First and 10: Turning over Every Stone

By Alan Saunders

·Updated: May 25, 2022

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked l lot this spring about how much he enjoys the player acquisition part of his job. Tomlin is much more involved that most coaches in the day-to-day aspects of the draft process, regularly attending the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and multiple pro days.

He is also a key part of the team’s process with free agents, something that can be seen as a big boost for the team’s chances with some plays, as explained by Tyrann Mathieu. That deal didn’t get done, but the fact that Tomlin was willing to pick up the phone and give it a shot shows the depth of his involvement in the process.

Another thing that Tomlin loves is competition. So when the team got together for the first part of its on-field practice sessions of the 2022 season in last weekend’s rookie minicamp, it’s the sort of environment that Tomlin thrives in.

The players were competing on the field, and the team was evaluating a couple dozen tryouts to see which ones might fit on the roster. It’s a process the Steelers have had success with before. The team signed Devlin “Duck” Hodges after a rookie camp tryout in 2019 and he ended up starting games at quarterback for the team that season.

That was an extreme example, but it remains that the Steelers and Tomlin take every little part of the process seriously, and so the three players that were signed to contracts after the weekend’s sessions — defensive tackle Trevon Mason, cornerback Carlins Platel and wide receiver Tyler Snead — will now get a real shot to make an impact as part of the 90-man roster.