Starting a new series here before training camp where we look at the biggest storyline impacting each position group among the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll take a look at the offense first, examining the quarterback and running back rooms today, followed by wide receiver and tight end tomorrow.
Quarterback: How will Kenny Pickett look in his sophomore season?
This has been discussed a bit on the site already, and if you haven’t, take some time to watch Alex Kozora break down every one of Pickett’s throws. It’s well worth it. But with the third-string quarterback situation settled after the Mason Rudolph signing, this is really the only pressing question in the quarterback room. Pickett showed a lot down the stretch of his rookie season, but the biggest change in his game was limiting turnovers.
Pickett threw eight interceptions in his first five games and then just one in his final eight. Even if he wasn’t putting up big yardage totals, limiting turnovers was a major sign of growth. That’s something that has to continue into his sophomore season. Pickett doesn’t have to win games on his own, and the Steelers are going to be reliant on the run game, especially on early downs. But he has to keep possession of the football and not turn it over at the rate he did when he first took over in 2023.
I also want to see Pickett show he can take shots down the field. Recently Pickett said he was confident the Steelers’ offense could hang with the best in football. But the Steelers didn’t have much of a downfield passing game last season, with just three double-explosive passing plays all season. While the Steelers aren’t going to be a team that lives and dies by the pass, they still need to show some splash, and Pickett needs to show that he can be a threat to let one loose down the field.
Pickett needs to show growth from his rookie year. There are a lot of good things he’s done and continues to do on and off the field, with his leadership ability being one of his strongest traits. If he can limit turnovers, continue to be a leader, and improve Pittsburgh’s downfield passing game even just a bit, the team will be fine.
After all, they did win nine games last season with a rookie Pickett at the helm. But just seeing progression out of Pickett matters in the short and long term. If he looks like the same quarterback from his rookie season, some doubt may creep in whether he’s the long-term solution at the position. But I do think Pickett is going to show that he’s a better quarterback than he was and will make the necessary plays to help the Steelers win games. I’m pretty excited to watch him work this year.
Running back: Who is the team’s RB3?
I’ve written a lot on the site lately about the need for Najee Harris to improve his efficiency. Entering training camp though, that’s not the biggest storyline impacting this room. Much like last season when the team’s backfield was unsettled behind Harris, it’s now unsettled behind Harris and Jaylen Warren. Warren was the guy who stepped up and made a name for himself in camp last year and blossomed as the team’s No. 2 back and eventual third down back. Who could be behind them this year is up in the air.
Right now, there are four players fighting for one spot as the team’s third-string running back, a position where special teams value is usually prioritized.
Alfonzo Graham is the name with the most buzz right now. Signed out of Morgan State as an undrafted free agent after a successful stint at Pittsburgh’s rookie minicamp, running back coach Eddie Faulkner offered praise for Graham earlier this week. He returned kicks at Morgan State and ran for 1,150 yards as a senior last season. He seems like a motivated guy and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stands out and wins the job.
Then, you have Anthony McFarland Jr., who’s running out of chances to make the roster. McFarland never developed as Pittsburgh hoped, and his work on special teams has been lackluster. But he can be used as a returner, which is a role that the Steelers don’t have a clear answer at. He looked solid in his one game last season, a Week 12 road win over the Colts where McFarland carried the ball six times for 30 yards and had two catches for 11 yards.
He also showed growth as a ball carrier in the preseason last year, and he’s by far the most proven commodity out of the group. While he’s working on improving at special teams, if he can’t prove to be a core special teamer, that could really hurt his shot of making the team.
Jason Huntley spent most of last season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, but he does have 18 total carries in his NFL career, spending 2020 and 2021 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also brings return experience, returning five career kicks and playing 31 special teams snaps in his brief NFL stint. He might be the name with the least buzz, but he’s a sleeper in the battle.
Pittsburgh thought enough of Darius Hagans, who Omar Khan saw at the HBCU Combine, to bring him in after he was waived by the Colts. An undrafted free agent out of Virginia State, Hagans carried the ball 189 times for 1,012 yards and six rushing touchdowns in 2022 while adding 17 receptions for 135 yards. While Hagans may be a longshot to make the 53-man, Pittsburgh saw something they liked with him and he could be a name to watch for the practice squad.
Whether the third running back is one of those names or someone not currently on the roster remains to be seen, but if I had to guess it’ll go to whoever out of that group can show the most special teams value.
It’s an important spot if only because both Warren and Harris were banged up at various points last season, and having depth in the backfield is going to be important with how run-heavy Pittsburgh could be this year. While it might not get a lot of attention, the battle for RB3 is going to be one of the biggest throughout training camp.
