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90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: David Perales, Patrick Peterson, George Pickens

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 16, 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 David Perales, Patrick Peterson, and George Pickens.

OLB David Perales: A Fresno State product, Perales was one of the Steelers’ original 2023 undrafted free agents signed to the team several months ago. In three college seasons, Perales registered 110 total tackles, 38 for loss, 23 sacks, one interception, six defensed passes, nine forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 33 total games played. He was named a First-Team All-Mountain West defensive lineman in 2022. At his 2022 Pro Day, Perales reportedly measured in at 6022, 248-pounds with 32-inch arms.

Outlook: The Steelers look to be in good shape overall ahead of training camp when it comes to their outside linebacker depth chart. That comes as a result of the team signing veteran free agent Markus Golden this offseason and selecting Nick Herbig in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Those two players are expected to back up starting outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith in 2023.

Perales’ chances of making the 53-man roster later this summer aren’t great overall and especially if the Steelers decide to carry just four outside linebackers in total. Realistically, Perales will be fighting for a practice squad this summer. Playing well on special teams in training camp and the preseason will help his cause when it comes to him possibly sticking in Pittsburgh after the Week 1 53-man roster is established.

CB Patrick Peterson: After playing his last two NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson, who was originally selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (5th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU, signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Steelers early in free agency this past offseason.

Last season with the Vikings, Peterson played in all 17 regular season games with the Vikings on his way to registering 66 total tackles, three for loss, five interceptions, and 15 passes defensed. In one playoff game last season, Peterson tacked on five more tackles. In total, and including the one playoff game, Peterson logged 1177 defensive snaps and 89 more on special teams. For his NFL career to date, Peterson has 34 regular season interceptions and 111 passes defensed in 184 total games played. He turned 33 years old on July 11.

Outlook: In his first season in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, Peterson has a goal of seven interceptions, which is very doable if a few things break his way. He is expected to help the Steelers ease the offseason loss of cornerback Cameron Sutton in free agency. Peterson’s leadership and veteran savviness should help the Steelers’ rebuilt secondary depth chart which now includes two drafted rookie cornerbacks in Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. He’s a solid communicator on defense and that’s yet another reason to be excited about his 2023 arrival.

While Peterson has mostly been an outside cornerback throughout his career, we could see him play some slot in 2023. That’s yet to be fully determined, however, but the Steelers coaches have hinted this offseason that it’s quite possible that he could move around in the defense in 2023. As long as Peterson can stay healthy in 2023, there’s no reason to think that he won’t turn in a respectable 13th NFL season. He’s only missed ten total regular season games so far during his career and in only two seasons has he missed a contest.

WR George Pickens: As a rookie in 2022, Pickens, who was originally selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia, registered 52 receptions for 801 yards and four touchdowns on 84 total targets. He also chipped in 24 more yards and a touchdown on three rushing attempts in the 882 total offensive snaps played in 2022. 38 of Pickens’ 52 rookie season receptions produced either a touchdown or first down. His yards after the catch average was just 2.0, however, and he also had three drops as a rookie. Not surprisingly, Pickens showed himself to be a more than capable and effective blocker as a rookie.

Outlook: Moving forward into his second NFL season, Pickens is expected to exceed his rookie reception totals. That should come as a result of him hopefully becoming a more well-rounded route runner in 2023. Additionally, Pickens will look to double his yards per catch average in 2023. The Steelers will also look for Pickens to increase his explosive play output in 2023. He had 17 of those as a rookie.

While Pickens might not lead the Steelers in total receptions in 2023, he should have a great shot at leading the team in receiving yardage and possibly even touchdown catches as well. He’s still a player with a lot of ceiling left in his game at just 22 years old. He should be a fun player to watch make a nice second year jump in 2023.

Related Items:2023 Training Camp, David Perales, George Pickens, Patrick Peterson

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