Steelers Training Camp Rumblings (Cont.)
I really hope defense still wins championships.
The Steelers players will have today off, having wrapped up another awesome week of practice, before returning to the practice field on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Friday, the team will travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in their first preseason game on Saturday.
It has, seemingly, been all defense at training camp, especially at the tail end of this past week. They have been nothing short of unbelievable, and our new WR1 had some seriously high praise for them, saying: “I think they’re the best defense I've ever seen.” In a quick recap of the weekend by Alan Saunders and Derrick Bell, DB described the defense as “lightyears” ahead of the offense. In many ways, this is exactly what I would expect to hear, and the team’s payroll reflects that, but it is a little disheartening that there are so few positives coming out from the offensive side of the ball in team periods and seven shots.
By all accounts, Derrick Harmon has been a force throughout training camp. During yesterday’s practice, with T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward both getting a vet rest day, the d-line didn’t skip a beat. Harmon and Highsmith ate up double teams, and Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen were dropping down untouched and blowing guys up all day long. It’s worth noting that the first-team offensive line was healthy, and they still couldn’t do anything about our defense. Broderick Jones is a serious liability out there, and veteran backup OT Calvin Anderson is one of just two injured Steelers that doesn’t have a day-to-day designation. Anderson is the projected backup on both the left and right side, so obviously the Steelers still have a significant issue in that regard.
Alex Highsmith told coaches, yesterday, that he felt something in his groin and he was promptly shut down for the day. He also suffered a minor groin injury in training camp last year that hindered him in the early portions of the 2024 season. Coach Tomlin said that Highsmith would be evaluated today to determine the extent of the potential damage, but as of this writing we have yet to receive an update.
The WRs also got exposed a bit in yesterday’s practice while Calvin Austin III sat with an undisclosed injury that is allegedly less serious than day-to-day. Scotty Miller was the only bright spot outside of Metcalf in that regard, which is wonderful because I love Scotty Miller, but it’s tough because it shines a bright spotlight on how thin we are at receiver if we lose just one guy. The Steelers’ offense has been flirting with 04 personnel (that is 0 RBs, 4 TEs), and if we become thin at receiver at some point, that may be a personnel group that we see a ton of. Of course, the Khan artist is still making calls, like the one he made to the Commanders regarding Scary Terry, and maybe one of those calls turns into something. The cap space can exist if we want it to.
Of course, if our receivers are getting exposed, it’s because the Steelers’ new-look secondary has continued to turn heads in Latrobe. Cory Trice Jr. and Joey Porter Jr. both sat at points this week, and we know what Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey are as players…but how ‘bout Juan Thornhill? The biggest hole on the defense, at FS, may not be a hole at all with the way he practiced this week, specifically at the tail end of the week. He’s done a great job being a hub of communication for his teammates, and looks awesome driving on the ball and getting PBUs. But, most importantly, he’s not letting the ball go over the top of his head. He’s keeping everything in front of him. He’s the biggest question mark on our starting defense, but the work he has put in to this point gives me every reason to believe he’s on track to be an (at least) average FS, which is good enough for this team. UDFA S Sebastian Castro has also been making plays at camp, getting his hands on the ball pretty damn often. I don’t think the Steelers are bringing more than 4 safeties into the regular season (Killebrew, Clark, Elliot, and Thornhill), but I think there’s a good chance we haven’t seen the last of Castro.
Follow me on twitter/x: @jay_newm
