Oct 24, 2013 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – When David DeCastro began to slip in the 2012 NFL draft, the Steelers started getting anxious.

Pittsburgh had DeCastro, an All-America guard at Stanford, rated as one of the top 10 players in the draft. But guards aren’t often taken in the top 10, and once the first dozen picks rolled by without a team turning in a card with DeCastro’s name on it, the Steelers started making phone calls about trading up and select him.

As it turned out, they didn’t need to make a trade. DeCastro fell to the Steelers, who were in dire need of an upgrade at guard. When it came time to make the pick, Pittsburgh immediately turned in its draft card with DeCastro’s name on it.

It’s taken a little longer than the Steelers envisioned for DeCastro to become a fixture in the lineup, but if his play Sunday in Pittsburgh’s 19-16 victory over Baltimore was indicative of anything, it’s that DeCastro’s time might have arrived.

“You could see it on the film,” said center Fernando Velasco. “(DeCastro) did his thing on Sunday.”

Actually, DeCastro has been doing his thing for several weeks, though it hasn’t been as obvious as it was against the Ravens, when the Steelers (2-4) rushed for a season-high 141 yards on 29 carries. DeCastro dominated his side of the line, including matchups against Ravens all-pro tackle Haloti Ngata, as the Steelers ran directly behind him seven times for 51 yards.

DeCastro said part of the reason for his marked improvement is because the game is finally starting to slow down for him.

“It doesn’t take as long to process things,” said DeCastro. “Your mind already knows before you have to think about it. It’s the subtle things that make a difference.”

It’s a process the Steelers hoped would have happened for DeCastro last season. But a knee injury suffered in the third preseason game forced him to miss all but the final four games of the regular season.

He’ll make just the ninth start of his career Sunday when the Steelers play at Oakland (2-4).

The season didn’t start well for DeCastro. Just eight plays into the opener against Tennessee, he ended Maurkice Pouncey’s season while trying to execute a cut block, hitting the Pro Bowl center’s knee instead and tearing Pouncey’s ACL.

DeCastro was understandably shaken by the mistake and played his worst game of the year against the Titans.

He has been Pittsburgh’s best offensive lineman since the Tennessee game. The line play has continued to get better around the middle nucleus of Velasco at center and DeCastro and Ramon Foster at the guards.

“I think you’re really starting to see that,” DeCastro said. “Losing Pouncey that first game was tough. Right now, we’re playing really well together, communicating well. It’s going good.”

The Steelers are finally seeing the player they thought could be a difference-maker when they drafted him.

“I thought the entire line played their best game of the year (against Baltimore),” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “David was a big part of that. I thought he played his best game.”

Offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum (ribs), offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (quad), tight end Richard Gordon (toe), defensive end Brett Keisel (ribs) and tight end Heath Miller (coach’s decision) each returned to full practice Thursday after being limited Wednesday. … According to cornerback Ike Taylor, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave the team a history lesson Wednesday dealing with the Oakland-Pittsburgh rivalry in the 1970s. “It’s a great rivalry,” Taylor said. “There’s a great history behind a lot of those games. A lot of those games between the Steelers and Raiders at that point, they were meeting in the AFC Championship to get to the Super Bowl. … That says a lot about the history of those two teams.”