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90 In 30: Steelers 2022 Training Camp Preview Series: Kevin Dotson, Mataeo Durant, Terrell Edmunds

By Dave Bryan

Posted on June 16, 2022 at 11:30 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 offseason practices concluded last week and next up for the team is their annual training camp, which should get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of Steelers training camp getting underway, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for each player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow along with.

The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers training camp are Kevin Dotson, Mataeo Durant, and Terrell Edmunds.

G Kevin Dotson: the 2021 season certainly didn’t go as planned for Dotson, the team’s 2021 fourth round draft pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette, and mainly due to an ankle injury. Dotson was the Steelers starting left guard to start the 2021 regular season, but an ankle injury suffered against the Detroit Lions in Week 11 landed him on the team’s Reserve/Injured list for the remainder of the year. He played 565 total offensive snaps before suffering his ankle injury. In the games that he played in, Dotson allowed just two sacks and two quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus charting. His run blocking was merely average, and he was a part of a Steelers offensive line that really underwhelmed overall in 2021. Dotson admittedly was still attempting to get comfortable to playing left guard before he went down injured as he was mainly a right guard in college.

Outlook: 2022 is a new season for Dotson and the expectations are that it will be his best one to date. He’ll have another offseason to prepare to play the left guard spot and that should help with his muscle memory. The early speculation is that Dotson will need to beat out Kendrick Green for this summer for the starting left guard job. It will be disappointing if he’s unable to accomplish that feat. The Steelers have a rebuilt offensive line this offseason and that includes them likely having a new starting center in Mason Cole and a new right starting right guard in James Daniels. The team also has a new offensive line coach in Pat Meyer, who will hopefully be able to turn the unit around. Might Dotson be on the move more in 2022? It’s quite possible. Dotson was a beast in his final two years of college play and because of that, many felt he was a combine snub in 2020. A solid 2022 season for him could result in him signing a contract extension around this same time next year. The Steelers certainly need that to happen. If Dotson has a rough 2022, the Steelers might be in the market for a new left guard next offseason.

RB Mataeo Durant: Signed this offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Duke, Durant received a $15,000 signing bonus from the Steelers as part of his three-year contract that he signed. In four seasons at Duke, Durant rushed for 2,562 yards and 18 touchdowns on 489 total rushing attempts. He also caught 55 passes for another 480 yards and another four touchdowns. He measured in during the pre-draft process at 5113, 196-pounds with 9 1/2-inch hands and 31 3/8-inch arms. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.40-secondds and had a short shuttle time of 4.47-secons to go along with a 3-cone time of 7.40-seconds. He posted a pro day vertical jump of 35-inches and a broad jump of 10’7″.

Outlook: The Steelers did not draft a running back this year so Durant should get a shot at making the 53-man roster if he can prove himself on offense and on special teams during training camp and the preseason. The Steelers certainly could use another backup running back to groom behind starter Najee Harris so it will be interesting to track Durant’s progress throughout training camp and the preseason. Should Durant ultimately not earn a 53-man roster spot by Week 1, maybe he will show enough to warrant keeping around on the practice squad.

S Terrell Edmunds: Edmunds, who did not have his fifth-year option picked up by the Steelers over a year ago was an unrestricted free agent this offseason and he ultimately re-signed with the team in the latter part of April. He signed a one-year, $2.5375 million contract that is considered a four-year player qualifying contract that included a maximum signing bonus of $152,500. In 2021, the Steelers’ former first-round draft pick logged a team-high 1,145 defensive snaps on his way to registering 89 total tackles, two interceptions, six passes defensed, one quarterback hit, and one sack. Pro Football Focus has Edmunds down as allowing 34 receptions for 277 yards and three touchdowns. They also charted the safety as having nine misses tackles on the season.

Outlook: The Steelers did not draft a strong safety this year so far starters, Edmunds won’t have a young player breathing down his neck this summer. That noted, the Steelers did sign veteran Damontae Kazee during the offseason, and he has position flexibility and a nice pedigree. Edmunds has played in the Steelers for four years so he will have that advantage over Kazee this summer as well. Edmunds has proven to be super durable since entering the NFL and that’s another positive attribute of his. While he is far from being considered one of the league’s top strong safeties currently playing, he has made small strides in his play every season since he was drafted. The 2022 starting strong safety position seems to be Edmunds’ to lose as the team exited their mandatory minicamp. He really needs a strong 2022 season to up his market value as he’s expected to test unrestricted free agency again next March. His outlook for 2022 is essentially a fingers-crossed-one.