Steelers Now
We are roughly one week away from the beginning of training camp. Football fanatics, rejoice! It’s been a busy offseason for this Steelers franchise, who will replace their leading passer, receiver, and rusher from the prior year, certainly an oddity in the NFL. They even made a few uncharacteristic blockbuster trades for a few veterans in DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey. After months of waiting, we’re finally going to get our first real glimpse of what this newly constructed roster will look like.
As always, I sincerely appreciate all of the submissions. As usual, there were so many good topics across platforms that it was difficult to narrow down which ones to choose. Without further ado, here we go!
Q: Between Justin Simmons and Julian Blackmon, which safety would be a better addition for the Steelers?
A: I lean towards Julian Blackmon for a few reasons. For starters, he’s much younger than Justin Simmons (32) and won’t turn 27 years old until the end of training camp. Most of his snaps in recent seasons have come in the post as the center fielder because he’s an instinctual player with good range and very solid ball skills. Lastly, the Colts played cover-3 at the highest rate in the entire league last year, so there’s definitely some schematic overlap between systems, which leads me to believe that it wouldn’t take him long to get acclimated here. He’s capable of playing in the box, too. He’s dealt with some injuries during his time in the pros, so perhaps the medicals are the primary reason he is still without a contract. I would be a fan of allowing him to compete for the starting FS gig, but he’s valuable depth for cheap if nothing else.
Q: The game is on the line and you’re the offensive coordinator: which Steelers tight end are you drawing up a play for?
A: I’m going to assume that the defense is playing some sort of split-field coverage to take away DK Metcalf. With that in mind, I’m going to try and get to a 3×1 set with the tight end split out closest to the core. From there, it’s pretty simple: two-way go for Pat Freiermuth versus the Mike linebacker. The coaching point would be to try and cross the defender’s face to create separation over the middle of the field and set up a nice run-after-catch opportunity. If I felt like I was likely to get some sort of all-out blitz look, then I’d want the quarterback to have the freedom to check into some sort of screen for Jonnu Smith at the line of scrimmage. Obviously, if it was a situation where the play call was a run, Darnell Washington is the best option in that scenario. It’s nice to have options!
Q: Is there a sneaky position on Pittsburgh’s roster that worries you more than the general perception?
A: The left tackle spot in particular is very worrisome considering the lack of development from Broderick...
