The Pittsburgh Steelers have had quite the offseason. The Steelers moved on from several key players and coaches from the 2023 season. The team has also completely rebuilt its QB room with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Jaylen Warren recently dropped an interesting nugget about Fields at a team event.
Warren was asked whether the new NFL kickoff rules have made him consider playing kick returner. Immediately after the question was asked, fans loudly said no.
“I guess not, dang,” Warren said. “We wanna win don't go back there.”
The Steelers' running back then dropped a nugget about Justin Fields possibly playing kick returner.
“Our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there,” Warren said. “We looked at him like ‘Justin Fields about to be back there?' and I don't know I think it's cool.”
The Steelers acquired Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears via trade earlier this offseason. The Bears planned to replace Fields with Caleb Williams, which allowed the Steelers to acquire him for a late-round draft pick. Fields is currently regarded as backup to Russell Wilson, which makes it more reasonable that the team would consider deploying him on special teams.
The NFL will adopt XFL-style kickoff rules for the 2024 NFL season. Major differences between the old rules and the new include where the kickoff and return teams line up and the fact that nobody can move until the ball hits the turf of is caught by a returner. These changes were made in the hopes of improving player safety, which is one more reason why the Steelers may feel comfortable putting a QB at kick returner.
The league will try the rules out in 2024 as a one-year trial and decide next offseason if the new rules should be made permanent.
Recapping the 2024 NFL Draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the 2024 NFL Draft with major needs on the offensive line and at wide receiver. The team smashed both of those needs and are considered by many to have had one of the best drafts in the NFL.
The Steelers selected the following players in the 2024 NFL Draft:
- Troy Fautanu – T – First round (20th overall)
- Zach Frazier – C – Second round (51st overall)
- Roman Wilson – WR – Third round (84th overall)
- Payton Wilson – LB – Third round (98th overall)
- Mason McCormick – G – Fourth round (119th overall)
- Logan Lee – DE – Sixth round (178th overall)
- Ryan Watts – CB – Sixth round (195th overall)
The additions of Fautanu, Frazier, and McCormick go a long way towards rebuilding the Steelers' offensive line. The expectation going into training camp is that these players will make up the entire left side of Pittsburgh's offensive line. This would be an incredible outcome for the Steelers.
Roman Wilson was another solid addition at wide receiver. Wilson felt like a player who was lost in the shuffle for much of the pre-draft process, thanks in part to the incredible wide receiver talent in this year's class. However, the former Wolverine was incredibly productive at Michigan and should be a day-one starter for the Steelers.
Finally, linebacker Payton Wilson was well worth a dart throw in the third round. Wilson has suffered a laundry list of injuries, otherwise he likely would have been considered a first-round prospect. He is the definition of a boom-or-bust pick.
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