Steelers Now
After a competitive joint practice, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they look to string together consecutive positive performances to begin the preseason. Once again, Head Coach Mike Tomlin is making the decision to withhold a myriad of starters in this one, which will allow some of the youth on the roster to get some more shine. The final result is truly inconsequential, but tracking the progress of the rookie class in particular is exciting for all parties involved. Here are five players worth keeping an eye on when they take the field tomorrow night.
It was definitely refreshing to see Jones hold his own in the two series that he played versus the Jaguars starters, not allowing a single pressure to Josh Hines-Allen in 12 dropbacks. After a rocky start to training camp, he’s been trending upwards of late, with his stock as high as it’s been in some time now. That’s not to say that there isn’t more significant growth to be made in terms of technical refinement, but these preseason reps are incredibly valuable for the 24-year-old trying to get settled into what is hopefully his long-term position. Now, it’s about continuing to stack those flashes and becoming more consistent. Nothing would amp viewers up more than seeing #77 lead the way for Kaleb Johnson, en route to a more efficient outing on the ground this weekend.
The free agent acquisition was a standout in the preseason opener, with a couple nice plays working downhill before nearly coming away with an interception in the first half. It seems like his performance impressed the coaching staff, and they’re ready to reward him with more responsibility. During the week of practice, he received some playing time in the slot after previously only working on the boundary since being acquired. Part of this could be due to the struggles of Beanie Bishop last weekend, but cross-training your top backup is certainly worth exploring nonetheless. With the top three cornerbacks all resting once again, it’ll be interesting to see what Echols’ deployment looks like, as this could be another chance to work his way into more playing time.
It’s been a bit strange just how little buzz the former Wisconsin Badger has received throughout the summer. Similar to Jones, the squad’s decision to rest other members of the 2023 draft class gives us a hint at who the most highly regarded players are in their eyes at this time. That can certainly change, but Benton’s preseason debut was unspectacular, granted he only registered eight snaps in total. The Steelers’ pass rush was one of the few negatives their last time out, which is pretty easily explained by how many young and inexperienced players they had in the lineup. Ideally, as the elder statesman in this group, he’d help turn the tide in week two. We saw several T/T stunts between both him and Derrick Harmon,...
