It might just be football in shorts, but it's still football. After a long offseason without seeing NFL players in action, fans are catching their first glimpse of their new roster during organized team activities. Steelers OTAs kicked off over Mother's Day weekend and players are back for the second wave of practices.
While it's important not to read too deeply into these practice sessions, we can still take notes of some of the things we are witnessing as dozens of videos are being posted on Twitter by Steelers media. Here are three positive takeaways and two areas of concern from Steelers OTAs so far.
Jalen Warren looks explosive
I know I'm not the only one who has noticed how explosive Jalen Warren has looked in his second offseason. The former undrafted free-agent running back not only made the roster, but he had a spectacular rookie season. The former Oklahoma State running back carved out a sizeable role that nobody would have predicted prior to seeing him in action at Steelers training camp.
Now Warren looks poised to make a second-year leap. Through the first half of Steelers OTAs, Warren looks as explosive as ever running through drills, and you can tell that he's laser-focused on improving every day.
Warren looks completely jacked as he added muscle to his compact frame. In drills, Warren looks quick with added burst to his game. At this rate, he's going to be cutting off a bigger slice of the pie on Pittsburgh's offense in 2023, and he might just be one of those guys who is tough to take off the field.