Historically, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been very good at drafting and developing, building through the draft, keeping their draft picks around long-term, and then continuing the cycle over and over again.
When it comes to how they handle rookies, they are a pretty good track record.
Prior to the last half decade or so, the Steelers tended to slow-play things with rookies, allowing them to sit and develop, fully adjust to the way of life in the NFL from a week-to-week standpoint.
That philosophy has changed a bit as the Steelers have adjusted some to the way the rest of the league is operating, putting young pieces onto the field quickly to figure out what they have in the NFL.
From names like Kenny Pickett, Najee Harris, Chase Claypool, Devin Bush and even a guy like Kendrick Green, the Steelers have pushed young players onto the field quickly to get them the exposure to the NFL while also trying to improve the lineup.
Yet, despite knowing all that, how they’ve handled rookie left tackle Broderick Jones and rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. thus far is quite puzzling, only made worse by how good the two performed on Sunday in a must-win game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Jones was solid at left tackle, holding his own in his first career start, grading out as the second-highest graded rookie first-round offensive tackle in Week Five. He allowed just one pressure in the 17-10 win and was impactful as a run blocker.
After watching Dan Moore Jr. struggle for the first three weeks of the season before exiting the Week Four loss to Houston early with a knee injury, Jones came into the fold and performed quite well, which raises the question as to why he wasn’t on the field earlier.
Granted, the first three weeks of the season was a murderer’s row of pass rushers, so maybe the Steelers were trying to protect him from that exposure so quickly. It’s worth noting, too, that Moore performed well in training camp and the preseason, earning the starting job. But Jones’ performance against the Ravens shows he’s the better player. He should be the starter moving forward.
Then, there’s Porter, inserted into the game in the fourth quarter in base defense for the struggling veteran Patrick Peterson. Outside of Miles Killebrew’s blocked punt, Porter made the play of the game, picking off Lamar Jackson in the end zone. That completely swung momentum back to the Steelers’ favor after Gunner Olszewski’s fumble on a punt return, keeping the game at 10-8, setting up the comeback.
On the season, Porter is the fifth highest-graded rookie in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, and the highest-graded rookie corner in the league overall. He was also the top-graded cornerback in Week Five across the NFL and has been a lockdown coverage corner in his limited action, allowing just one reception on seven targets and allowing a zero QB rating against.
For how well the Steelers’ rookies played on Sunday, it begs the question: What the heck kept them out of the lineup so long?
It certainly wasn’t the play of the veterans in front of them, that being Moore and Peterson. Stubbornness? Caution?
In today’s NFL, you need to see what you have — and quickly — with rookies. Why the Steelers slow-played things with these two rookies when they weren’t getting the expected performances from the guys ahead of them is rather confusing.
Cat’s outta the bag now, though. Time to play the kids, for better or worse. They’ve earned it with their play in Week Five.
