With just a handful of practices in the books for 2025 training camp, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have plenty of difficult decisions to make with some position battles.
Sebastian Castro is battling for a roster spot in a safety room that got a bit more crowded with Chuck Clark added to the equation. The defensive line depth is still jockeying for position, as is the depth on the offensive line.
But even this early in camp, there are a few battles that have already been decided - and thankfully, only one is due to injury. These are the position battles Steelers fans don’t have to worry about any longer as camp continues.
These Pittsburgh Steelers position battles seem to already be decided
Connor Heyward wins fullback duties due to injury
Starting with the more unfortunate situation, undrafted South Alabama fullback DJ Thomas-Jones was initially believed to have torn his Achilles and would be lost for the season. While he thankfully averted such a devastating injury, he's still expected to be out for a significant amount of time.
Thomas-Jones had signed the largest undrafted free agent contract in team history and was logging plenty of reps to have a real shot to land on the final 53, but the injury has undone that effort, at least for now.
Heyward was most likely going to stick on the roster anyway, even if his production has slowly dwindled over the years. Still, with his size profile and the usefulness of the top three tight ends in other areas, Heyward will likely take on most of the fullback and H-back duties when available this season.
The starting linebackers are the subpackage linebackers
According to Trib Live, the Steelers haven’t been subbing out Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson in sub packages. Granted, the Steelers have only shown base and nickel packages defensively so far, but it appears that the primary backer duo will stay on the field as often as possible.
This could be detrimental or beneficial to Cole Holcomb. It either preserves his opportunity to provide veteran depth, or his lack of contribution opportunities on defense could send him packing. He’s played some special teams to earn more of his keep, so I’m still liking his chances to stick around.
Will Howard wins the third-string QB spot
This one unfolded as expected. So long as Howard wasn’t a total dud, the sixth-round pick was poised to beat Skylar Thompson for the third-string job. Howard has gotten considerably more reps with the threes than Thompson has, and he’s looked good overall.
That’s the ceiling on Howard’s climb up the depth chart, barring injuries. It’s no less impressive that he’s locked down the spot this early in camp.
Yahya Black is first to rotate for interior defensive line
When I said earlier that the depth of the defensive line was still jockeying for position, I was not including Black in that discussion. To be fair, this is the only one that qualifies as more of a prediction on my part based on his reported production and lineup mentions from those with camp access.
While Isaiahh Loudermilk, Logan Lee, and Dean Lowry are still battling it out, Black will be the first guy to step in for starters Cam Heyward and Derrick Harmon at defensive end when camp is said and done.
In Sunday’s practice, Black knocked down two passes in team sessions on Sunday and has otherwise shown throughout camp that he’s capable at defensive end, despite being the heaviest defender on the roster.
Black has been one of the biggest bright spots on the defense so far through camp, and the number of reps he's logged is reflective of that. The coaching staff is getting plenty to watch with their fifth-round pick, who is proving to be quite the steal in this year's draft so far.