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The NFL is BACK! Pittsburgh Steelers football is BACK! It feels like it has been years since we had actual football in pads for the Steelers, and with training camp starting up, it has satisfied my itch… for now.
Over the first few days of camp, many Steelers have made an instant impression, for better or worse. Here are some of the initial reports on the direction some of the players arrows are heading as training camp opened up.
It is the first week of training camp for the Steelers, but it is hard to ignore the arm talent Haskins has put on display so far. Haskins opened camp as the #3 quarterback ahead of Joshua Dobbs which surprised some people, but his play has shown why. He has received some additional reps due to him being the one the coaching staff has the least familiarity with, and he hasn’t disappointed. He has shown the ability to make throws from within the pocket, on the move, off balance under pressure, and protect the football. If he keeps playing like this, it wouldn’t be a surprise by the time the regular season starts he is already pushing Mason Rudolph for the #2 job.
I want to add a caveat to my last statement and pump the breaks a bit. While Haskins has looked the part, it is still VERY early into camp. So while he is getting all of SteelerNation excited, including myself, we need to wait and see how this performance progresses over the entirety of training camp and the preseason.
If you told me to pick one wide receiver to be putting on a show early in camp, I am not sure McCloud would be my first pick. But he has been putting on a show in the early stages of camp so far. Multiple times he has been able to use his quickness to get his defender turned around and end up wide open all over the field. He has been used in about as many ways you can think of as well. He has been used on jet sweeps, quick passes to the flat off the jet motion, screens, slants, routes on the perimeter, etc. It appears new offensive coordinator Matt Canada plans on getting very creative with McCloud’s talents this upcoming season.
Layne’s stock being pointed down is as much about the performance of other members of the secondary as it is his own. Layne has shown some struggles to start, but overall he hasn’t been bad enough to say his stock is down based on his individual performance alone. However, several of the other members of the secondary he is likely competing with for a role in the defense, and maybe even a roster spot, are showing better than he has so far. James Pierre, Antoine Brooks, Tre Norwood, Shakur Brown, and some others have all made more plays than Layne has so far. While not all of those are in direct competition with Layne as a boundary corner, their performance will impact his role/roster spot in one way or another if they continue to outplay him.
The Steelers have used a ton of two tight end sets over the first few days of training camp. If a ton wasn’t such a large number, I would say I am not exaggerating, but needless to say they are using it a lot more than they have in recent memory. That is music to the ears of the members of Freiermuth fan club. He has been the direct beneficiary of this as he is already entrenched as the team’s #2 tight end going into the 2021 season. Over the first few days, he has put on a show in the receiving game too. He has been able to make some acrobatic catches, some solid route running, and even outran Devin Bush up the field on one occasion. Eric Ebron’s minor elbow injury has also opened the door to some additional reps to Freiermuth as well, so he is able to get more run with the 1’s and Ben Roethlisberger which is always a good thing.
It is still early in camp and there is a lot more to go, but being able to make an early impression on the coaches can earn you more opportunity as training camp progresses. Who do you think stood out in the early stages of camp? Let us know below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Over the first few days of camp, many Steelers have made an instant impression, for better or worse. Here are some of the initial reports on the direction some of the players arrows are heading as training camp opened up.
Dwayne Haskins – STOCK UP
It is the first week of training camp for the Steelers, but it is hard to ignore the arm talent Haskins has put on display so far. Haskins opened camp as the #3 quarterback ahead of Joshua Dobbs which surprised some people, but his play has shown why. He has received some additional reps due to him being the one the coaching staff has the least familiarity with, and he hasn’t disappointed. He has shown the ability to make throws from within the pocket, on the move, off balance under pressure, and protect the football. If he keeps playing like this, it wouldn’t be a surprise by the time the regular season starts he is already pushing Mason Rudolph for the #2 job.
I want to add a caveat to my last statement and pump the breaks a bit. While Haskins has looked the part, it is still VERY early into camp. So while he is getting all of SteelerNation excited, including myself, we need to wait and see how this performance progresses over the entirety of training camp and the preseason.
Ray-Ray McCloud – STOCK UP
If you told me to pick one wide receiver to be putting on a show early in camp, I am not sure McCloud would be my first pick. But he has been putting on a show in the early stages of camp so far. Multiple times he has been able to use his quickness to get his defender turned around and end up wide open all over the field. He has been used in about as many ways you can think of as well. He has been used on jet sweeps, quick passes to the flat off the jet motion, screens, slants, routes on the perimeter, etc. It appears new offensive coordinator Matt Canada plans on getting very creative with McCloud’s talents this upcoming season.
Justin Layne – STOCK DOWN
Layne’s stock being pointed down is as much about the performance of other members of the secondary as it is his own. Layne has shown some struggles to start, but overall he hasn’t been bad enough to say his stock is down based on his individual performance alone. However, several of the other members of the secondary he is likely competing with for a role in the defense, and maybe even a roster spot, are showing better than he has so far. James Pierre, Antoine Brooks, Tre Norwood, Shakur Brown, and some others have all made more plays than Layne has so far. While not all of those are in direct competition with Layne as a boundary corner, their performance will impact his role/roster spot in one way or another if they continue to outplay him.
Pat Freiermuth – STOCK UP
The Steelers have used a ton of two tight end sets over the first few days of training camp. If a ton wasn’t such a large number, I would say I am not exaggerating, but needless to say they are using it a lot more than they have in recent memory. That is music to the ears of the members of Freiermuth fan club. He has been the direct beneficiary of this as he is already entrenched as the team’s #2 tight end going into the 2021 season. Over the first few days, he has put on a show in the receiving game too. He has been able to make some acrobatic catches, some solid route running, and even outran Devin Bush up the field on one occasion. Eric Ebron’s minor elbow injury has also opened the door to some additional reps to Freiermuth as well, so he is able to get more run with the 1’s and Ben Roethlisberger which is always a good thing.
It is still early in camp and there is a lot more to go, but being able to make an early impression on the coaches can earn you more opportunity as training camp progresses. Who do you think stood out in the early stages of camp? Let us know below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
