Behind the Steel Curtain
LATROBE, PA — It was a hot one in Latrobe to kickoff training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Temperatures rose above 90° as the Steelers officially began their trek towards the 2025 season, and what they hope will be a long campaign. With Day One in the books, here are my biggest takeaways from Steelers camp:
It’s clear that the chemistry between Rodgers and Metcalf is still in the “work in progress” stage, which to be fair is expected on Day One of camp. Rodgers tossed up a jump ball that was well-covered and incomplete during team drills intended for Metcalf, and failed to hit the star wideout on a corner route in 7-on-7s. The two did eventually connect on a little button hook over the middle, basically done just to get the completion out of the way, but it’s clear that these two will have some things to work on in terms of timing and rhythm as camp rolls on.
Mike Tomlin said that the plan was to have all three of Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay, and Ramsey on the field at the same time, and the first-team defense did just that. Ramsey lined up at nickel, while Porter and Slay were out wide. Ramsey also dropped back at safety for a play and played out wide. The Steelers know what he brings in terms of versatility, and it appears they plan to utilize that.
The defense was buzzing all afternoon. Patrick Queen picked off the first pass from Rodgers in team drills, which was intended for Metcalf. Derrick Harmon also made his presence felt, blowing up a run play that would have been a TFL in-game, and batting down a Rodgers pass on consecutive plays. The defense definitely won the day when it comes to who made more notable plays.
The rookie running back had the first big run of the day off the left side that drew an audible reaction from the crowd. However, his second run was even better. Johnson burst through a gap on the right side and took off on what would have been north of a 60-yard touchdown in-game. While the obvious asterisk is that the pads aren’t on, the explosiveness is very evident, which is something Pittsburgh lacked in former back Najee Harris.
At least for the time being. Omar Khan said he feels comfortable with the roster they have, which means Wilson will have a big role if nothing changes. He was the WR2 in walkthrough to start practice and ran with the first-team. If he impresses enough during camp and preseason, the job will be his.
