This part of the “season” is the most boring part of being a rabid NFL football fan. The lull in any type of action leading up to Training Camp where it seems like there is NOTHING going on in the League for weeks after the NFL Draft.

If you thought that the speculation about who the Steelers newest additions were going to be was getting old in the leadup to the Draft, well, now we get to the part of the offseason that is Jeff Hartman’s favorite: the speculation about the p-p-p-p-potential (Jeff’s favorite word, just ask him!) of the newest additions to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Where do the rookies fit into the roster with established veterans?

There has been major turnover on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, will the rookies see expanded roles to expedite the rebuild process?

Will we see the dynamic talent of the three rookies who are expected to come in and play ‘O-Line Saviors’ from Day 1, even in backup roles such as Mason McCormick is expected to be?

Can Roman Wilson be THE #2, in a room full of WR2’s? There are two more roster spots left before we can decidedly say yes to that one, but recent stats say that Arthur Smith’s offense is built to feed only one WR. Can Pickens get better on his release and separation to step up and become a WR1 Franchise Superstar?

Now that the Steelers are just about done adding players to the roster, lets see how everything looks currently.

Offense Total # of Players: 43

Quarterback (4) – Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, John Rhys Plumlee, Kyle Allen

Running Back (8) – Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Cordarelle Patterson, Daijuan Edwards, Aaron Shampklin, Jack Colletto, Jpnathan Ward, La’Mical Perine

Tight End (5) – Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward, Rodney Williams, MyCole Pruitt,

Wide Receiver (11) – George Pickens, Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, Quez Watkins, Dez Fitzpatrick, Marquez Callaway, Denzel Mims, Deuce Watts, Jaray Jenkins

Offensive Tackle (8) – Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Dan Moore Jr, Dylan Cook, Spencer Anderson, Tyler Beach, Devery Hamilton, Anderson Hardy

Offensive Guard (5) – James Daniels, Isaac Seumalo, Nate Herbig, Mason McCormick, Joey Fisher

Center (2) – Zach Frazier, Ryan McCollum

Notes of Interest:

• Scotty Miller is a signing that is intriguing. He comes from Atlanta thru Free Agency, and is an Arthur Smith guy, like MyCole Pruitt. Does his signing mean Quez Watkins, Dez Fitzpatrick, or Marquez Callaway are all on the outside looking in?
• I am nicknaming the Offensive Line the “Pain Train”, because after the additions of the NFL Draft, it is quite apparent that the Steelers plan to shove the football right down the throats of opposing defenses. I have not been this excited to watch an Offensive Line as I am this year. I am yelling like Oprah right now to the Pittsburgh backfield: “…YOU get a 1000 yards!, and YOU get a 1000 yards!, and YOU get a 1000 yards!”
• Najee may not have gotten his 5th year, but I can’t think of any other player in recent memory that has MORE job security after NOT getting their 5th year. Here’s how I can see his contract playing out: If he hits 1000 rush yards, he’s probably going to be getting a long term extension up front. If he hits 1,500 rush yards, he’s getting Franchise Tagged. Najee will be asking for more money if he has a monster season, and rightfully so, but the Steelers also have another monster at backup. There is no drama surrounding this situation according to our Source, but this will be a topic of hot discussion late in the season, and into next offseason.

Defense Total # of Players: 43

Defensive Tackle (6) – Cam Heyward, Montravius Adams, Isaiah Loudermilk, Larry Ogunjobi, Jonathan Marshall, Jacob Slade

Nose Tackle (1) – Breiden Fehoko

Defensive Line (1) – Keanu Benton

Defensive End (3) – Logan Lee, Dean Lowry, Demarvin Leal

EDGE (9) – TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jeremiah Moon, David Perales, Julius Welschof, Jacoby Windmon, Tyler Murray, Kyron Johnson

Inside Linebacker (5) – Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, Payton Wilson, Mark Robinson

Cornerback (12) – Joey Porter Jr, Donte Jackson, Cam Sutton, Darius Rush, Cory Trice Jr, Anthony Averett, Beanie Bishop Jr, Ryan Watts, Kalon Barnes, Thomas Graham Jr, Josiah Scott, Grayland Arnold

Safety (7) – Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, Damonte Kazee, Miles Killebrew, Jalen Elliott, Nathan Meadors, Trenton Thompson

Notes of Interest:

• Are the Steelers putting too much faith in converting a Safety to a Slot Defender with Ryan Watts? The only CB on the roster that I can see that fits the prototypical physical profile and playing ability would be Beanie Bishop. Issue with that is that he is a rookie, and can the Steelers realistically plug and play a UDFA CB into the starting Slot CB role? I think we are about to find out just how much faith Coach Tomlin puts on himself and Teryl Austin and their teaching ability. This is the only spot that I went away with Dave’s Roster Prediction by adding Watts, simply because I can’t seem to find any type of career stats for the player named ‘TBD Addition’, lol.
• With 2 spots left on the roster, and said Slot CB position not being fulfilled to Steelers fans expectations, does Pittsburgh go out and try to re-sign Patrick Peterson to slide into the position?
• This defense was really good last year. There hasn’t been huge wholesale changes on that side of the ball except if you consider how the Steelers have tried to shore up the Secondary, especially the Safety position. Any concerns I have for this side of the ball comes from the fact that the Pluggers (Cam Heyward, Larry O, Montravius Adams) are older and have had nickel-and-dime injuries recently. Nothing major, but enough to keep them off the field and ineffective for the team. The Secondary (especially the boundary CB’s) could be exposed if the Run Defense gets gashed. The predicate of this defense is its pressure, and if the Steelers can’t get the push in the middle, the opposing QB’s are going to carve this defense up. Let’s hope Cam, Adams, and Larry O can hold up all year.

Special Teams Total # of Players: 4

Long Snapper (1) – Christian Kuntz

Punter (1) – Cameron Johnston

Kicker (1) – Chris Boswell, Matthew Wright

Notes of Interest: No changes to the Special Teams room, but one interesting thing happened regarding a former Steelers Special Teamer. Pressly “Shank” Harvin Jr was offered a Minicamp invite by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to win the Minicamp job, and then in Camp, go up against the Bucs entrenched starter, Jake Carmarda (50.1yd Net Punt Avg, 74yd long).

Recap

Offensive Players: 43

Defensive Players: 43

Special Teams Players: 4

Total Number of Rostered Players: 90

Total Number of Roster Spots Available: 0

Current Available Cap Space: $18,345,353 ***THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE ROOKIE CONTRACTS, WHICH ARE NOT AVAILABLE YET***

So what do you think of the 90 Man Roster? With limited roster spots still open, and Omar Khan reportedly hard at work bringing in more talent, have the Steelers done enough to make you believe they can make a run not only TO the NFL Playoffs, but THROUGH the Playoffs?

As we start to get nearer to Camp, which Camp battles are you most interested in? Anyone on the list standout as an early candidate for the Steel Curtain Network’s ‘Brett Kiesel’ Award? Let me know in the comments below!

**UPDATED 6/18/24**