Biggest sights and sounds from Steelers first training camp practice

Many anxious Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been waiting roughly half a year for this moment. After players finished arriving at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, the Steelers held their very first training camp practice on Thursday, July 27th.

As expected, Mike Tomlin kept things pretty light for the very first practice of camp. In the release of the training camp schedule, the Steelers indicated that they would be taking the field for unpadded practices for their first four sessions.

But despite hitting the field in shorts and shells, there was a remarkable turnout for Day 1 of Steelers training camp. The media, the fans, and the team captured and shared photos and videos from the first practice. Here are the biggest sights and sounds from Day 1 of Steelers camp:

Steelers training camp Day 1 recap

The Pittsburgh Steelers got a bit of a scare on Day 1, as starting wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, came up limping after a nice catch on a corner route. Fortunately, he would be okay.

One of the most talk-about plays of the day, however, came on a pass from Kenny Pickett to running back Anthony McFarland deep down the sideline. The speedster RB gained a step on newly-acquired linebacker, Cole Holcomb, and McFarland rose up to make the catch. Pickett dropped the ball in a bucket right where it needed to be.

Unfortunately, Calvin Austin III didn't have the best day at practice. Though he had some opportunities down the field, he failed to reel in the ball. Mammoth rookie tight end, Darnell Washington, also had a very quiet practice. It was only the first day in shorts and shells, so nobody should be hitting the panic button.

As expected, Dan Moore Jr. got the starting nod at left tackle over first-round rookie, Broderick Jones. Tomlin is going to make Jones earn that role; it won't be handed to him -- regardless of his draft status.

One of the biggest notes is how much more confident and sharp Kenny Pickett looks this summer. As a rookie in 2022, the first-round quarterback really struggled during his first week of Steelers training camp. This year, it's already starting to look like a completely different story. Pickett overflows with confidence and he seems much more comfortable in the offense.

We should never make too big of a deal over any training camp practice -- let alone the first of the summer. However, there were some positive takeaways and big moments already captured at camp. Hopefully, we see much more of this moving forward. The Steelers will have three more unpadded practices before players hit the field in full pads in August.