The preseason is all about showing the coaches your worth as a football player. Pay close attention to these Steelers in this upcoming game.
The 4 game stretch of the preseason will begin for the Steelers this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Heinz Field. Their opponent will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but opponents do not matter so much during this time of the year.
Players on every team are scratching and clawing for spots on the final 53 man roster. These are some players to watch closely during the first preseason game.
Olasunkanmi (Ola) Adeniyi
Ola Adeniyi burst onto the scene last preseason with an explosive ability to put pressure on the quarterback. He finished with 9 tackles, 3 sacks and added 2 forced fumbles to his resume. He has been getting rave reviews by many that look on at the practices in Latrobe.
Wearing the ’92’ is a daunting task after James Harrison wore it in the black and gold for so many years. Ola seems to be up to the challenge and has progressed as a player and one to pay close attention to. Steelers fans should get used to his name as they will learn it soon enough over the next couple weeks.
Ola Adeniyi has such a violent rip-pull move. pic.twitter.com/9abbbpQkeb
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) July 29, 2019
Benny Snell
Benny Snell was taken in the 4th round by the Steelers (pick 122 overall). He is a big time running back that likes to run over people. Snell has shown the ability to catch out of the backfield in practices so far.
His bruising style of running will be fun to watch for fans that enjoy the old style that the Bus brought to the table. Another big task for every rookie running back is pass protection. Pay attention to how he handles himself in protecting the quarterback when the linebacker runs into the gap on a blitz.
Snell leaves Kentucky as the record holder of most rushing yards in a collegiate career at the university. He should provide a nice spark to the running back group for this team.
Devin Bush
Every year there is the excitement around the first round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This year that excitement grew after the Steelers traded up to the 10th overall pick to select Devin Bush.
After a great career as a Michigan Wolverine, he is now the future at inside linebacker for the Steelers. In the first depth chart released by the team yesterday, Bush was listed as the backup linebacker for the time being.
That will probably change sooner rather than later as the season goes on. The fast linebacker should be able to excel against backup players that he will be matched up against in his NFL debut.
The outcome of the preseason game against the Buccaneers isn’t nearly important as how these players perform. Keep an eye on these three Steelers, as they could be major contributors for Pittsburgh as early as this season.