Saunders: Steelers Post-Minicamp 53-Man Roster Projection

PITTSBURGH — The hay is in the barn, as Pittsburgh Steelers have done the work of three weeks of OTAs and another week of minicamp practices at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

The team will now have six weeks off before it reconvenes for training camp at St. Vincent College. Let’s take this time to make a projection for the Steelers’ 53-man roster.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRE-TRAINING CAMP 53-MAN ROSTER PROJECTION

Quarterbacks (3): Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar

This might be the toughest cut on the team. The Steelers are legitimately going to give Will Howard every possibly opportunity to beat out Mason Rudolph for the backup quarterback job, and even though he’s never taken a single NFL snap, I’m not going to say he can’t win it either. Third-round picks don’t get cut, so I assume Drew Allar is safe unless he’s injured, meaning it will likely be backup or nothing for Howard.

Running backs (4): Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Kaleb Johnson, Travis Homer

Eli Heidenreich is another tough cut, and he very well could push someone like Kaleb Johnson or Travis Homer off the roster with his greater versatility and special teams ability than Johnson and greater offensive production than Homer. He definitely has a chance to win his way onto the roster at camp, and Johnson might have the most to prove of anyone.

Tight Ends (3): Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Riley Nowakowski

Instead of losing one of their draft picks on waivers, the Steelers can use Robert Tonyan as the No. 3 tight end from the practice squad. Riley Nowakowski gets ahead of him on the roster thanks to versatility and special teams ability.

Wide Receivers (6): DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Roman Wilson, Germie Bernard, Ben Skowronek, Kaden Wetjen

The Steelers probably don’t need six wide receivers, but with somewhat limited skillsets from Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek and Kaden Wetjen, they’ll probably all make the team, as they all bring something different to the table. Wetjen is a lock because he’s the top option at punt returner.

Offensive Tackle (4): Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Dylan Cook, Max Iheanachor

While Broderick Jones remans a question mark because of his health, there’s a ton of quality depth there, with or without him. Jack Driscoll, who was on the roster last year as a veteran backup, likely heads to the waiver wire or the practice squad.

Interior Offensive Line (5): Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Spencer Anderson, Brock Hoffman, Gennings Dunker

While there’s still significant drama about who is going to start at right guard, the five interior players to make the roster seems fairly set, with returning veteran Ryan McCollum on the outside of the 53-man roster looking in as we enter training camp.

Interior Defensive Line (7): Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Yayha Black, Dean Lowry, Esezi Otomewo

It’s a pretty tough battle at the end of this position group. Right now, I’ll give the nod to veteran...