The Pittsburgh Steelers held their first practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex following their second preseason game. Following practice, head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media. Even though training camp has concluded, there was enough this time for a players mentioned article. Remember these are players where a specific question was asked during the Q&A period.

Dan Moore Jr.

Despite the Steelers trading up in the first round to draft a left tackle this past offseason, Dan Moore has not surrendered his starting position. Coach Tomlin was asked what it is about Moore where he was able to hold onto his position and if he’s seen a lot of improvement in him from last season.

“It’s not about him holding off anyone. It’s about his relationship with his game and where he is in his career. And I think it’s reasonable to expect him to be on the trajectory that he’s on. We’re talking about a guy that’s played 1,000 snaps two years in a row. There’s no substitute for that snap experience and what you’re seeing is probably the fruit of that growth process.”

Boderick Jones

Being the Steelers first-round draft pick, Broderick Jones is going to continue to have eyes on his progression. Coach Tomlin was asked what he saw from Jones in another extended period of playing time on Saturday.

“Really good learning process. It’s going to be more of the same this week.”

Elijah Riley

Despite being a safety, Elijah Riley is in a heated competition to play the slot position in sub packages. Coach Tomlin was asked what he thinks about Riley who has now been with the team a full year being able to come in and compete and what he has seen from him.

“I think he’s showing that he has been here. And that’s a reasonable expectation, a guy that’s familiar with our environment and familiar with our schematics and so forth. And he could focus his energies on you know, just the play or the quality of the play and he has taken a significant step in terms of productivity in stadium, on defense and in teams and good for him. Good for us.”

Braden Mann & Pressley Harvin III

The Steelers entered training camp with a legitimate punting competition between Braden Mann and Pressley Harvin. Coach Tomlin was asked where that battle is at this point of the preseason.

“We’ll make a determination this week how we divvy the reps up. Both guys are NFL capable in NFL experience. And there’s been a good process and we expect fireworks at the conclusion.”

Mike Tomlin’s full interview can be seen here:

Coach Tomlin spoke to the media following today's practice. pic.twitter.com/XKAWkKXoMq

— Steelers Live (@SteelersLive) August 22, 2023