With so many holes and questions on the roster, these are the five best-case scenarios for the Steelers during the 2021 training camp.
The Steelers enter this training camp a far different team than last year. Gone are nine players who started last season, and in their place is a mix of rising veterans, rookies, and complete unknowns. While there will certainly be some concerns and bad news to come out of camp, the team has to bank on some positive news making its way out of camp. Here are the Steelers’ five best-case scenarios for their 2021 training camp. Note: this list won’t include players staying healthy, as that is a constant best case scenario that isn’t unique to this training camp alone.
Steelers’ backups are used as trade bait
Every team in the league has a different set of priorities and strengths once they enter camp. Every team has strong and weak positions naturally, and camp provides a time to assess their current talent and make additions where needed. The Steelers are no different here, but one way for them to maximize their depth is by trading some of it on before cut-down day.
Names like Justin Layne, Isaiah Buggs, and potentially even a backup offensive linemen could prove themselves valuable in camp but could lose out to another player for a roster spot. If the Steelers can orchestrate a trade or two, they can get some sort of draft or player capital out of them when the original plan was to just cut them. No, this wouldn’t net anything more than a late-round pick or a potential player for player swap, but it would still strengthen the team going forward. Look for some of the better camp players to be dangled as trade bait by the end of camp.
Steelers determine a backup running back early
While the Steelers got their new face of their backfield in the first round of the draft, they also have a real competition heating up for who will be his primary backup. While most will scoff at the idea of a backup running back being that important, a new, more run-heavy offensive scheme could develop earlier if the stable behind Najee Harris is properly sorted out.
Based on his speed and change of pace potential, Anthony McFarland makes the most sense on paper to be the primary backup. That said, his rookie season wasn’t great and he has some obvious developing to do if he wants to be considered for that spot. Kalen Ballage and Benny Snell are prototypical power backs, so if the Steelers want to emphasize a physical style of running, either of them would fit the bill. Even Jaylen Samuels could emerge as the primary backup, although considering his mediocre play that would be the least likely of these scenarios.
While it does matter who ultimately dons the title of top backup running back, the reason it is important for the team to figure this out sooner than later is that it will ultimately impact some of the offensive game planning. If a speedy option like McFarland is the backup, more jet-sweeps and schemes designed to get him into space will be implemented for him. If one of the power backs wins out, then a more traditional downhill approach will have to be used. Harris can function in either, so getting the best scheme in place early will help this offensive unit gel earlier.
Steelers undrafted rookies shine
Normally a weaker element of their draft, the Steelers were actually rather aggressive in targeting some of their undrafted free agents this offseason. Names like Shakur Brown and Donovan Stiner easily could have been drafted, while others like Isaiah McKoy and Mark Gilbert likely would have gone earlier had their athletic testing and injury history not been so questionable. Overall, the eight undrafted rookies are an atypically strong group.
All of that to say, most of these guys won’t make the team. At most, you might see two names stick to the active roster by the time the roster is cut down given just how hard it is as an undrafted rookie to stick initially to a team. That said, the practice squad will likely be home to a few of these players as the Steelers attempt to develop them for a year before giving them another crack at the roster.
There isn’t a lot to dislike about this group, and the odds that at least one of them is on the opening day 53-man roster is pretty good. Camp should be a time for all of these players to thrive, and preseason should provide them with ample opportunity to display the skills that brought them to the league. Again, not everyone will make this roster, but seeing the Steelers get rewarded for being aggressive with their undrafted rookies would be a nice boost going forward.
Steelers’ starting line is determined early
A lot has been said about the state of the new Steelers offensive line. While both optimism and pessimism are present, the fact of the matter is the team essentially has a new starter at every position along the line. While that doesn’t mean a unit is destined to fail, it does mean that this group has very little experience playing together. That can lead to some difficulties adjusting as the lineman doesn’t just have to worry about their assignments, but also have to worry about the style of the fellow starter next to them.
For the most part, this group is set. The only real competition right now is at center, and assuming the team can make up its mind sooner than later, the starting center should become clear in camp. While ideally, the player that steps up is Kendrick Green, the team may initially roll with B.J. Finney at first given his veteran status. Regardless, the sooner this group knows who is starting week one the better.
That way, the starting line can focus on not just bettering their own personal skills, but they can also focus on playing together as a unit. This offensive line hasn’t had this much turnover in quite a while, so all of these new faces will have to get used to playing with someone new and different next to them. The sooner this group can focus on that, the better the unit as a whole will be.
Steelers second-year defenders make a leap
While seeing any second-year player make a leap is always the best-case scenario, the Steelers have a lot riding on the sophomores on their defense. By my count, three of these former rookies are competing for a starting job while a few others are set to be critical backups. If this group slips up or underperforms, this defense will be left scrambling for a different option, something no team wants to deal with this late in the offseason.
The most critical sophomores set to play are both Alex Highsmith and James Pierre. Highsmith is the presumed starter at the opposite edge spot of T.J. Watt, although the Melvin Ingram signing will certainly change that a little bit. He should still start, but he has a lot of pressure on him to perform sooner rather than later. As for Pierre, he is in the driver’s seat for the starting outside corner spot assuming Cameron Sutton would kick into the slot in three CB sets.
Beyond them, Antoine Brooks Jr. and Carlos Davis are set to be rotational players on defense. Brooks could stake a claim at the slot corner spot, but he seems better suited to be the dime linebacker. Davis flashed in limited playing time, and he could see some more rotational snaps as the Steelers try and determine if he can be the long-term starting nose tackle. All four of these players could be key players on defense in 2021, and each can’t afford to backslide in terms of their quality this upcoming season.
Training camp will be an opportunity for quite a few new Steelers to earn a roster spot. While a variety of news will be coming out over the coming weeks, these best-case scenarios will lead to better output from this team. Ideally, a few of these scenarios come to fruition by the time training camp wraps up.