Steelers select CB Terrence Frederick in 7th round
With the 246th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Texas A&M cornerback Terrence Frederick.
Frederick is 5′ 10.5″, 180 lbs., which is small for an NFL player, but not overly small for a cornerback. Unfortunately, Frederick doesn’t bring any other remarkable traits to complement his non-remarkable size.
He’s not an exceptional cover corner. He doesn’t have top end speed, and has a tendency to bite on fakes. In fact, he’s probably best utilized in a zone defense.
He’s not a big hitter. But at 180 lbs., I don’t think anyone expects him to be. But to his credit, he’s a hard worker who is willing to make tackles in the running game.
Terrence Frederick
He doesn’t have great height, and he’s not going to be able to challenge bigger receivers vertically.
One thing that will work in his favor is that he was often used in the slot in nickel packages at Texas A&M. That’s the only place that he has any possibility of seeing action as a rookie (if he even makes the team), so that should work to his advantage.
But the reality is that Frederick was only 7 picks away from being the 2012 Mr. Irrelevant. So I think most Steelers fans understand that his odds of making the team are slim at best. But we wish him good luck. The Steelers need as many good cornerbacks as they can find.
I don’t understand this pick. 7th round is a bit of a stretch to find starters, so why not take Chase Minnifield here then. Yeah, he had surgery and recovery may take a bit, but the payoff for that gamble is way bigger than what they look to get out of Terrance Frederick.
I am not worried that we didn’t get any quality CBs earlier in this draft, we still have young guys from the last couple drafts to develop and think they will do nicely. So I mean why take this pick? Was it really the best choice out of all of those that were left at the other positions? Cause it doesn’t look they were trying to fill a need out of him.
1I understand wanting to add depth at CB with all the question marks we have with the young guys now. I would’ve liked to see some more depth at LB, but talent evaluation at this point is more nuanced than most of us amateurs can accomplish.
2