4 players all fans must have their eyes on at Steelers training camp

EDGE Alex Highsmith

Right now, a majority of the buzz revolving around the Steelers has to do with newly signed pass rusher, Melvin Ingram. It’s not hard to see why. When healthy, Ingram has been one of the more impressive edge defenders in the NFL over the past five seasons. However, don’t be so quick to forget about Alex Highsmith.

While I certainly won’t deny that Ingram is likely to eat into Highsmith’s total snap count this year, that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all. Having Ingram around will afford the Steelers to give both Highsmith and T.J. Watt more rest than they would have anticipated.

Now that he has some real competition at the position, I’m interested to see how hard Highsmith pushes himself in camp this year, and I’m willing to bet that he grabs the attention of his coaches early. As a former college walk-on, Highsmith has always been an underdog but has never disappointed.

Highsmith was very impressive as a rookie in 2020, and there’s no reason to label his progress as a fluke. With a three-time Pro Bowler nipping at his heels, you can bet that Highsmith is going to give it his all during training camp. Keep your eyes on him over the next few weeks!