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.
Moving on with the defense with the linebackers, inside and outside.
Cole Holcomb
Signed to a three-deal in the offseason, Holcomb was one of the stars of the summer. A hard worker and among the first onto the field, he was well-rounded in every fact of his job. He keyed the ball against the run and stuffed it. He made plays in coverage, a great diving breakup underneath on Najee Harris, a swat down the field to TE Pat Freiermuth, a tip against Buffalo that resulted in an Elijah Riley end zone interception. Holcomb stepped up every day and made plays.
He was position-sound against Tampa Bay but struggled to finish. Against Buffalo, he was far better. He’s also wearing the green dot as the hub of communication. Holcomb may not be the 100-percent snap count guy it seemed like he’d be when signed, Kwon Alexander’s addition has shifted roles, but he should be atop the rotation and play quite a bit. His regular season play may not quite match the summer tape but he did look good this last month, no question about it.
Camp Grade: A
Nick Herbig
Easily one of the camp stars, Herbig flashed early and often. Even before the pads came on, Herbig’s first step and explosiveness was evident. And it soon became apparent this wasn’t just a product of him beating up poor OT Le’Raven Clark.
Herbig’s good play continued over the summer. He’s athletic, quick off the ball, with active hands, high energy, and fabulous bend to flatten and corner around the edge. Against the run, he uses that quickness and his lack of size to duck and dodge blocks while flying in from the backside. Predictably, there some issues when he’s trying to stack and shed and hold his gap but he didn’t looked pushed around the way you might think. He even flashed power with a strong punch, jolting back two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins against the Bills for a pressure and forced incompletion on QB Josh Allen.
Overall, Herbig showed the Steelers were right (and I was wrong) to keep him at outside linebacker. And Pittsburgh’s depth here is world’s better than a year ago.
Camp Grade: A
T.J. Watt
Like Cam Heyward, Watt isn’t a guy who demands too much of your attention in camp. He’s an established star. But he finds your vision because of the play he makes. He can’t be blocked in the run game and after one tackle for loss, Mike Tomlin yelled out, “Can somebody block T.J, please?” They did not. Watt ran by Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. (when he was at RT) in camp and generated a ton of pressure.
TE Darnell Washington did have his moments against him in backs on ‘backers, that was a notable loss for Watt, though Watt got him back in the run blocking drills. Watt is healthy and poised to challenge for the league lead in sacks.
Camp Grade: A
Alex Highsmith
A solid camp, as you’d expect at this point. Now armed with a long-term deal, it’s sorta surprising Mike Tomlin doesn’t give him days off the way he does Watt, Heyward, and others. Highsmith isn’t old but he’s established and you figure he’ll graduate to that camp soon enough. Maybe next year. But Highsmith is a worker and I doubt he minded the lack of rest.
Highsmith gave Dan Moore Jr. fits early in camp, though Moore evened out his play. It was just fun to watch Highsmith toy with some new moves. Always trying to refine something, add something, his arsenal is deep and effective. He knows opposing offensive tackles are countering his inside spin and he’s looking for ways to beat that. An outside spin, maybe even a fake spin, his camp was to test a bunch of stuff out. Overall, he was solid and played well inside stadiums, especially against Buffalo.
Camp Grade: A-
Elandon Roberts
Roberts brings an edge to the position that hasn’t been there since Vince Williams retired. Similar to Mark Robinson but with more experience, he’s a downhill thumper willing to sacrifice his body not just to make the tackle but collapse a running lane and force the running back to bounce. Roberts was eager to hit and flattened RB John Lovett in the first set of backs on ‘backers. Kudos to him for being a good teammate and seemingly becoming fast friends with Kwon Alexander, the two walking out a side door for Alexander’s first practice, and not hostilely viewing him as a threat to playing time, even though that’s what Alexander.
Oddly, Roberts logged just two snaps in the opener against Tampa Bay but saw more time against Buffalo and played well. He’s a niche player, a run down guy who won’t offer much in coverage (though his summer reps looked competent) and we’ll see how much he plays in nickel and passing downs. But he’s a hammer who sees every running back as a nail. That’s what this team needs. Can I get an Amen.
Camp Grade: B+
Kwon Alexander
A surprise signing early in August, his impact was immediate. He’s intense and a professional who brings a ton of energy. He loves playing the run and loves to hit, even if it hurts his wallet. Alexander brings the same mentality as Roberts but is the better athlete and space player, though don’t expect him to run with athletic tight ends down the seam in man coverage. While some thought his signing was initially for depth, Alexander is going to play and it wouldn’t surprise me if he out-snapped Roberts for the season. But the point is, the dude wasn’t signed to cover kicks and punts.
