In just a couple of hours, fans will flock to the stands to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers participate in their famous “Friday Night Lights” portion of training camp. However, prior to the event, Pittsburgh released its first edition of a depth chart on Steelers.com. Please note that the initial depth chart doesn’t mean a lot in the grand scheme of what the regular season depth chart may look like, as rookies normally find themselves at the bottom and must “prove themselves” before rising up the ranks. Most teams will simply publish a rough draft version at this time of training camp, knowing fully well that a lot will be changed over the next month.
When viewing, note that depth goes left to right before it goes up and down. For example, when looking at the WR position at the top of the depth chart, Gunner Olszewski is ahead of rookie Calvin Austin III with Diontae Johnson and Anthony Miller ahead of Olszewski.
A couple of notable things from the from the initial depth chart:
— Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green are listed as co-starters given the “OR” designation. This matches up with what has been reported given the competition between Dotson and Green as well as the reporting from Alex Kozora that they are rotating first and second team reps to start training camp.
— Connor Heyward is listed above last year’s TE3 Kevin Rader as TE3 on the depth chart. It could be nothing, but also isn’t a great sign for Rader given that rookies are normally placed lower on the initial depth chart.
— George Pickens is listed as a starter in three receiver sets. This was expected if Pickens could prove that he could catch on early in camp. Given the amount of highlight plays and hype he has gotten in the first two weeks of training camp, it should be expected that he will see the field sooner rather than later as a rookie, potentially earning a high snap share as soon as Week 1.
— Larry Ogunjobi is listed in front of Chris Wormley at DE. Wormley started last year at DE opposite Cam Heyward, but after the signing of Ogunjobi, there was speculation how that rotation would play out. Given that Ogunjobi is still being eased in after foot surgery this offseason and is still listed ahead of Wormley on the initial depth chart, this could be an indicator that Pittsburgh intends to see Ogunjobi play more snaps than Wormley in 2022.
— Devin Bush and Robert Spillane are also listed as co-starters at LILB opposite of Myles Jack. This also matches reports in camp with Spillane rotating in with the first team defense, thus far having a strong training camp.
— Levi Wallace and Akhello Witherspoon are also listed as co-starters at LCB with Cam Sutton starting at RCB and Arthur Maulet listed as the starting nickel CB. It was believed that when Pittsburgh would go nickel Sutton would kick inside to the slot with Wallace and Witherspoon playing outside. Obviously, nothing is set in stone here as Pittsburgh still needs to decide which two CBs will start in their base 3-4 defense and then see how they divide the labor when they go with their nickel defense. Still, good sign for Maulet who is fighting for a roster spot to have his name in the conversation for the nickel role.
