The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't have the season they wanted to last year. 2018 was full of drama and Pittsburgh missed the playoffs. Now, a new year is about to begin. Fans and the team are hopeful for a revival and a return to the Steelers winning ways.
Before we get to that point though, we're all going to be teased by the preseason. Pittsburgh's first game is on August 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That's a good team to open the preseason against. It will allow us to see exactly what some of the Steelers younger players are capable of.
Specifically, I'll be watching the following players, position groups, and situations.
3. The young running backs
While James Conner is entering his third season, I'm not including him here. I don't want to see Conner on the field against Tampa Bay and he'll probably be held out until Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason. The other young backs are the ones I'm interested in seeing.
Jaylen Samuels is entering his second season in the league. The former fifth round pick filled in for Conner last season when the Pro Bowler missed three games. Samuels flashed potential during those games. His Week 15 explosion against New England stands out. That game, Samuels carried the ball 19 times for 142 yards. He also caught two passes for 30 more yards.
Week 15 was by far Samuels' best game. Hopefully, the preseason will reveal whether that performance was a fluke or if Samuels is capable of playing a larger role in the backfield.
The third running back on the depth chart, for the moment, is Benny Snell. Snell was a fourth round selection by the Steelers in this year's draft. He was a star at Kentucky for three years, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns every season. He finished as the school's all-time leader in rushing yards with 3,873 and rushing touchdowns with 48.
While he had plenty of success in college, that doesn't mean his abilities will translate to the NFL. The game against the Buccaneers will be Snell's first action in the league. If he can harness even a fraction of his college success, then he has the potential to jump Samuels on the depth chart before the season ends.
The Steelers also have several young backs battling just to make the roster. The real battle for players like Trey Edmunds and Travon McMillian begins now.
2. How the wide receiver depth chart begins to shake out
Pittsburgh has a couple of ongoing wide receiver battles. However, I'm not sure what receivers will suit up for the first week of the preseason. So this point might be mute until later in the preseason, but it's an important talking point anyway.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is Pittsburgh's star receiver. Everything gets crowded behind him. The Steelers signed Donte Moncrief in free agency. The former Colt and Jaguar caught 48 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns last season. He is competing with Diontae Johnson and James Washington for the second spot on the receiver depth chart. Johnson is a rookie third round selection. Washington was a second round pick last year.
There is also a competition raging over who will be the team's top slot receiver. Eli Rogers has been with the Steelers since 2016, but he missed 13 games last season. His absence opened the door for Ryan Switzer, who also functions as a return man.
The preseason could mean a lot to these young receivers.
1. How Mason Rudolph plays
The Steelers took Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the sixth quarterback taken, following the five that were taken in the first round. He did not attempt a pass as a rookie.
I understand why Pittsburgh took Rudolph. In the third round, he was great value considering how many quarterbacks had flown off of the board early on. Rudolph improved in each of his four seasons at Oklahoma State. He retired as the school's all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. His 63.2 completion percentage was the second-best in school history by a long-term starter.
So yes, I get why the Steelers drafted Rudolph. But what's his role on the team? Is he supposed to be Ben Roethlisberger's successor? What is Rudolph's job in the long-term picture? I think we'll get at least some answers when he takes the field against Tampa Bay.
Both Rudolph and 2017 fourth round pick Joshua Dobbs are young quarterbacks. It's time to see how they've grown so far.
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