Training camp is now fast approaching, marking the first time for fans to get direct access to what’s happening on the field. We have been in attendance at every Pittsburgh Steelers training camp practice open to the public for the past decade, and that won’t change this year.
Another thing that never changes is the love of an underdog story, and every year the fans follow the rookie college free agents in the hopes of their team finding the next diamond in the rough. The Steelers got running back Jaylen Warren last year, but who is that player in 2023, if there is one?
A lot of fans are going to want to choose one of the halfbacks, with Alfonzo Graham probably being the most popular selection, but in my opinion, the rookie undrafted player who has the best shot of making the 53-man roster in 2023 is fullback Monte Pottebaum.
Why? Well, it always helps when the team you sign with doesn’t have an incumbent starter at your position. Connor Heyward is in the discussion, but after opting not to re-sign Derek Watt, the Steelers are currently without a true fullback.
Pottebaum is that, but what’s more, he has the potential to be a true special teams starter, a four-phase player in the mold of the fullbacks who preceded him, not just Watt but also Roosevelt Nix. Both of them either made the roster or were signed as free agents first and foremost for their special teams ability.
Now you have a 6-1, 244-pound wrecking ball who does have a background of playing linebacker. He only moved to fullback in 2019, so he knows a thing or two about hitting people—maybe as much as Mark Robinson, the inside linebacker who converted from running back, does.
Now, the problem is how to fit everybody. The Steelers like and intend to use Heyward, the second-year H-back. I think the ultimate question is, will Pottebaum and veteran tight end Zach Gentry be competing for one roster spot?
The draft addition of tight end Darnell Washington gives them a lot more flexibility on their roster, as did the selection of Broderick Jones, at least indirectly. With the latter, whoever loses the starting job will now become an excellent tackle-eligible, something they haven’t used as much the past two years but could again.
It is possible for the team to carry three tight ends as well as Heyward and Pottebaum—they’ve done similar things before—but my guess is that they’ll want to use that roster spot somewhere else. That’s where special teams value would really matter for Pottebaum if he is squaring up against Gentry, who was only re-signed on a veteran-minimum deal before the Washington pick.
Pittsburgh did lose quite a lot of special teams snaps this offseason, so we really can’t overexaggerate the significance of that. Between Watt (290), Benny Snell Jr. (284), Jamir Jones (251), and Marcus Allen (230), that’s over 1,000 snaps to make up with just four players, and that’s not the end of it.
Now, they’ll get some newer contributors like veterans Markus Golden and Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski, as well as rookie fourth-round linebacker Nick Herbig and perhaps cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr.
But Porter will be moving into the starting lineup and Trice will have to make the team first—and may come at the expense of another special teams contributor, James Pierre. So special teams coordinator Danny Smith will be on the hunt for guys who can help him.
