Pittsburgh Steelers training camp and preseason games. This list is based off the 16 public camp practices and the preseason games I’ve watched up until this point and is based solely off their performance then and does not necessarily represent my feelings for the players overall or during the regular season.
A heads up: I intend on using the full grading scale through these reports. Not just giving players A’s to C’s. It may sound harsh but it’s as honest and fair as I can be.
We’ll finish things out just ahead of final cutdowns with a review of the defensive backs.
Levi Wallace
Truly one of the most underrated players on the roster, Wallace will never be a star or a stud but he’s as reliable as they come. Dude just never has a bad day of practice and he’s competitive against the likes of George Pickens and Diontae Johnson. On the final two reps of a competitive end to the day, Wallace broke up back-to-back curls intended for Johnson to send the defense into a cheering frenzy.
Wallace lacks any high-end physical tools but is technical and fights hard to separate player from ball. No interceptions for him this camp but there were multiple breakups. He’s done enough to begin the season as the starting corner opposite of Peterson.
Camp Grade: B+
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Attending but not practicing the first two days, Fitzpatrick then left the team for a stretch while dealing with a personal matter. After missing about a week, he made his return and after a day or two of being eased back in, Fitzpatrick was full go. His camp was solid, just as you’d expect, and he made several plays on the football, though he didn’t pick off a pass. He’s healthy and ready to go for Week One, which is all that matters. Fitzpatrick’s first game as a Steeler came against San Fran and it was a pretty good one. Let’s hope it happens again.
Camp Grade: B+
Joey Porter Jr.
The literal name on everyone’s mind, Porter’s play in camp was really good. Twice, he ran step-for-step downfield with WR Calvin Austin III, who clearly hasn’t lost a step, and broke up both passes. Despite being a high draft pick with his dad’s status, Porter worked harder than anyone in camp and won our camp award for it. Almost always the first to walk down onto the practice field, he was always working on his hands and catching the ball. There were even moments he was playing soft toss during 11v11 team periods while he waited for the offense to break the huddle. He effectively used the down time he had.
His work paid off. Porter picked off a pair of passes in camp, including a fantastic sliding sideline interception in a two-minute-drill against Kenny Pickett. His other interception, a few days earlier, was a leaping grab on Cody White down the sideline. In his NFL debut, he picked off Buffalo Bills QB Matt Barkley, displaying great Cover 2 press/sink technique while getting his head around and finding the ball.
Still, there’s work to do. He’s physical and shows want-to as a tackler, stuffing Connor Heyward on a jet run in a goal line drill but has a tendency to drop his eyes on contact and miss. He struggled in the team’s Oklahoma drill. He also has to get more comfortable in off-man and zone, and an ankle injury robbed him of some playing time and the team’s first preseason game. Porter has flashed starting potential, but he’ll begin the year rotating in sub-packages in obvious pass moments as the No. 3 outside corner.
Camp Grade: B+
Chandon Sullivan
Sullivan graded out as one of the NFL’s worst slot corners last season with the Minnesota Vikings, making him a cheap draft weekend add for the team. But Sullivan had a fine camp for the Steelers. After initially being part of the team’s three-man rotation at slot corner, Sullivan ended camp consistently running with the ones. He filled the run well enough, not super aggressive but getting the job done, and made plays inside stadiums. His most notable was a great tip-interception on a nickel cornerback blitz against the Bills, finishing with a great diving catch. Entering camp as someone either on or outside the bubble, he now looks to be on the inside of the 53. The question is if he’ll have a Week One role with Patrick Peterson ticketed for slot work and Elijah Riley being a better run-down option. But we’ll see.
Camp Grade: B
Elijah Riley
A similar situation as Chandon Sullivan, Riley entered camp on the bubble and exited inside of it. A college corner turned NFL safety, the team shuttled him back to corner to compete in the slot this year. Because of his bigger body type, he’s a good fit to play that run-down nickel role that Arthur Maulet held for the last two years. He’s a hair-on-fire guy who attacks the ball sideline to sideline. He also flashed some coverage chops with two camp picks, including the first one of the summer, stepping in front of a pass for the takeaway. He bookended that with a pick late in camp.
His coverage skills are probably below-average, especially the further he gets from the line of scrimmage, but he could carve out an early down role as a blitzer off the edge and someone who can fit the run in the team’s nickel 2-4-5 defense. Assuming he makes the team, he should be a multi-phase special teamer as a starting wing and backup upback who will do well on those units.
Camp Grade: B
Patrick Peterson
A fine first summer in Black and Gold. It wasn’t great, wasn’t terrible, and I honestly didn’t come away with a ton of notes about his play. He’s smart, coachable, doesn’t need to be told the same thing twice. In one practice, DBs Coach Grady Brown got on him to finish the rep and try to punch the ball out on an out-route run in front of him. An hour later in the same situation, Peterson made sure to do it. There’s a question about how much speed he has left to turn and run on the outside, though his veteran savvy helps make up for the step he’s lost.
