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The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 9-8 season, extending Mike Tomlin's career-long streak of 16 seasons without a losing record. The franchise figures to once again be a contender in a tough AFC North alongside the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals as the team looks to return to the playoffs. With Kenny Pickett under center, a young group of offensive playmakers, and a retooled defense, the Steelers will be a tough team to beat.
With training camp approaching, the Steelers face difficult decisions about which players to keep entering the regular season. The final cut is August 29th, and by then, every team must cull its roster from the current 90-player limit to a final group of 53. Here are a few positional battles in Pittsburgh Steelers training camp to camp an eye on ahead of the last cut.
3 battles to watch in Steelers training camp
Three offensive tackles fighting for two spots
Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. have locked down the right and left tackle spots, respectively, for the past few seasons in Pittsburgh. Both have demonstrated improvement but are still far from the quality of tackle needed on a playoff team. The addition of 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones — a tackle out of Georgia — puts Okorafor and Moore on notice. Jones is a left tackle by trade who has already taken snaps at both tackle spots, with some reps coming with the first team.
Steelers inside Mark Kaboly of The Athletic has indicated that the Steelers are in no rush to put the rookie in the starting lineup, which speaks to the trust the franchise has in Moore “It’s going to be difficult,” Kaboly said. “Unless Broderick Jones comes out and whips butt in training camp, which he could do. I don’t think they want him to do that right now.”
Kaboly also indicated that there is a 75% chance the incumbent Moore begins the season as the starter. Broderick Jones will likely begin the season as a swing tackle, but this is still an interesting battle to track moving forward.
Punt, pass, and kick
After an illustrious college career at Georgia Tech, Pressley Harvin was the only punter selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for Harvin, his two seasons in the NFL have been wildly inconsistent, as he seemingly alternated between 64-yard bombs that landed inside the one-yard line and 38-yard shanks that put the Pittsburgh defense under pressure.
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Among the 34 eligible punters in 2022, Harvin finished 28th in yards per punt and 28th percentage of punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. These finishes come even after he posted a two-yard increase in yards/punt and a three-yard jump in net yards/punt in his sophomore season.
The Steelers brought in former New York Jets punter Braden Mann to compete with Harvin this offseason, and Mann has a solid shot to win the job. The former Texas A&M punter was 17th in yards/punt last year (2.4 more yards/punt than Harvin). More importantly, he has demonstrated consistency over the previous two campaigns while playing in cold conditions. Don't be surprised if Mann beats out Pressley Harvin in training camp.
Returning a returner
The Steelers signed former New England Patriot Gunner Olszewski on a two-year, $4.2 million deal last year to provide a much-needed upgrade to the return game and the special teams unit. Instead, Olszewski fumbled twice in the first four weeks of the season, and the former Bemidji State Beaver barely returned a kick the rest of the season.
Olsewski is still a Steeler but will face stiff competition for the return role in training camp. Rookie undrafted free agent Jordan Byrd had four career return touchdowns (three kickoffs, one punt) at San Diego State. Byrd's performances earned him First-Team All-Mountain West honors in his final two collegiate seasons.
Byrd will also need to demonstrate value elsewhere — notably as a gunner and gadget player on offense — to earn a spot on the Steelers' final 53-man roster. At 5-9, 170 this may be tough for the diminutive playmaker. Still, expect the SDSU return man to get a long look in preseason.
