running. His acceleration could use some improvement for breaking away, but so could every wideout’s. I would say boldin is a good comparison, altho boldin has a bit more burst and agility, but doesn’t look/play as big as clemons. Overall I like the pick, he showed some very good flashes of talent on multiple plays. Ben will go out of his way to look for him on red zone & 3rd down plays a lot. He had no problem helping to groom mike wallace, and now he gets a big boy to help teach & give chances.
9