The Steelers enter camp with a slew of players new and old, but these five options are the easiest to root for based on their incredible journeys.
To make it to the NFL in any sort of capacity is a true feat. Even if a player is only around for a training camp or two, the fact that they made it that far shows that they have overcome the odds. That said, there are players on every team that take a unique path to a roster that naturally makes them easier to root for. The Steelers are no exception, as they have quite a few players set to participate in training camp that have incredible stories.
What makes a Steelers player easy to root for?
To be clear, camp is a time to root for every player improving and making a case to be on the final roster. Long-standing veterans and undrafted rookies alike should all have fans cheering for them once camp rolls around. What separates the names below are their more unusual circumstances to make it this far. Every player has to overcome the odds, but these five Steelers have such incredible stories that make them easy to root for as camp gets closer.
Isaiahh Loudermilk
The Steelers made a surprising move in the 2021 draft when they traded a future fourth-round pick in order to acquire Isaiahh Loudermilk. There wasn’t a huge need at defensive end this offseason, especially after Chris Wormley was retained, but the team felt the need to land Loudermilk anyway, His playing time will likely be limited in year one assuming everyone stays healthy, but his path to the team is a unique one that should keep fans rooting for him.
As written by Tommy Jaggi, Loudermilk comes from the small town of Howard, Kansas which has a population of just over 600 people. His high school was so small that they only played in an eight-man league as opposed to the traditional 11-man league the NFL has. There was a real chance Loudermilk would have to switch to basketball given his size, but he stuck with football at Wisconsin and was rewarded with being a Steelers draft pick this year. Time will tell how his NFL career goes, but going from such a small town and requiring to learn a different style of football in college to an NFL draft pick is certainly a unique path.
B.J. Finney
At one point in time, B.J. Finney was one of the hottest, up and coming interior linemen for the Steelers. It was surprising when Finney initially went undrafted, but the feel-good story of the draft was the video he posted shortly afterward. Since the Steelers were his hometown team, he was so emotional accepting their undrafted contract that it brought him to tears.
He went on to have pretty good success as a reserve lineman for the team, playing in 59 career games and starting 13 of them. He played well enough to earn a decent-sized contract with the Seahawks but he floundered. He came into camp overweight due to a lack of team activities last season and never really got his footing with the team. He was later traded to Cincinnati before being released.
What makes him such a great story is twofold. For starters, Finney is set to get his last chance in the league with the Steelers this season. What makes it even sweeter is that he gets this opportunity to redeem himself with the team that he cried over signing with all of those years ago. While Kendrick Green will factor into the equation, Finney is the favorite to start week one. If he plays well, it could translate into a big deal next year for him.
James Pierre
While much has been said about the Steelers’ question marks at cornerback, you can’t help but root for former undrafted free agent James Pierre. He was mostly forgotten about last year during the draft and the team landed him on a lower-level undrafted deal. Pierre went on to win a roster spot in a crowded room last season despite the fact that he had no preseason to prove himself.
He carved out a role on special teams instantly before taking on an eventual role on defense. The most impressive of it all was that he seemingly leapfrogged Justin Layne as he got on the field before Layne did in the playoffs. Now, with Steven Nelson out the door and little done to replace him, Pierre seems primed to take on a role as a starting outside cornerback in some of the defensive packages.
While it isn’t uncommon to see undrafted free agents become starters, Pierre doing it in such short order is impressive. The Steelers clearly feel comfortable with him given the fact that they never really addressed cornerback in the draft. Pierre is in a prime position to establish himself as a starter this season. The sky is the limit for him, and his underdog status makes him easy to root for this year.
Zach Banner
Zach Banner was in a similar situation last year as he is this year. He had ascended the ladder to become the starting right tackle after facing so much adversity in his career. Then, the worst-case scenario happened to Banner as he tore up his knee in the first game and was lost for the season. The team re-signed him though, and now he figures to be the starting right or left tackle for the entire 2021 season.
Banner’s initial journey to the Steelers was one that made him easy to root for. He was drafted in the fourth round out of USC by the Colts and was cut outright after camp. He found his way onto the Browns, where his stay was also short-lived due to his weight issues. It seemed like Banner was going to be out of the league entirely due to his weight issues before the team signed him. He took a while to see the field but has seemingly transformed his game and mentality to better himself and his game overall.
Now, coming off of his injury, Banner is set to regain his starting role with the team. His journey to this point has been incredible and assuming he stays healthy he will have the opportunity to show the league the talent that he possesses. His journey with the Steelers alone has been incredible, transforming his body, endearing himself to the fans by being the swing tackle, before finally earning a starting job with the team. Fully healthy, he figures to be a critical face on this new-look line.
Mark Gilbert
At one point in time, Mark Gilbert was one of the hottest up-and-coming college cornerbacks. While Duke isn’t a huge football school, Gilbert had an incredible sophomore season in 2017, picking off six passes and totaling 35 tackles. Those kinds of numbers made him a potential draft target ahead of his junior season. Unfortunately, the positives of Gilbert’s college career ended there.
A hip injury derailed his next two seasons and he ended up opting out of the 2021 season after only playing two games. This means that over the past four years, Gilbert has only played in four total games. While he has obvious potential, the lack of recent playing time caused him to fall out of the draft. Now, he hopes to stick with the Steelers and display some of the talent that he showcased earlier in his career.
Fully healthy and hungry, Gilbert will throw his name into the reserve cornerback battle that is taking place. In theory, there is a starting outside cornerback opening, but considering his lack of playing time the past few years, it seems unlikely that he can claim that this season. If he can play like how he did a few years ago though, he has starting potential. Given the lengthy recovery time, rooting for Gilbert should be an easy thing to do once camp rolls around.
While fans will be rooting for all of the Steelers’ roster to show out during training camp, these five players stick out as having some of the more unique and incredible journeys to the team. Some of them are locked in as starters while others are fighting just to make the roster. All of their journeys have been incredible though, making them easy fan favorites once training camp officially gets underway.