Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is already upon us. Here are four players that all eyes must be on this summer.
Steelers training camp has officially started and eager fans are anxiously awaiting practices that will be upon to the public at Heinz Feild starting on July 28th. For those who don’t live close enough to Pittsburgh or aren’t able to make the trip to see their team at training camp this year, they will no doubt be refreshing their social media accounts (and hopefully StillCurtain.com) for the latest news and updates at camp.
Every year, the goal for this team is a Super Bowl. However, this season is particularly huge for the Steelers, as it could mark the very last opportunity for Pittsburgh to win a Lombardy Trophy in the Ben Roethlisberger era.
There are going to be 90 players in all for fans to watch at Steelers training camp (though the team will cut down to 53 by the start of the season). While we obviously want to see everyone improving, here are four players that all fans must have their eyes on at camp this year:
C Kendrick Green
Of all the questions entering Steelers training camp, this is one of the most interesting to me: where does rookie center Kendrick Green fall on the depth chart? While many are quick to label him as the starting center, I have my reserves about whether or not Pittsburgh will view him that way from the gate. This is probably why it took him until just before camp to officially sign his rookie contract.
Competing with him for the starting gig are J.C. Hassenauer and B.J. Finney. Though Finney is also capable of backing up either guard position in the event of an injury, it’s possible that one of these two could be the starter to begin the year, while the other isn’t guaranteed to make the final cut.
I have high hopes for Green after doing a deep dive into his game film. Though he will oftentimes be smaller than the player lined up across from him on defense, the compact center still has impressive power. I’m interested to see if he can stand his ground against established defenders like Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, or Tyson Alualu 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!
RB Najee Harris
And now… the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Najee Harris was drafted to be the key that turns this offense around. While I would caution overvaluing a running back’s worth to the team, it will be interesting to see just how much he impacts Pittsburgh’s offense in 2021.
What I’m really looking forward to seeing is how much better he looks during drills, backs-on-backers, and 11-on-11s than every other running back on the team (and I’m hoping it’s substantial).
During mandatory minicamp, Harris certainly seemed to run his drills smoother and much more effortlessly than the rest of the group, and noticeably better than other big running backs like Benny Snell and Kalen Ballage.
Now the real test begins, as Harris is out to prove why a running back can actually be worth the 24th overall pick in the draft. He will be running with the first-team offense from the gate, and from everything I have seen and heard so far, I don’t expect him to look lost. If he has a remarkable rookie season, it’s going to give the Steelers a great boost on offense this year.
QB Ben Roethlisberger
There probably aren’t a lot of teams out there who would care as much to keep their eyes glued to an 18-year veteran when there are so many promising up-and-coming players to watch. However, at the end of the day, this is all that truly matters.
In today’s NFL, it’s nearly impossible to win it all without competent quarterback play. This is something he didn’t offer the team over the final six games of the 2020 season and into the playoffs. However, we are hoping he can overcome the worst stretch of his performances in his NFL career and look more like the player we saw early in the season.
Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t necessarily need to carry the team on his shoulders, but there are a few things he must do better with in 2021. For starters, he can’t be as complacent throwing the ball short. I know much of his yards per attempt was tied to the offensive line’s ability to hold up for more than two seconds, but this has to improve.
When Ben does look to throw deep, he needs to be much more successful, as he was just 31st in the league in deep throw completion percentage last season, according to PlayerProfiler.com. I’m hoping that another year removed from major elbow surgery does him some good. It will be interesting to see what his arm has left at camp this year.
These four players are going to be pivotal to the success of the team in 2021. Let’s hope they can stand out in Steelers training camp this year.