Article

90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: James Pierre, Kevin Rader, Dax Raymond

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 12, 2021 at 11:30 am

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 James Pierre, Kevin Rader, and Dax Raymond.

CB James Pierre — Pierre, who signed with the Steelers last year as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic, beat a lot of odds as a rookie as he made the 53-man roster despite there not being much of an offseason or any preseason games. Not only did Pierre make the 53-man roster in 2020 as a rookie, but he also went on to dress for every game on his way to registering 27 defensive snaps played with a whopping 227 more on special teams. He had 10 total tackles as a rookie, with most of those coming on special teams as well. He showed a lot of potential on defense as an outside cornerback in the regular season finale and even registered a pass defensed in that contest.

Outlook: Pierre entered the offseason with quite a bit of buzz surrounding him. During the Steelers offseason practices, Pierre reportedly did not disappoint and with that, there’s a lot of speculation that he could ultimately play a lot more defensive snaps in 2021 and potentially even wind up being an outside cornerback in several sub packages. Pierre should make the 53-man roster again this year and play a considerable number of snaps on special teams while serving as a depth player on the cornerback depth chart. He has a legitimate shot to become a future starter for the Steelers on the outside, especially if he plays well in whatever defensive playing time he receives in 2021, which could wind up being more than a lot of people think right now.

TE Kevin Rader — Rader, who was signed originally as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2018, has been around the Steelers organization quite a bit since 2019. During the last two seasons, Rader has spent a considerable amount of time on the Steelers practice squad and was listed as a protected player quite frequently during the 2020 season. He was on the Steelers’ expanded gameday roster for four games last season and played in one of them, with 12 snaps coming on offense and 12 more on special teams. He also dressed for the Steelers’ lone playoff game last season and logged 20 special teams snaps. In total, Rader, a Youngstown State product, registered three total tackles in 2020. He was mainly used as a blocking tight end on offense in his limited playing time and failed to register any offensive stats.

Outlook: Rader should get a chance to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster this summer as the team’s third tight end. Zach Gentry, the Steelers’ former fifth round draft pick out of Michigan in 2019, figures to be Rader’s biggest competition for that last spot as we sit here a few weeks out from the start of training camp. Rader is an above average blocking tight end and an adequate special teams player, so that could help his cause quite a bit this year in training camp and the preseason. It could ultimately and realistically go either way with Rader in the next several weeks, and it would not be shocking to see him start the 2021 regular season on the Steelers practice squad.

TE Dax Raymond — Raymond, who was signed by the Steelers originally last July, injured his ankle during a 2020 training camp practice and ultimately wound up being waived from the team several weeks later with an injury settlement. Raymond was signed originally by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Utah State, and he spent some time on their practice squad as a rookie. He has yet to spend any time on an NFL team’s 53-man roster to date. The Steelers signed Raymond back to their offseason roster way earlier in the year.

Outlook: Raymond’s best shot at sticking around in Pittsburgh past the final rounds of roster cuts involves him ultimately landing on the team’s practice squad, and even that will be tough to do if the Steelers decide to retain just one tight end in total on that unit. Raymond has had some injury issues so far as an NFL player, so hopefully he can stay healthy all summer and at least log considerable practice and playing time during training camp and the preseason. He’s merely a low-level developmental tight end at this point, however. He has a lot to show in the next eight weeks.

Previous Posts In Series

Related Items:2021 Training Camp, dax raymond, James Pierre, Kevin Rader

Steelers Depot

Recommended for you