End Of Minicamp Weekend: Steelers Friday Night Five Questions

Happy Friday and I hope yinz are doing well.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are done for their spring work, wrapping up their three-day mandatory minicamp earlier this week. The team won’t be back together until July 26th when the Steelers report to St. Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp. They’ll practice the following today. If you missed the camp schedule, here’s the link. 

We’re now in the quietest part of the offseason but we have plenty of content ready for you guys to get us through the next six weeks.

Hope you all have a great weekend and that you enjoy our continued coverage. I thank you for visiting the site and we appreciate all of your great feedback. As always, we have five Friday night questions for you to answer.

Peace and love, peace and love!

1 – Will Najee Harris ever sign a second contract with the Steelers?

2 – If Alex Highsmith doesn’t have a new contract by training camp and “holds-in,” showing up but not practicing, would that bother you? 

3 – The Steelers ranked 23rd in red zone offense each of the last two years. Where would you realistically like them to be at in 2023?

4 – What’s the #1 area of Kenny Pickett’s game you want him to improve on as a sophomore? 

5 – Who is more likely to make the 53-man roster: DB Elijah Riley or S Tre Norwood?

Recap of 2023 End of OTAs Weekend Friday Night 5 Questions

Question 1: Steelers Depot respondents do not think it benefits the Steelers to focus so much on having siblings on the team. Twelve of 15 respondents said it either hurts the team by paying marginal players too much or that it really does not impact the team that much. As one respondent commented, “I don’t understand the need for it. Are they great players that overall help the team? If so, I don’t care if they are brothers, half-brothers, cousins, or total strangers.” The minority view was “Yes. Always additional motivation with a sibling (assumes you like your sibling). More importantly, players love it.”

Question 2: Karl Dunbar was favored by nine respondents as the best coach on Mike Tomlin’s staff. Four voted for Pat Meyer. Teryl Austin and Danny Smith each got a single mention.

Question 3: Respondents predict Larry Ogunjobi sacking opposing quarterbacks anywhere from three to eight times in 2023. The median response was six. In 2022, Ogunjobi pressured quarterbacks 11 times, including 1.5 sacks, according to the Pro Football Reference. Six sacks along with solidifying the rush defense up the middle would be very welcome this season.

Question 4: Respondents hope Nick Herbig is allowed to concentrate on one position during his rookie season. OLB coach Denzel Martin did say that Herbig would start out his career on the edge. For that reason, several respondents predict Herbig not playing any snaps at ILB. The highest prediction was 72, but the median response was just 13 to 14 snaps at ILB. Let’s see how many defensive snaps Herbig gets at all in his rookie year with free agent Markus Golden signed. Herbig is sure to play a lot of special teams. But he will get some looks on defense too. Just how many?

Question 5: Respondents are concerned about the “newness” impacting chemistry on defense. Secondary coach Grady Brown mentioned three players who might have a shot at the slot position. A hole created with the free agency losses of Cam Sutton and Arthur Maulet, who filled that role last season. Several respondents mentioned communications and the possibility of miscues early in the seasons.

Here are the consensus responses of Steelers Depot respondents compared to the correct answers:

As promised, here are the folks with the most points during the offseason. Just an informal ranking since many questions subjective. Points scored or the first offseason weekend factored in. No changes this week.

There are now 14 questions from previous weeks yet to be answered:

 Scores will be adjusted as they are determined up until week one of the regular season.