? Pat Freiermuth set the record straight on a previous comment that he made about hot routes in the Steelers’ offense this past season.
“What I meant to say is we have hot routes on the offense, the difference in the hot routes is what made it different this year. You know Ben had his hot routes that he’s had for 18 years and Kenny just got in, so he was getting used to it, to our offensive hot routes,” Freiermuth said. “So it was just the differences of hot routes – we have them. I misspoke. I should have clarified on Ben’s podcast.”
Freiermuth continued, “We have hot routes, they’re just different. Ben had his and Kenny has his and I’m looking forward to evolving the offense this upcoming year.”
? Not Just Football podcast with Cam Heyward: Broderick Jones thinks San Francisco 49ers All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is a fair comp to him.
“I do. You know, just the way he plays. He plays plays physical, he plays fast. You know, I see a lot of that in my game. So I can say the same,” Jones said. Along with Williams, Jones said he likes to model his game after Jamari Sawyer, Andrew Thomas and Laremy Tunsil.
? Former Steelers offensive lineman and current color analyst for the team, Craig Wolfley, gave his assessment on first-round pick Broderick Jones.
“This young man can move people already whether at the line of scrimmage or getting to the second level, or out in space on a search and destroy mission. People get moved, some get airmailed and a few get destroyed, literally,” Wolfley said. “The necessary physical characteristics, the measurables. They’re all their folks. Whether it’s a 4.97 40-time, a 30-inch vertical or the nine-foot plus horizontal jump, it all smacks you in the face with pure unadulterated power.”
? WTAE: Before the Steelers, before Penn State, Joey Porter Jr. played at North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. Emily Giangreco of WTAE spoke with Porter’s high school head coach Art Walker to learn more about the Steelers’ second-round pick and the reaction from the community.
“It’s just great to see for us as a community and as a football team that it’s one of our own and he’s staying local. It’s really a great feeling,” Walker said.
As Porter fell in the draft, Walker wasn’t rooting for Porter to not get picked, but he was hoping for him to land with the Steelers since Pittsburgh had the first pick of the second round at 32nd overall.
“I really think it worked out great,” Walker said. “We like to think he’s still first round because he was taken 32nd overall, but I just think it’s a phenomenal opportunity for him and it’s just such a great story.”
? The Pivot: Former Steelers free safety Ryan Clark said he would pay good money to sit down and watch South Carolina’s women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and Mike Tomlin talk about coaching and leadership. Staley said she has never met Tomlin but has watched him a lot.
? Ex-Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster says Bill Belichick is the reason why he signed with the New England Patriots.
“When I was in Pittsburgh for five years, we crossed paths multiple times. I respect his game,” Smith-Schuster said. “One thing I’ve learned playing against Bill, is that if he ever double teams you, obviously you’re a key player in his eyes. So, I think back then when he was doing that, I saw it as, ‘OK he respects my game. He respects me.’ Being able to circle back around in Year 7, to be here, kind of shows that he still has that for me.”
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