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90 In 30: Steelers 2021 Training Camp Preview Series: T.J. Watt, Cody White, Vince Williams

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 20, 2021 at 1:05 pm

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 offseason practices have long since concluded. 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 Washington, Jamar Watson, and Derek Watt.

OLB T.J. Watt — 2020 was another great season for Watt as the Steelers former first round draft pick out of Wisconsin was once again a legitimate candidate to win the annual Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the NFL in sacks with 15. Watt also became only the second Steelers player to ever lead the NFL in sacks (since the stat became official in 1982), joining the late Kevin Greene, who had 14 of them in 1994. Watt also finished 2020 with an NFL-high 23 tackles for loss. He had 53 total tackles and 41 quarterback hits in 15 total starts, sitting out the regular season finale to rest for the playoffs. Watt’s 49.5 sacks through the first four seasons of his career are a top-ten mark all-time and by far the most by any Steelers player.

Outlook: Watt is primed to sign a huge contract extension in the coming weeks and one that should result in him becoming the NFL’s highest paid defensive player to boot. He should be expected to lead the Steelers in sacks in 2021 once again and potentially the entire NFL as well. He is also primed to make another legitimate run at the annual Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021. Watt is easily the Steelers best defensive player entering the 2021 season. His outlook for the 2021 season is great and especially if the team’s two other top edge rushers, Alex Highsmith, and newcomer Melvin Ingram, can both perform up to expectations when they are lined up on the opposite side.

WR Cody White — A Michigan State product, White spent most of the 2020 season on the Steelers practice squad after being signed by the team just after the start of the regular season. White was originally signed last year by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, and they waived the wide receiver with a non-football injury designation in late July. He then signed with the New York Giants in mid-Augusts but was waived by them a few days late. At Michigan State, White played in 35 career games, including 26 starts and he finished his college career ranked seventh in MSU history with 143 receptions, 12th with 1,967 receiving yards and tied for 16th with 12 TD catches. He compiled 2,115 all-purpose yards at Michigan State and had five career 100-yard receiving outings. At the 2020 scouting combine, White measured in at 6033, 217-pounds and he ran his 40-yard-dash in 4.66-seconds. His vertical jump was 35.5-inches, and his broad jump was 10’0″. He also logged a short shuttle time of 4.52-seconds and a three-cone time of 7.19-seconds at the combine.

Outlook: The fact that White managed to stick on the Steelers 2020 practice squad most of the season speaks volumes. Even so, White really doesn’t have much of a chance of making the Steelers 53-man roster this summer due to how deep the team’s wide receiver depth chart currently is. That obvious point noted, a solid training camp and preseason from White could easily result in the young wide receiver being back on the Steelers practice squad to start the 2021 regular season. It will be interesting to see if he can make any sort of mark on special teams during the preseason and if he can make any big plays on offense in the limited amount of snaps he’s sure to receive.

ILB Vince Williams — The Steelers parted ways with Williams earlier in the offseason in a move that freed up quite a bit of salary cap space for the team. After several weeks, however, Williams was re-signed and this time it was for the veteran minimum as part of a one-year deal. Last season, Last season, Williams started 14 games, recording 70 tackles, three sacks, and recovering a pair of fumbles. He missed a few games due to COVID-19. A former sixth round draft pick from Florida State in 2013, Williams has recorded 479 tackles, 20.5 sacks, and two interceptions in his NFL career to date. He is best-known for his run-stopping, blitzing, and leadership.

Outlook: While Williams did ultimately return on a one-year contract for the minimum not long after having his old contract terminated, he’s probably not a lock to make the 53-man roster right now. Williams might need to win the starting inside linebacker position next to Devin Bush this summer to ensure he sticks on the roster past the final rounds of roster cuts. Williams will likely need to battle fellow Steelers inside linebacker Robert Spillane, Ulysees Gilbert III, Marcus Allen, rookie Buddy Johnson and hybrid player Miles Killebrew this summer in training camp. If the Steelers keep five inside linebackers in total on their 53-man roster, Williams’ chances of making the team improve. However, he is not the special teams demon he once was and that’s something to keep in mind moving into training camp. It really could go either way with Williams this summer.

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