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90 In 30: Steelers 2022 Training Camp Preview Series: Benny Snell Jr., Robert Spillane, Chris Steele

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 5, 2022 at 8:30 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 Benny Snell Jr., Robert Spillane, and Chris Steele.

RB Benny Snell Jr.: Last season, Snell, the Steelers former fourth round draft pick out of Kentucky, rushed 36 times for 98 yards in addition to catching two passes for another 13 yards. In total Snell played 110 regular season snaps on offense and a whopping 326 more on special teams, the fourth most on the team in 2021. He registered seven total tackles on those units in 2021. In the lone playoff game, Snell had two carries for 15 yards and another two receptions for 16 yards. He logged 18 offensive snaps in that contest and 22 more on special teams. He did not miss a game last season.

Outlook: The Steelers obviously have Najee Harris as their starting running back in 2022 and as we sit here in July, Snell is likely to enter the season as the primary backup to him. Snell being a core special teams player, and a decent one that at, certainly helps his 2022 roster cause. Assuming Snell is on the 53-man roster again later this summer, his role will likely resemble what it was in 2021, which means he would occasionally spell Harris and play a ton on special teams. At worst, Snell should be the third string running back in 2022 and the only way that happens is if the team adds a more experienced veteran prior to Week 1.

ILB Robert Spillane: The Steelers re-signed Spillane to a restricted free agent tender earlier in the offseason. The former undrafted free agent linebacker out of Western Michigan played in 14 regular season games in 2021 in addition to the team’s lone playoff game. After being inactive in Week 1, Spillane missed a few games later in the season with a knee injury. In total, he logged 346 total defensive snaps in the regular season to go along with 244 more on special teams. Over 200 of his regular season snaps came in the team’s last four games and he started four times in total. He finished the regular season with 56 total tackles of which two resulted in lost yardage. 11 of those tackles came on special teams. In the Steelers 2021 playoff loss, Spillane recorded five total tackles in 34 defensive snaps played. He also played 12 special teams snaps in that contest.

Outlook: At this point of his career, Spillane is merely a backup linebacker and thus not one that needs to see the field much on defense. He is still a strong special teams player, however, and that’s the main reason he’ll be a hard out when it comes to his prospects of again making the team’s 53-man roster later this summer. The Steelers do have a packed inside linebacker room heading into training camp and that group of players includes one draft pick from last year in Buddy Johnson and draft pick from this year in Mark Robinson. The room also includes two other experienced backup players in Marcus Allen and Ulysees Gilbert III and those two also are special teams assets like Spillane. It could go either way this summer with Spillane and the Steelers could keep as many as five total inside linebackers on their 53-man roster. The decision with Spillane might come down to how the younger inside linebackers do in training camp and the preseason and especially when it comes to their special team abilities.

CB Chris Steele: After not selecting a cornerback in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers signed Steele in May as a priority free agent out of USC. For his college career, Steele recorded 94 total tackles of which three resulted in lost yardage. He also was credited with a sack, three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 29 games played in. In coverage while in college, Steele faced 117 targets, allowing 72 receptions and nine touchdowns. At the 2022 NFL scouting combine, Steele measured in at 6003, 187-pounds. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.48-seconds and posted a vertical jump of 37.5-inches to go along with a 10’6″ broad jump.

Outlook: Steele enters the NFL as quite a project. The Steelers have plenty of cornerbacks under contract ahead of training camp so Steele with have a rough path when it comes to him ultimately making the 53-man roster to start the 2022 regular season. Showing that he can play effectively outside on special teams would surely help his roster cause. Even so, it might take an injury or two for Steele to survive the final round of roster cuts. The more realistic thing for Steele when it comes to this summer is him ultimately landing on the practice squad to start the regular season. He will likely be battling with the likes of more experienced backup cornerbacks in Justin Layne and James Pierre in training camp and the preseason.

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