As the team hinted all offseason, Peterson moved around quite a bit. It’s similar to Cam Sutton’s role. Peterson will be an outside corner in the team’s base defense but will kick to the slot on third-and-long and obvious pass situations in nickel or when the team is in dime. He played a bit of safety, too, occasionally truly aligning there pre-snap or rotating post-snap to spin someone like Minkah Fitzpatrick down. The intangibles he brings are huge and he’s graciously worked with the young group of corners. Even new faces like Nevelle Clarke, who had little shot to make the 53, Peterson spoke with him for five minutes before Clarke’s first practice as a mid-camp add.
I still have some reservations about how much Peterson has left but overall, his camp was fine.
Camp Grade: B
Damontae Kazee
Bothered by an ankle injury, Kazee was briefly in a boot and missed about two weeks before getting back full. When out there, his play was solid. He lacks size but not heart with great hit power. When he flies in, runners move backward, not forward, and he’s a good finisher on piles. He didn’t see much/any slot work despite the opening there and mixed and matched with Keanu Neal when he got healthy, too. He should play in nickel and dime packages as one-half the team’s rotation opposite Fitzpatrick.
Camp Grade: B
Kenny Robinson
Dubbed our 2023 Steelers camp darling, Robinson got off to a hot start. A playmaker with a team-high three interceptions in camp, they weren’t gimmies. He picked off a Mason Rudolph slant in seven shots and high-pointed two picks deep downfield later in camp. Robinson wants the ball and isn’t shy about it, leaping to be the first in the air to take away. He soaked up a ton of first-team reps with Fitzpatrick, Kazee, and Neal out of action. And to his credit, Robinson was available for every rep all offseason.
Things faded down the stretch. The safety group got healthy, and Robinson was bumped back to second-team action, though he saw plenty of time in the preseason finale (34 snaps) and he played 103 across the three games. His stadium action was underwhelming, looking shaky in coverage and taking too many chances. He’s a fine tackler with size but after a start that may have been tracking him to the 53-man roster, it looks like he’s more in line for a practice squad spot.
Camp Grade: B-
Trenton Thompson
A mid-camp add when Cory Trice Jr. landed on IR and Pittsburgh was running out of safeties, Thompson is a fun player to watch. He’s aggressive and flies around the field. A “whoa, not sic ’em” type of player, to borrow the Mike Tomlin phrase. Thompson brings hit power and had a couple big collisions throughout camp and during preseason action.
He can be overaggressive and reckless, which puts him out of position. Thompson had a tendency to miss tackles and take poor angles. But he’s a hair-on-fire player with playmaking skills too, picking off a pass in the preseason from Robber coverage and showed an overall knack for playing the football in the air. He’s someone who caught Mike Tomlin’s eye and should stick on the practice squad.
Camp Grade: B-
Keanu Neal
Neal has a niche role but does it well enough. A box safety who played linebacker at one point in his career, he does his best work within eight yards of the line of scrimmage. There were punishing hits I thought you might get from him but he also missed the middle-half of camp with a lower-body injury. Pittsburgh’s cautious this time of year and didn’t rush his return. But he got back for the end of camp and held his own. He’ll be used in the team’s base 3-4 and some “big nickel” packages against 12 personnel with athletic tight ends, something the Steelers could use in the opener against the 49ers.
Camp Grade: B-
Miles Killebrew
Killebrew is a special teams ace and not much of a defender, though he saw tons of reps in camp with how injured the group was. He and Robinson were the only two safeties to go through all 16 practices with the Steelers. His calling card is on ‘teams and he’s replacing Marcus Allen as the Steelers’ starting upback on the punt team, the quarterback of that unit. His voice is loud and clear, and he should do well in that role. He also partially blocked a punt in the second preseason game against Buffalo and should stick as the fourth safety, though Elijah Riley would probably see snaps over him if it came to that.
Killebrew didn’t play a single defensive snap in the preseason finale but saw 50 across the first two and should stick on the 53 as a core special teams guy for a unit that’s seen plenty of turnover.
Camp Grade: C+
James Pierre
The Kevin Dotson of the defense, Pierre is talented but frustrating and has never put everything together. Make no mistake, he had his moments and picks on the ball and he’s the only one who could defend a Darnell Washington seven shots fade. And he remains a quality gunner, though not an elite one at Myles Boykin’s level.
Pierre’s highs are high but his lows are low. His technique is frustrating. Coaches were always getting on him for not having his hands up in press, not punching effectively, and his play at the catch point was all over the place. At this point, he is who he is: a No. 4 corner (at best) and special teamer. At some point, the team will look for an upgrade and had rookie Cory Trice Jr. stayed healthy, he may have pushed Pierre off the roster. Pierre could stick on the roster but 2023, if he makes it the whole way through, seems like his last year.
