Winners and Losers from First Week of Steelers OTAs
PITTSBURGH — The first week of Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs for the 2025 season are in the books, and with the team going to a condensed scheduled this year, we’re also at the midpoint of the optional team activities.
Head coach Mike Tomlin has said over and over again that the Steelers are not evaluating players at OTAs, that it’s simply a time for teaching and learning.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t evaluate and learn things about how players look ahead of the 2025 season, where they’re playing, how much the team looks to be leaning on them and more.
So here’s our winners and losers from the first week of Steelers OTAs:
WINNER: Roman Wilson
After trading George Pickens, and especially with DK Metcalf not at practice for the first week of OTAs, the Steelers aren’t exactly flush with offensive playmakers. That was the same case last year, and Roman Wilson was unable to help the cause, mostly because he was unable to stay on the field due to injury.
But Wilson also struggled with the transition to the NFL. He was healthy down the stretch run of the 2024 season and the Steelers decided not to use him. So far, the player on the field over the first three days of OTAs in 2025 has been significantly better than the one we saw last summer.
Wilson will still have to prove he stay healthy, but if he can, he looks like he’ll be able to make an impact.
LOSER: Will Howard
Maybe this is actually a good thing. The hype train for Steelers sixth-round rookie Will Howard had gone completely out of control before the Ohio State product even debuted in black and gold, with some wanting the Steelers to stop pursuing Aaron Rodgers, bench Mason Rudolph, and start the college football national champion instead.
Let’s put those thoughts aside. Even Howard has admitted his first practices with the full Steelers squad didn’t go so well. Hopefully, the hype dies down and Howard is able to develop like a normal sixth-round pick.
WINNER: Beanie Bishop
When the Steelers signed Darius Slay and Brandin Echols as their two big additions at the cornerback position this offseason, it seemed likely that one would play inside and the other would play outside. But when they lined up for the first time this week, that wasn’t the case, with Beanie Bishop getting the starting nod at slot cornerback and Echols working on the outside.
The only other addition to the slot position this offseason was seventh-round pick Donte Kent, so the Steelers are showing a lot of faith in their second-year West Virginia product to lock down the slot role.
LOSER: James Pierre
With Echols playing outside, a roster spot that looked like it was James Pierre’s to lose will now be a competition. Slay and Joey Porter Jr. will start, and with Echols on a two-year deal, his spot is secure. It’s hard to imagine the team walking away from Cory Trice, so that appears to leave James Pierre as the odd man out at boundary cornerback.
WINNER: Brandon Johnson
I did not have Brandon Johnson as a starting wide receiver on my bingo card for the first week of OTAs, but with Metcalf not around, there’s a serious lack of size to the Steelers wide receiver core.
Still, last season, the 6-foot-3 Ben Skowronek got plenty of opportunities to play while Johnson remained bolted to the benched. This time around, it seems they’re actually giving Johnson a chance.
LOSER: Roc Taylor
On the other hand, a player that a lot of people were excited to see at OTAs was undrafted rookie Roc Taylor, but he was not able to do full-squad workouts for most of the week. It’s unclear what the issue was, likely some kind of minor injury, but he wasn’t able to make the first impression hoped-for.
WINNER: Cole Holcomb
Holcomb missed the entire 2024 season with a major knee injury, and at 28 years old, it was an open question as to how he’d look coming off the long layoff.
Well that question has been answered. Holcomb appears to be in fantastic shape, hasn’t lost his speed and even appears to have bulked up a little bit. What his exact role will be with Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson and Malik Harrison also in the mix is still TBD, but the Steelers definitely have something to work with in Holcomb’s return.