Camp Grade: B+
Mark Robinson
Robinson’s name has gotten lost in the shuffle of the team’s long list of free agent additions. But his progress has been steady. He didn’t stand out in coverage the way he did as a rookie, he made a bunch of plays in 1v1 a year ago, but he’s probably wiser and more nuanced in coverage than this ball of energy flying around and hoping to run into something. His play is steady and similar to Roberts. Inside stadiums, he had multiple big licks on opposing players.
Perhaps the team could carve out a run-specific niche the way they did last season but most of his time this year will be spent on special teams. The Steelers don’t seem to be as high on him as me but he’ll make the roster and continue to grow.
Camp Grade: B
Markus Golden
Golden had a quiet start to camp but finished strong. He runs hard, is tough against the run, and is a smart pass rusher rarely pushed upfield or totally taken out of the play. His play was especially good against Buffalo with a would-be sack only thwarted by the right tackle holding on for dear life (it true a penalty) and he chases the ball with a relentless motor. There’s a mentor element he brings to the room as well. Golden is nearing the end of his career and won’t be a double-digit sack guy again while his playing time is uncertain given Nick Herbig’s emergence (Golden better get comfortable seeing the bench more than he ever has before) but he’s valuable depth behind Watt and Highsmith.
Camp Grade: B
Tanner Muse
A college safety, he strictly played linebacker this summer, though it’s little surprise. That’s what he did in Seattle before signing a deal with Pittsburgh. Muse was seeing a lot of third-team reps and looked fine but his play stepped up against Buffalo with a run stuff, pass breakup, and fumble recovery. Durable and unavailable while LB Nick Kwiatkoski battled a shoulder injury towards the end. It seems like Muse has the advantage as a core special teamer. Through the first two preseason game, his 25 special teams snaps led the team.
Camp Grade: B-
Chapelle Russell
An unknown heading into camp but it was a nice summer for him. Another energy-bringer who bangs around against the run, he was consistently in my notes throughout the first half of the summer. Reps were harder to come by once Alexander was added into the fold but Russell had practice squad material. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury running down a kick against Tampa Bay before he even saw a defensive snap. He was waived/injured, a bummer for him.
Camp Grade: B-
Nick Kwiatkoski
A Pittsburgh native who signed during OTAs, he ran third-string for much of camp. His play was fine and inoffensive but I didn’t come away with lots of takeaways on him. He was showing well in the opener against Tampa Bay, blowing up a Bucs’ RB for a sack and forcing a breakup downfield. But he also hurt his right shoulder and missed the end of camp and the Bills game, allowing Muse to state his case. He looks less likely of making the team.
Camp Grade: C
Quincy Roche
Roche entered camp as a clear backup but had the supposed advantage of NFL experience. A former Steelers’ draft pick who has seen action with the New York Giants, Roche was very quiet. There was one really good day later in camp where he dominated the run session, highlighted by a great tackle on TE Pat Freiermuth on a screen that would’ve gone for a big gain. But besides that, Roche was limited and non-descript.
Despite being healthy enough to run down punts against the Bills, he didn’t log a single defensive snap against the Bills. Rookies David Perales and Toby Nduwke played instead and even DL Manny Jones took snaps at ROLB on the final drive. That can’t be a good thing for Roche.
Camp Grade: C-
Toby Nduwke
He signed with the Steelers this April after going undrafted out of Sam Houston State. His camp was very up and down and I mean the latter literally. He was on the wrong end of some of the ugliest moments of camp, pancaked by TE Rodney Williams and C/FB Kendrick Green on separate occasions. But he’s tough and looks coachable and got better, fighting through his mistakes. His run defense improved during camp.
As a pass rusher, there’s a bit of strength and athleticism but it’s still not very notable. Nor did he really stick out on special teams. He saw a lot of action but couldn’t capitalize on the snap. Like fellow UDFA David Perales, he could stick on the practice squad but I don’t see long-term staying power here.
Camp Grade: D+
David Perales
Undrafted from Fresno State, I thought he could be something of a camp-darling. Typically, Pittsburgh has one or two of those unknown pass rush types who emerge in camp. Perales, though, was quiet for most of the summer. He got a good chunk of reps and occasionally won in the run and pass game.
But inside stadiums, he was routinely locked up. He looks as slow off the ball as he tested with average hand use and he can’t get off blocks. Per our charting, Perales had 49 pass rush reps in the first two preseason games. He had zero pressures. Pittsburgh likes his effort and maybe he sticks on the practice squad for a bit but there’s not much here.
Camp Grade: D
Forrest Rhyne
Rhyne only got in a couple of the team’s final practices to help replace the injured Russell and Kwiatkoski. A hard-worker with good family support, he had who I assume his parents at one of the practices, his play was limited but not exciting. Slow-footed in coverage, he got beat up at the end of the Bills’ game as Buffalo tacked on a final end zone drive to make the score look respectable. Rhyne should be a quick cut come Tuesday.
Camp Grade: D
