Black and Gold Links: Ola Adeniyi out to prove the Steelers don’t need an OLB in the NFL Draft

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Time to check on the latest news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at how Ola Adeniyi is hearing the talk of the Steelers needing an OLB in the draft, and is out to prove he is the answer to their edge rusher leads.

Let’s get to the news:

• The NFL Draftniks are out in full force, and they are saying the Steelers need an OLB in this draft, even if just for depth. Ola Adeniyi is out to prove this is not a position of need…

Adeniyi: ‘It was pretty tough’

By: Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

“I am not going to lie to you. It was pretty tough,” said Adeniyi. “When I got the news that I was going on injured reserve I had it in mind this is happening, but I will be back after six weeks or whatever. I put in all of that work and then six weeks comes and you are still on injured reserve. It was frustrating. I just never let it get to me, kept working every day to get better.

“I kept a line of communication with the coaches. I needed that. I talked to a lot of players. The outside linebackers kept me up. I never felt I was lost. I had people to talk to. I had support.”

There were times while his teammates were practicing all Adeniyi could do is work on his rehab. No football activities, just getting in shape and ready to return. And while he did his best to keep that positive mindset, it had its moments.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Are the Cleveland Browns really going to be a different team in 2019? Some suggest we all need to pump the brakes on this train of thought.

Labriola on drastic changes forecast for the North

By: Bob Labriola, Steelers.com

After almost 20 years of complete ineptitude since returning to the NFL for the 1999 NFL season following Art Modell’s move to Baltimore over a dispute with the city concerning the dump that was Cleveland Stadium, the Browns are back. Well, not exactly, not entirely, and not officially, but the attitude among certain factions of the media in this social media age seems to be, why wait? Better to be first than right.

Are the Browns going to be that good in 2019? Or for these predictions to come true is it going to be more about the Steelers and Ravens dropping off significantly in both performance and results?

All of that is a guess right now, and guesses are best reserved for the Powerball when the jackpot works its way into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Remember the man they called ‘Fu’?? He recently told the Steelers’ official website what his NFL Draft day experience was like.

A stressful wait

By: Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

When the phone call comes, when the moment happens that you are drafted, sometimes you don’t even hear what is being said on the other end of the phone. That was the way it played out for Christ Fuamatu-Ma’afala, who had to wait a while just to get the call.

“Waiting for the call and getting it from the Steelers, it was very stressful,” said Fuamatu-Ma’afala. “I was projected to go in the third round, but I fell to the sixth round. After the third round went by I stopped watching the draft. I had my whole family there. I was anticipating the moment. The fourth round came, finally the sixth round and it was the Pittsburgh Steelers. I thought I don’t care what these guys want me to do, I am going to do it. I was going to give them all I had. It saved my family. We were anticipating the moment. I always felt indebted to the organization and I tried to play that way.

“When I got the call, I couldn’t hear Mr. (Dan) Rooney. My family was jumping up and down going crazy. I was trying to listen. I kept watching the television. I couldn’t hear anything. My family was yelling, I was yelling. When I saw my name going across the bottom I kept yelling thank you, thank you. I didn’t hear a word he was saying. I was definitely excited.”

To read the full article, click HERE

• Social Media Madness