For the rest of the preseason, we’ll give a recap, position by position, player by player of what I saw during the 2022 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. This article was written prior to the preseason finale against Atlanta and won’t be part of my evaluation process.
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.
Now moving onto the offensive line, continuing with the guards and centers.
Isaac Seumalo
Pittsburgh’s prized free agent signing this offseason, Seumalo looks like the right man for the job. Seumalo doesn’t say much but is a leader with his work ethic, intelligence, and play. Mike Tomlin gave him a handful of veteran days off but other than that, he was available in full.
His size and strength are really something to take in. The dude is just huge for a guard. There’s strength to match and Seumalo is a tough guy to move. He’s athletic, too, once running and blocking Cam Heyward 15 yards downfield on a TE screen to Pat Freiermuth. Overall, Seumalo gave Heyward his best dance partner he’s had since Ramon Foster.
On tape, Seumalo looks comfortable and an A-plus scheme fit with his strength and tenacity. He’s the biggest and best offseason addition the team made all year. There’s very little negative to say here.
Camp Grade: A
James Daniels
As we wrote, a year makes a world of difference for Daniels. He’s now fully comfortable in Pat Meyer’s system, where he and most of this group struggled a season ago. Daniels’ reps in 1v1 early in camp were better than anything he did a year ago. His last few days were rougher than the others, beat by Armon Watts a couple of times, but overall, he looks poised for a big year. In games, Daniels looked strong and effective in pass protection.
Daniels is 25 and in the prime of his career. It could be a big year.
Camp Grade: B+
Mason Cole
Cole was one of our “Steady Eddies” of camp. He’s durable, tough, smart, and stable in the middle. He did have a couple of poor snaps early in camp but those issues were rectified by its ends. His game is well-rounded with burst and strength even if doesn’t overwhelm in either category.
Cole isn’t the next Mike Webster, Maurkice Pouncey, or even Jeff Hartings, but he’s a solid presence in the middle of an offensive line that’s better with him part of it.
Camp Grade: B+
Nate Herbig
Though he didn’t receive the fanfare of his brother, Herbig had a quality summer and could wind up the top backup at all three interior spots. He’s stout and strong and you have to go around him, not through. Herbig has a happy-go-lucky attitude off the field and before practice (he hardly ever stretched in stretch line, walking around and chilling before individual periods started) but he turns it on between the whistles. He’s aggressive and finishes his blocks and came the closest to fighting with someone this camp at the end of a block during Friday Night Lights.
Herbig began camp at guard and played there throughout camp. But a couple days in, he saw reps at center and rotated in with Kendrick Green running second-team. The problem was because the team was short a guard and Green only played center, Herbig didn’t get as many reps in the middle as the team might’ve liked. A shoulder injury complicated things all the more. Herbig doesn’t have a ton of experience at center but he might be the sink-or-swim option.
Camp Grade: B
Kevin Dotson
Dotson is a hard nut to crack. I called him the most frustrating Steeler last season and stand by that. He’s talented, no question. Dotson has size, enough athleticism, and power to generate movement in the run game. But his game is inconsistent and he loses as badly and as often as he wins. I just don’t see him as a scheme fit in this system. He’s not the guy who is comfortable being ultra-aggressive and giving the tackles help. He looks a little more comfortable this year but going from starter to potential third-string guard speaks volumes.
For the latter half of camp, Dotson played through the pain and battled a shoulder injury. Credit to him for his toughness. Could he be kept? Sure. Pittsburgh would have some seriously good guard depth with him if their third-stringer was a 17-game starter a year ago. But if there’s a guy who could be dealt in an o-line starved world, he makes the most sense. A free agent after the year, he’s not coming back.
Camp Grade: C+
Ryan McCollum
Pegged as a camp sleeper, he never turned out that way. He’s versatile, you can give him that, but his tape is just…average. Average play strength, he’s able to hold on and not get bulled back but there’s limited athleticism and he creates minimal movement. Maybe he sticks on the practice squad but he’s fallen short of his bid for the 53-man roster.
Camp Grade: C-
Kendrick Green
Oh, Kendrick. Pittsburgh gave him so many, probably too many, opportunities to win the starting backup job. He just couldn’t grab it. There were snapping issues, there were issues with defending outside/finesse rushes, there was issues of staying on his feet.
I do think he got better against bull rushes down the middle. Late in camp, it felt like the light sorta maybe kinda came on with his punch and there were legitimately good reps against the likes of Isaiahh Loudermilk in 1v1. I do think his run blocking also improved.
But Green just falls apart anything he has to slide his feet. He can’t punch and move and gets wrecked when defenders attack his edges, even by run-plugger NT Breiden Fehoko. He had poor and high snaps in camp and in-game and only played center in camp. Of the backups, only he and Broderick Jones were locked into one position this summer.
The most exciting part was him playing fullback/H-back, throwing a couple mean blocks and catching and stiff-arming linebackers and DBs. But as of this writing prior to the Falcons’ game, they’ve yet to test it out in a game, mostly because the first-team offense hasn’t gotten in short-yardage and Green spent the rest of the time playing center. The intrigue of that position add-on won’t be enough to save him.
Camp Grade: D+
Bill Dunkle
My favorite name of camp. Bill Dunkle. If only the play matched it. Dunkle is an aggressive run-blocker but that’s about it. He’s uncoordinated and unbalanced and falls off his blocks too often. In pass protection, he too easily doubles over and gives up the edge over and over again. Dunkle just looked overmatched here, especially pass pro. Without a ton of other options and some experience in the system, a full year with the team, maybe he hangs around the practice squad. But I’d be exploring external options with better preseason tape.
Camp Grade: D
Jarrid Williams
An easy name to forget because he was the first player cut in camp. Pittsburgh rolled with just 14 offensive linemen throughout the rest of camp, a pretty small number for the summer but they were extremely healthy. A college tackle, he got kicked inside to left guard for the short time he was in camp. There’s not enough to grade him on knowing the assessment is based off padless practices.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
STEELERS TRAINING CAMP GRADES
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Tight Ends
Wide Receivers
Offensive Tackles
