The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 offseason practices concluded last week. Next up for the team is their annual training camp, which should get underway in the latter part of July. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s 90-man roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers 90-man roster preview that includes outlooks for each player goes alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow along with.
The next three players we will preview today are Carlos Davis, Stephen Denmark, and Joshua Dobbs.
DT Carlos Davis — The Steelers selected Davis in the seventh-round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Nebraska and the young defensive tackle went on to dress for eight games as a rookie after being inactive for the first seven. He also dressed and played in the Steelers lone playoff game last season. In total, Davis played 54 defensive snaps as a rookie on his way to registering six total tackles with one of those resulting in lost yardage. For a rookie seventh round draft pick, Davis played above the line in his limited defensive snaps logged.
Outlook: As a former draft pick and now second year player, Davis will be expected to make a huge jump in 2021. assuming he makes the 53-man roster as the backup behind defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, Davis should be able to start logging a few snaps a game right at the start of the regular season. Davis’ main competition that he must beat out during training camp this summer should include the likes of defensive linemen Henry Mondeaux and Isaiah Buggs. The Steelers usually like to keep six defensive linemen on their 53-man roster and Davis is currently expected to be one of the six, barring injury or an extremely poor remainder of the summer.
CB Stephen Denmark — Denmark was signed to the Steelers 90-man roster early in the offseason. That offseason addition of Denmark came on the heels of the Valdosta state product spending time in 2020 on the practice squads of the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. A college wide receiver-turned-cornerback, Denmark possesses some nice athleticism and ball skills. At his 2019 Pro Day, he ran in the 4.4’s and jumped 43 inches in the vertical. Elite numbers for any defensive back especially one at 6’2, 217 like Denmark measured in at.
Outlook: As things stand currently, Denmark doesn’t seem to have much of a chance at making the Steelers 53-man roster out of training camp this year and that’s not overly surprising. However, Denmark might could ultimately stick on the Steelers practice squad past the final roster cuts with a good showing in training camp and the preseason. He must stay healthy this summer and make a few defensive plays as the summer progresses. He should get quite a bit of paying time during the Steelers first few preseason games.
QB Joshua Dobbs — Dobbs, who was originally drafted by the Steelers in the fourth-round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Tennessee, was claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars by the team just prior to the start of the 2020 regular season. He then proceeded to be the Steelers third-string quarterback all throughout the 2020 season and was inactive for all but one game, the finale against the Cleveland Browns. While Dobbs did play in that Week 17 game against the Browns, it was only to the tune of nine total snaps. He completed four of five pass attempts in that contest for a whopping 2 yards and rushed twice for 20 yards.
Outlook: Dobbs is the epitome of an NFL third-string quarterback and for him to retain that role in 2021 he’ll need to beat out newcomer Dwayne Haskins for the job. Haskins, a former first round draft pick out of Ohio State, was signed to the Steelers offseason roster well prior to Dobbs being re-signed. Dobbs being re-signed gives the Steelers an experienced and smart backup who knows the system and one that can push Haskins throughout the offseason. Dobbs’ chances of sticking on the 53-man roster in September depend entirely on how Haskins does in training camp and the preseason. Should Haskins prove worthy of being retained, Dobbs might need to settle for being the Steelers practice squad quarterback in 2021 and that’s only if the team is willing to keep a fourth one on that unit to start the regular season.
Previous Posts In Series
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: DeMarkus Acy, Marcus Allen, Tyson Alualu
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Abdullah Anderson, Kalen Ballage, Zach Banner
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Berry, Chris Boswell, Antoine Brooks Jr.
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Shakur Brown, Isaiah Buggs, Calvin Bundage
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Devin Bush, Rico Bussey, Kameron Canaday
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: T.J. Carter, Demarcus Christmas, Chase Claypool
90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: Aviante Collins, Rashaad Coward, Anthony Coyle
