2. Montravius Adams
Montravius Adams offered the Pittsburgh Steelers a spark on the defensive line when he joined the team late in 2021. After playing his first four seasons with the Packers, Adams bounced around a bit before finding a home in Pittsburgh. Now we have to wonder if the clock could be ticking on his Steelers career.
Adams definitely has some juice to his game, but he doesn't fit the mold of a true nose tackle. As such, he lacks consistent anchoring ability against the run and can be washed out of plays. Last year, Adams may have become the starter by default. Tyson Alualu was just a fraction of his former self in his old age and coming off a season-ending injury.
The good news for Adams is that the competition isn't too stiff at the nose tackle position. Keeanu Benton is expected to carve out a big role on the defensive line and may start in this position. After that, it appears that Adams' biggest competition could be Breiden Fehoko (the only true nose tackle on the team).
Of course, there's a chance that neither Adams nor Fehoko make the final roster. Adams has occasionally earned first-team reps in training camp, but he did not perform very well in Pittsburgh's preseason opener. He's going to need a much better game when the Steelers take on the Bills in Week 2 of the preseason.