Camp Grade: C
Chris Wilcox
A bigger player, over six-feet tall, then I would’ve guessed, he didn’t stick out to me in camp but the team appears to like him more than I did. Wilcox saw steady playing time that seemingly increased over camp, benefitting from Joey Porter Jr. missing time. I only have him down for one target the whole preseason, a completion against for eight yards. He played a little bit of safety early in camp but I didn’t get a great feel for his summer. He could stick to the practice squad, though, and he stuck it out end to end.
Camp Grade: C
Madre Harper
Harper looked good getting off the bus. A similar frame to Joey Porter Jr. with nearly the same length, Harper wasn’t as muscular or defined as Porter but had the same profile. There were some positive moments and one really good practice where he played the ball, with a forced fumble and a post-route breakup deep downfield on WR Dan Chisena. But Harper was relatively quiet over the rest of camp, and he lost reps down the stretch. Harper had 40 snaps in the opener but only 15 the rest of the way. He was part of the team’s initial cutdowns Saturday.
Camp Grade: C-
Luq Barcoo
An interesting name given his ball-hawking background — the converted wide receiver picked off nine passes his last year at San Diego State — Barcoo strung together a few solid practices. Over a span of three or four days, he had two interceptions and multiple end-zone breakups. But he has a lanky frame and isn’t a great tackler. There’s willingness but he misses too easily, shooting low and unable to finish on a wide receiver screen against Tampa Bay. He lost playing time from there and had been passed by Chris Wilcox by summer’s end.
Camp Grade: C-
Duke Dawson
Dawson was in the initial slot rotation mix and actually saw first-team snaps on the initial day of camp. But it quickly became evident that the team was rotating the top three of himself, Chandon Sullivan, and Elijah Riley, and the Day One snaps didn’t mean much. Dawson is aggressive and fills the run, an Arthur Maulet type, but he didn’t pop much on tape. He suffered a knee/leg injury at the end of the opener against the Buccaneers. It doesn’t appear to be as bad as initially feared but he was waived/injured a few days later. The team recently reached an injury settlement with him.
Camp Grade: C-
Jalen Elliott
Another mid-camp add to help get the team through the summer, Elliott is a skinnier-framed player without much speed or athleticism. But he’ll come up and tackle and isn’t afraid to do the dirty work. He split time between free and strong safety in camp and saw 65 reps during the preseason so he got plenty of burn to share with teams when he’s released and getting on the in-season tryout circuit.
Camp Grade: C-
Tre Norwood
I liked Norwood’s start to camp. I sure didn’t like the end. Hampered by a leg injury, Norwood missed a handful of practices and sat out the first two preseason games. He got out there for the final one but in a reserve role and he logged only 20 summer snaps, all in the fourth quarter against the Falcons. His beginning was good, showing more physicality and want-to as a tackler than I saw in his disappointing sophomore season. If he had been healthy enough to continue that, he would’ve made a strong push to stay on the 53. Now, that seems less likely.
The grade is low because of all the missed time that crushed him. Really bummed we couldn’t see him stay healthy and see how a healthy Norwood would look all summer.
Camp Grade: D+
Isaiah Dunn
One of the most forgettable names of camp, Dunn actually has some NFL experience. But he was a replacement for some of the team’s camp injuries midway through the summer. His reps were minimal, there was one practice breakup, but he didn’t make it until the end. In one of the team’s final practices, he seemed to suffer a right knee injury early and sat with it wrapped by himself on a far set of bleachers. He was waived the next day, not even with an injury designation. Dunn logged 23 snaps in the preseason opener.
Camp Grade: D
Nevelle Clarke
An addition over the final week of camp, Clarke never had much of a chance to stick. There’s some size and length but he always had an uphill battle. Clarke was released on Saturday. He played eight snaps in the preseason finale against the Falcons.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Lavert Hill
Signed on the same day as Clarke, he was a replacement for Duke Dawson, injured in the preseason opener. Same deal as Clarke, not much to note. He saw a bit more playing time, 29 snaps over the final two preseason games, with the team having fewer slot options than outside guys. Hill was asked to blitz quite a lot in the finale, three of his snaps. But he wasn’t targeted and I don’t have much of a description here of his play.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Cory Trice Jr.
We only got a brief look at him before he suffered a season-ending knee injury, going down non-contact during the first padded practice. What we saw looked impressive with size and length and good ball skills. But the injury is crushing, especially given Trice’s lengthy history that caused him to fall to the seventh round. It’ll be a long way back but the sliver of good news is he has plenty of time to get healthy for next spring. If he’s going to get hurt, make it early in camp to maximize recovery time.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
STEELERS TRAINING CAMP GRADES
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Tight Ends
Wide Receivers
Offensive Tackles
Interior Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Linebackers
