Steelers Analysis Steelers Training Camp
Steelers Camp Takeaways: Van Jefferson’s Big Day, Pickens Heating Up
Van Jefferson had his biggest day of training camp, and George Pickens might be heating up, too.
UNITY TWP., Pa. — Even without a fully padded practice today in Latrobe, things were as competitive as ever. Tempers flared early with a dustup around midfield, with the defense continuing to push the limits off what they could get away, which ultimately resulted in a ton of trash back and forth trash talk throughout the day.
With Russell Wilson still limited with his calf injury, we saw Justin Fields run with the first team offense for the majority of the day. It’s safe to say that the defense won the day but the practice was highly competitive, and equally entertaining, even without the pads in place.
SEVEN SHOTS
1) Steelers went to empty out of 13 personnel, Justin Fields got to his second read and found Darnell Washington over the ball for a score.
2) The following play was out of the gun, with the defense staying plastered to the receivers, forcing Fields to vacate the pocket to his left, where he was unable to connect with Jaylen Warren in the flat.
3) Again out of the gun, Fields tried to thread the needle into air tight coverage, but Donte Jackson was able to undercut the throw and force an incompletion on a pass intended for Van Jefferson.
4) But then, Jefferson got his revenge. Off a quick play fake, Fields rifled in a precise throw, hitting Jefferson on a slant route right in front of Jackson.
5) Kyle Allen’s first pass was intended for Pat Freiermuth late in the rep, but Mark Robinson was all over him and broke it up at the goal line. This was his first of multiple breakups on the afternoon.
6) Next, Allen attempted a shovel pass after shuffling to his left but the interior defensive line sniffed it out immediately. Without pads, the defense was rewarded with the win on the rep.
7) The final rep was Allen attempting to hit MyCole Pruitt on a backside in-breaker but the pass was high. Anthony Averrett had good coverage on the play.
In recent days, the offense had come away victorious in the drill but the defense bounced back and convincingly won the day, 5-2.
NOTES FROM TEAM PERIODS
? The biggest winner of todays practice was undoubtedly wide receiver Van Jefferson, who bounced back nicely from a bad drop in individual drills. His matchup with Donte Jackson was highly competitive, with Jefferson both creating separation with his route runner and with his frame. His also caught a Russell Wilson moonball in 7v7, stacking Joey Porter Jr. on a deep post over the middle.
? Speaking of receivers, Calvin Austin III was getting open rather easily in 1v1s. Sure, this is a setting that typically favors the offense, especially quicker guys like Austin. But I was curious how his route running looked, specifically his ability to get in and out of his breaks, and he looked pretty solid to me.
? Today could be characterized as another uneven day for Justin Fields, following arguably his two best days as a Steeler. On a bunch of reps throughout the day, Fields seemed pretty uneasy in the pocket, double or triple clutching, before eventually bolting from the pocket or throwing the ball away. His best throw of the day came on a pylon-sail concept, dotting a touch throw to Connor Heyward right in stride. So, on a positive note, he finished the practice better than he started it.
? Mike Tomlin mentioned the ability to have a more inclusive practice as one of the reasons that the Steelers were in shells today. One player who benefited from that was cornerback Cory Trice, who saw first team reps as the Dime back during team sessions. He also saw some time with the second team as the boundary cornerback. There weren’t any noteworthy reps aside from one pass interference penalty earned for holding Scottie Miller on a deep ball attempt. But they continue ramping up his usage as we get closer to the start of the preseason.
? Patrick Queen’s closing speed was my favorite thing about him on tape and it was on full display today. He quickly closed off a pass to the flat for short gain. On the very next play, he triggered quickly on a screen pass to Jaylen Warren, corralling him in the backfield for a tackle for loss. His athleticism is every bit as advertised.
? The defensive line as a whole had several coverage sacks on the afternoon, but I was also impressed with how often they were able to get their hands in the passing lanes. Isaiahh Loudermilk and Logan Lee batted balls down during the team period. Fields was picked off by Thomas Graham on a throw underneath and an unknown player looked to get a piece of that as well considering how wobbly the ball arrived to its destination.
? The deployment of George Pickens is a developing storyline. In seasons past, he’s been glued to the boundary, having to earn every single one of his targets the hard way. In Smith’s offense, it seems like he’s going to be moved around the formation quite a bit. Just today alone, I saw him aligned as the X, off the ball as the flanker, in the slot and at the foot of bunch/stack formations. He’s also running more of a diverse route tree than we’ve been accustomed to seeing, which was necessary in order for him to hit his monstrous ceiling.
? Due to injuries and Markus Golden making his return to Pittsburgh on short notice, Pittsburgh was rather shorthanded at edge today. We saw DeMarvin Leal get some run on the outside, as well as taking a solid amount of snaps along the interior where he made at least one nice run stop during the early portion of practice.
FIRST LOOK AT KICK RETURNS
One of the more interesting developments of the 2024 NFL season is the new kickoff rules. The NFL is trying to eliminate it’s most dangerous play and introduce more excitement into a phase that has been anything but over the last decade or so.
The Steelers were placing an extreme level of emphasis on special teams, scheduling two 10-minute sessions dedicated solely to kick returns.
With Cordarrelle Patterson on the shelf recovering from an injury, the first-team returners were Jaylen Warren and John Rhys Plumlee. Next up was the speedy duo of Calvin Austin III and Quez Watkins.
This is definitely going to be a feeling out process for all involved: kickers, coaches and referees alike. In the first session, they having Matthew Wright kick the ball horizontally in line-drive fashion. In the second session, Chris Boswell was booting the ball sky-high. Both kickers were directionally aiming for the sidelines and I didn’t see a single one land anywhere close to the middle of the field.
These drills were laid back in comparison to the rest of the day but Beanie Bishop made several tackles as the L1 on the kickoff unit. He’s getting plenty of burn in the slot on defense but the fact that he’s involved on special teams as well bolds really well for his chances of cementing his spot on the 53-man roster.
2-MINUTE DRILL
During Thursday’s practice, we got our first look at what an Arthur Smith-led offense looks like in the 2-minute drill.
Justin Fields hit George Pickens on a nice back shoulder throw down the left sideline for an explosive play with Donte Jackson nearby in coverage.
Shortly after this, T.J. Watt beat Broderick Jones in an instant and was in Fields lap around the same time he hit the back foot of his drop but the play was allowed to continue on.
In the low red-zone area, Fields capped off his day with a perfectly placed topshelf throw which allowed Pickens to sky over Queen for a tough grab. There was a rowdy celebration that ensued directly after, with a hilarious chest bump from Smith.
Kyle Allen had a relatively decent day for himself and got the nod for the second rep of the drill. He found Darnell Washington on a deep over route for a nice gain of around 15 or so.
A few plays later, defensive back Thomas Graham had a chance at an interception but he volleyed the ball up, and it was eventually caught by Jaray Jenkins on the back line of the end zone.
SUMMARY
The defense won the day and has all the ingredients to be one of the top units in the league. But it was nice to see the Steelers complimentary receivers provide some splash on the afternoon. We all know what George Pickens brings to the table and I’m very bullish about what 2024 could bring for him as a player but they need guys to step up and take some pressure of him. That’s exactly what happened today.
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