Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp practice had a different feel than the first three. With a day off Monday, Mike Tomlin used the opportunity to rest his old heads. To let players nurse their concussed birth certificates. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, even new-to-Pittsburgh but still veteran players like Patrick Peterson and Isaac Seumalo got the day to chill out on the sidelines. Others have “graduated” to day off status like OT Chukwuma Okorafor, who only went through light individual work and sat out of team to give others along the line additional looks.
Sunday was a chance for young players to move up the depth chart, double up reps, and maximize their chances to prove their worth. Several delivered. Here’s a couple who stuck out.
S Kenny Robinson – The big winner of the day. Picking off a pass in camp is hard enough. There aren’t too many interceptions that get tossed. Intercepting two is an especially rare feat but Robinson hit that mark Sunday, twice picking off Mason Rudolph.
In seven shots, he jumped a slant and Rudolph never saw him, throwing the ball right into Robinson’s waiting arms. A big-time play at a crucial piece of real estate. Later in practice, he tracked a lame duck Rudolph throw. Firing deep downfield for Calvin Austin III, the ball hung and was too far inside. Robinson got his head around, found it, and leapt into the air to nab it at its highest point, coming down and finishing the play. He even was on top of an Anthony McFarland screen, though there was no tackling to see if he could’ve actually brought him down.
Robinson saw extra reps with Minkah Fitzpatrick still out due to personal reasons and Damontae Kazee dealing with an injured ankle, he took advantage. Make splash plays and you get noticed. Mike Tomlin sure noticed him.
OL Spencer Anderson – Through the first three days, Anderson was just “right tackle Spencer Anderson.” That changed today. Drafted in large part due to his versatility, he spent time at three o-line spots today: left guard, right guard, and right tackle. Evaluating his play is more difficult, he did get beat around the edge by DeMarvin Leal on one rep while at right tackle, but he was the player who moved around the most Sunday. Pittsburgh had only 12 offensive linemen fully practicing and that gave guys like Anderson plenty of opportunities. Rookie Broderick Jones also soaked up a ton of reps as first and second-team left tackle.
LB Mark Robinson – Despite Pittsburgh signing every veteran inside linebacker in the Tri-State area, Robinson isn’t looking like he’s going anywhere. Robinson has played well the first few days and saw increased reps Sunday, mixing in with the first-team and eating into Elandon Roberts’ time. No inside linebacker had the day off that paved the way but Robinson is a second-year guy who is playing well enough to receive more reps. He’s probably as eager as anyone to put the pads on Tuesday. He shines when he can hit.
LB Nick Herbig – The Nick Herbig show continues. With T.J. Watt having a day off, Herbig saw first team reps at LOLB. He continues to look explosive with a fast first step, beating Dan Moore Jr. and pressuring Kenny Pickett early in the day. We’ll have to see if the good times keep rolling when the pads come on, his athleticism isn’t in question, but it’s been a nice showing. He’s fluid and mobile.
CB Joey Porter Jr. – No Patrick Peterson meant first-team reps for Porter. He continues to defend the entire route tree well, the speed to run with Calvin Austin II vertically (something he’s done twice in camp already) and slants/middle of the field throws. He closed well on one to Dan Chisena today. A nice start to camp for Porter, who looks poised to have a serious defensive role this season on passing downs. Porter has been one of the hardest workers in camp, too.
QB Tanner Morgan – Morgan wasn’t outstanding today but I like the cut of his jib. The fact Mitch Trubisky was limited today simply opened the door for Morgan to receive his first team reps of camp. The results were spotty but he showed a willingness to throw the ball deep. “Taking a profit” is taught by choices and many young quarterbacks are checkdown-heavy because they’re worried about making a mistake. Morgan let it rip, including a deep shot down the middle of the field. It fell incomplete, it was probably a poor decision, but Mike Tomlin liked Morgan take the risk. If he’s going down, he’s going down swinging.
