Pittsburgh Steelers pre-camp 53-man roster prediction

The Steelers are set to take the field for training camp on July 26th. Here is my early 53-man roster prediction for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to kick off their 2019 training camp. However, with teams having 90 players on their roster, they will be forced to cut that number down to 53 before the start of the season.

While many players are obvious locks to make the teams, others will be much harder to predict. Here is my 53-man roster prediction prior to Steelers training camp:

Quarterbacks: 3

Ben Roethlisberger

Josh Dobbs

Mason Rudolph

These three quarterbacks are pretty well solidified into the roster with no real surprises here. Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph will be battling for seeding, but all three will be on the roster come September.

Running backs: 3

James Conner

Jaylen Samuels

Benny Snell Jr.

Like the Steelers quarterbacks, these three running backs are all locks to make the roster in 2019. James Conner will continue work as the feature back, while Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell are expected to sprinkle in touches for the Steelers. Trey Edmunds has an outside chance to stick on special teams, but the Steelers hardly ever roll with four running backs.

Fullbacks: 1

Roosevelt Nix

The fullback position is quickly dying out in the NFL, but Nix’s job should remain with the Steelers. He is under contract until 2021, and he is a great special teams player.

Wide receiver: 6

JuJu Smith-Schuster

James Washington

Donte Moncrief

Diontae Johnson

Ryan Switzer

Eli Rogers

There are no big surprises here. I have the top 6 receivers on the Steelers making the roster – including both slot receivers in Ryan Switzer and Eli Rogers. They could use a special teams gunner like Johnny Holton, but it would be hard to carry 7 receivers.

Tight end: 3

Vance McDonald

Xavier Grimble

Zach Gentry

The Steelers almost always keep three tight ends. With Jesse James gone, Grimble will move up into the number two role, and Zach Gentry stands to see the best shot at making it as the team’s 3rd option at tight end. He has a few outsiders in Christian Scotland-Williamson and Kevin Rader to compete with.

Offensive line: 8

David DeCastro

Maurkice Pouncey

Alejandro Villanueva

Ramon Foster

Matt Feiler

B.J. Finney

Chukwuma Okorafor

Derwin Gray

No surprises with the starting offensive line. I have three backups making the team for the Steelers. B.J. Finney and Chukwuma Okorafor are locks as the primary backups, and I have Derwin Gray beating out Jerald Hawkins and Zach Banner for the final offensive line job.

Defensive line: 6

Cameron Heyward

Stephon Tuitt

Javon Hargrave

Tyson Alualu

Isaiah Buggs

Dan McCullers

The defensive line sees five returning faces this season with one new acquisition in Isaiah Buggs. Heyward, Tuitt, Hargrave, and Alualu are all locks to make the team, while McCullers and Buggs are front-runners to round out this group.

Edge defenders: 4

T.J. Watt

Bud Dupree

Anthony Chickillo

Ola Adeniyi

This group was pretty easy to predict. The Steelers don’t often carry more than four edge defenders. The top three outside linebackers are obviously locks, and Ola Adeniyi is the clear favorite to hold down the fourth (and likely final) spot.

Linebackers: 5

Devin Bush

Vince Williams

Mark Barron

Tyler Matakevich

Sutton Smith

Pittsburgh made some investments at linebacker this offseason, and I have the Steelers keeping five of them on the roster. The Steelers spent three draft choices at the position and brought in Mark Barron in free agency. Ulysees Gilbert just misses the cut.

Cornerbacks: 6

Joe Haden

Steven Nelson

Mike Hilton

Justin Layne

Artie Burns

Cameron Sutton

The top four corners for the Steelers are well-solidified on the roster, but it gets a little dicey from there. Artie Burns has been said to be on the roster bubble, and Cameron Sutton is one of the players near the bottom of the roster. There could be a few surprises here.

Safeties: 5

Terrell Edmunds

Sean Davis

Marcus Allen

Jordan Dangerfield

Brian Allen

I have the Steelers keeping five safeties this season. There are a lot of question marks at safety outside of Terrell Edmunds and Sean Davis. Most of the other safeties on the roster have seen very little action. I have the Steelers keeping three back ups at the position – each with special teams ability.

Special Teams: 3

Chris Boswell

Jordan Berry

Kameron Canaday

Chris Boswell was anything but spectacular last season, but the Steelers will give him every opportunity to hold down his job this year. I have the same kicker, punter, and long snapper making the roster in 2019.

It is hard to know exactly where the Steelers will elect to use their depth, and there will likely be a few surprise players on the roster that I didn’t mention in this list. We will find out soon enough which direction they will go with the roster for this fall.