No preseason could mean no playing time for Steelers rookies
By Eric Hassel
The Steelers rookies on offense face a daunting task for playing time
When the Steelers drafted Anthony McFarland, Jr., RB out of Maryland, with one of our two picks in the fourth round, we thought that we would be able to see where McFarland Jr. would fit in given the fact that the Steelers do have other RBs with NFL experience on the roster.
Similar to Claypool, what McFarland Jr. has going for him is that he does have the speed necessary to ‘bounce it outside’ and to flat out run past defenders; however, speed may not be enough to earn playing time. In fact, speed may not be enough to make the 53-man roster.
Assuming McFarland Jr. shines in the practice setting, there is really no way to replicate the conditions under which an RB would play in a ‘real’ game. In other words, getting hit and getting tackled in practice is probably not the same as getting hit and getting tackled in a game setting.
As I stated earlier, with all the other RBs on the roster with NFL experience, McFarland Jr. may find himself spectating from the sideline without ‘a helmet’, e.g. not dressed for the game. I hope that is not the case, but it certainly could end up being a reality for McFarland Jr.
The last Steelers rookie on offense is Kevin Dotson, ‘O’-lineman out of Louisiana, who was the second fourth-round draft pick in the 2020 draft. Dotson has good size at 6′ 4″ and 321 lbs; however, being a ‘non-skill’ player, meaning being a player other than a QB, RB, WR, or TE, it may be difficult for Dotson to crack the 53-man roster.
As is the recurring theme of the article, without the benefit of playing in preseason games, Dotson will have to battle it out with veteran ‘O’-linemen to earn a spot on the team, whether that spot is on the 53-man or on the practice squad. If Dotson manages to make the 53-man, barring an injury, I don’t see a scenario where he would get any snaps in a regular-season game.
Let’s move on to the defensive side of the ball.