Know we’ve been throwing a lot of information your way the last 48 hours. And I said the first two days, with the team still in shorts and shells, are more about figuring out where guys are lining up.
To hopefully make that a little clearer, here’s a rough depth chart of how the first two days of camp have gone. This is not set in stone, things can and will change and some position groups are a lot more fluid than others. But this is a more efficient way than listing some of the odds and ends in our camp notes.
So here’s how things look.
Quarterback
| 1st Team | 2nd Team | 3rd Team | 4th Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | Josh Dobbs | Mason Rudolph | Devlin Hodges |
Expect Dobbs and Rudolph to continue flipping between 2nd and 3rd team. More chances open up when Roethlisberger gets days off (like he might later this afternoon). But Dobbs began Day One as the #2 so the slight edge currently to him. Still an open competition.
Running Back
| 1st Team | 2nd Team | 3rd Team | 4th Team | 5th Team | 6th/7th Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Conner | Jaylen Samuels | Benny Snell | Trey Edmunds | Ralph Webb | Malik Williams Travon McMillan |
Gets messy once you’re past Conner and Samuels. Haven’t run the ball much either to make me include these guys in my notes. Have not seen much of Wililams and McMillan. If injuries happen elsewhere, one of those guys may be shown the door. Only had six backs in camp to start last year, not including Le’Veon Bell.
Tight End
| 1st Team | 2nd Team | 3rd Team | 4th Team | 5th Team | 6th Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vance McDonald | Xavier Grimble | Zach Gentry | Kevin Rader | Christian Scotland-Williamson | Trevor Wood |
Same thing. Messy past McDonald and Grimble. And with multiple tight ends on the field, it’s really hard to get a feel for this stuff. But this is roughly how it looks.
Wide Receiver
| WR | X | Z | Slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Donte Moncrief | James Washington | JuJu Smith-Schuster |
| 2nd Team | Diontae Johnson | Diontae Spencer | Eli Rogers |
| 3rd Team | Trey Griffey | Tevin Jones | Ryan Switzer |
Ok, this is the ugliest of them all because these guys mix and match so much. Sure, Switzer is listed as third team slot which looks bad but he gets burn with the first team and way more reps than Griffey and Jones. Spencer has lined up everywhere while Smith-Schuster will be the starting Z receiver in two receiver sets. And I don’t even have Johnny Holton listed since I’ve only seen him practice one day. This is a total outline of how things are going so don’t get carried away.
Offensive Line
| OL | LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Alejandro Villanueva | Ramon Foster | Maurkice Pouncey | David DeCastro | Matt Feiler |
| 2nd Team | Jerald Hawkins | Patrick Morris | BJ Finney | Fred Johnson | Chukwuma Okorafor |
| 3rd Team | Damian Prince | Garrett Brumfield | JC Hassenauer | Derwin Gray | Zach Banner |
This group offering more clarity. After a week or so, these guys will start moving around but for the first two practices, this is how it’s been.
Defensive Line
| DL | LDE | NT | RDE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Stephon Tuitt | Javon Hargrave | Cam Heyward |
| 2nd Team | Lavon Hooks | Daniel McCullers | Tyson Alualu |
| 3rd Team | Casey Sayles | Greg Gilmore | Isaiah Buggs |
| 4th Team | Conor Sheehy | Henry Mondeaux | Winston Craig |
Ditto here. Some more mix and match in nickel defense but their base 3-4, this is how things look.
Outside Linebacker
| OLB | LOLB | ROLB |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Anthony Chickillo | Bud Dupree |
| 2nd Team | JT Jones | Ola Adeniyi |
| 3rd Team | Sutton Smith | Tuzar Skipper |
Leaving TJ Watt off this list, obviously. JT Jones was the biggest benefactor, jumping into the 2nd team. The two rookies, Smith and Skipper, make up the third string.
Inside Linebacker
| ILB | Mack | Buck |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Mark Barron/Devin Bush | Vince Williams |
| 2nd Team | Tegray Scales | Tyler Matakevich |
| 3rd Team | Ulysees Gilbert III | Robert Spillane |
Not even going to list one of Barron and Bush 2nd string because they’re all just rotating in with the first team. Barron has been “ahead” of Bush but it doesn’t mean a whole lot right now.
Cornerback
| CB | LCB | RCB | NCB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Joe Haden | Steven Nelson | Mike Hilton |
| 2nd Team | Artie Burns | Brian Allen | Cam Sutton |
| 3rd Team | Herb Waters | Justin Layne | Kameron Kelly |
Sutton has worked between right corner and slot. Burns on the left side after playing right corner for most of his career. Don’t have Alexander Myres listed since he’s yet to practice. Potential IR candidate if he can’t get right soon and they need to make a roster move.
Safety
| S | FS | SS |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | Sean Davis | Terrell Edmunds |
| 2nd Team | Kameron Kelly | Marcus Allen |
| 3rd Team | Jordan Dangerfield | PJ Locke |
| 4th Team | Marcelis Branch | Dravon Askew-Henry |
Kelly ahead of Dangerfield is the notable move here. Sutton has been the dime defender with Allen getting backup reps. Not much meat on the bone for Branch and DAH.
