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90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Chris Wilcox, Jarrid Williams, Rodney Williams

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 25, 2023 at 8:15 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, 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 every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.

The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are Chris Wilcox, Jarrid Williams, and Rodney Williams.

CB Chris Wilcox: The Steelers added Wilcox to their offseason roster back in January. Selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of BYU, Wilcox spent his rookie season on the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts. In 2022, Wilcox opened the season on the Colts’ practice squad but was jettisoned from that unit by the middle of September. Much later in the season, he was signed to the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals.

At his 2021 Pro Day, Wilcox measured in at 6-foot-1 1/2, 198 pounds. He reportedly ran his Pro Day 40-yard-dash in 4.39-seconds. In his five seasons at BYU, Wilcox played in 41 games on his way to registering 88 total tackles, three for loss, and eight pass breakups.

Outlook: The summer outlook for Wilcox is quite skinny and easy to write. He will be battling for a practice squad spot during training camp and the preseason and that’s about it.

The Steelers have more than enough cornerbacks on their offseason roster and Wilcox will be at the bottom of the depth chart. To last the entire summer, he absolutely must stay healthy and play well during the preseason on both defense and special teams.

T Jarrid Williams: The Steelers added Williams to the roster in early January on a minimum deal for one year with no guaranteed money. Prior to signing with the Steelers, Williams spent a good portion of the 2022 season with the Philadelphia Eagles after signing with them as an undrafted free agent out of Miami. He also spent the end the last part of the 2022 regular season on the practice squad of the Detroit Lions.

In 49 snaps in the 2022 preseason with the Eagles, Williams graded out at 49.0 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 42.7 in pass blocking and a 51.2 in run blocking. He allowed one sack and one quarterback hit along with four pressures in 27 pass blocking reps, seeing all 49 snaps at right tackle.

Outlook: Williams is pretty much a right tackle only so that should be his spot on the Steelers’ offensive line once training camp gets underway. He is at the bottom of the tackle depth chart, so reps probably won’t be plentiful for him. Because of that, it will be interesting to see how many snaps that Williams gets in the Steelers’ first of three preseason games, assuming he’s still on the 90-man roster at that time.

The best hope for Williams remaining in Pittsburgh past the end of August is him showing enough to warrant being signed to the team’s practice squad. If he were to accomplish that feat, it would be quite notable based on his limited NFL preseason tape to date. He has a tough summer ahead of him when it comes to sticking on the 90-man roster these next several weeks.

TE Rodney Williams: Originally signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2022, Williams wound up being signed to the Steelers’ practice squad at the start of the regular season.

Williams, who registered 99 receptions for 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns in 53 total college games played, was able to stick on the Steelers’ practice squad for the entire 2022 season. He was signed to Reserve/Future contract after the 2022 season ended.

Outlook: It’s going to be a tough summer for Williams as he’ll try to do enough during training camp and the preseason to warrant a follow-up stint on the Steelers’ practice squad. He virtually has no shot at making the team’s 53-man roster because of the players ahead of him on the depth chart at the tight end position.

Williams is, however, one of just five tight ends on the offseason roster at the start of training camp so he should have no problem sticking on the 90-man unit as along as he stays healthy. It will be interesting to see what he maybe can bring to the table in terms of special teams assets once the preseason games get underway.

Related Items:2023 Training Camp, Chris Wilcox, Jarrid Williams, Rodney Williams

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