The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: Which players have the most to gain during training camp?
It feels as if we’ve barely begun the break before training camp, but there are already plenty of questions to raise before we get there. There are some that are asked every year, while others will be unique to this particular team.
One of the most typical questions is the subject of today’s article: which players have the most to gain during training camp? Who will come into Latrobe with the best odds of actually improving their station compared to when they arrive?
The most obvious place to start is the rookies, and there are a few who are in position to compete for starting roles—specifically, the top three draft picks. First-rounder Broderick Jones is trying to unseat Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, while second-round cornerback Joey Porter Jr. looks to needle his way into the starting rotation at cornerback. The other pick in the round, Keeanu Benton, could take Montravius Adams’ starting spot at nose tackle.
Besides the draft picks, you have a guy like Alfonzo Graham, the college free agent rookie out of Morgan State, looking to try to secure a roster spot at the end of the running back depth chart. A second-year guy like DeMarvin Leal has a chance to carve out a more concrete, or at least more robust, role for himself in the defensive line rotation as well—or on the edge?
We could see a starting battle between Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal to determine who the full-time strong safety will be—if there is one. There’s also some battles for depth along the defensive line—and perhaps at this point we can include Kendrick Green as a player with more to gain than to lose, given the precariousness of his employment into September.
