The Pittsburgh Steelers received some much-needed contributions from their rookie class during the 2023 season. It wasn’t that long ago that rookies in Pittsburgh routinely waited in the wings for a season or two before earning the trust of the organization. Cameron Heyward, for example, started zero games in his first two seasons as a pro before becoming a mainstay in the starting lineup for a decade.
The way the salary cap works in the NFL these days, teams’ best chance to put together a strong roster includes getting significant contributions from guys on rookie contracts. They count against the salary cap much less and the window before renegotiating is only three seasons before teams risk most of their players hitting unrestricted free agency.
The Steelers have moved past that model with significant snap count totals from their rookie classes over the last several years. The 2023 season was no exception with guys like OT Broderick Jones, CB Joey Porter Jr., DT Keeanu Benton, and TE Darnell Washington all playing significant snaps.
Mike Tomlin was careful about their involvement early, however. In his Thursday press conference to wrap the season and talk about the path forward, Tomlin was asked about his overall thoughts on the rookie class.
“I thought we got quality production from them,” Tomlin said in via video of the press conference posted on the team’s YouTube page. “In many instances, they didn’t wilt, which was good. We were thoughtful about their participation in most instances early on in an effort so that they could be available for us down the stretch. That played out relatively well to be quite honest with you.”
All six healthy rookies saw at least one snap during the 2023 season. CB Cory Trice Jr. was injured during training camp, but even seventh-round OL Spencer Anderson saw two offensive snaps and a handful on special teams.
Porter led all rookies in offensive or defensive snaps with 807. He didn’t crack the starting lineup until Week Eight due to an injury to CB Levi Wallace, but he started every game and played almost every snap from that point forward, including shadowing opposing teams’ top receivers. He became a critical cog in the defense as injuries at safety forced CB Patrick Peterson to shift positions. That would have been much more difficult to overcome if Porter hadn’t played to the level he did. His play earned him a spot on NFL.com’s All-Rookie list for the 2023 season.
Next was Jones, who lost the training camp competition to be the starting left tackle. He got his first start in Week 5 due to an injury to Dan Moore Jr. and then took over as the starting right tackle in Week Nine after Chuks Okorafor got himself benched with something he said during the team’s loss the week prior. Jones started the rest of the way and helped spark the rushing attack to a second-half revival, playing 767 total snaps on offense.
Washington played 511 snaps on offense, primarily as an extra blocker. The team didn’t utilize him much as a receiver, but he was also a part of the rushing success over the second half of the season. He received seven starts due to TE Pat Freiermuth’s linger hamstring injury and played well over double-digit snaps in every game.
Benton played 484 snaps on defense. He was a part of the game plan every week but only played about 43 percent of the team’s total defensive snaps. He received nine starts and logged 36 combined tackles, one sack, and two forced fumbles. He figures to be a key building block of the defensive line for years to come. OLB Nick Herbig also made an impact in limited snaps. He played just 191 snaps on defense but registered 27 combined tackles, three sacks, five tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
Nearly the entire class made an impact this season, which bodes well for the future of the franchise. It was GM Omar Khan’s first draft in charge, and the early returns were very positive.
“I’m excited about the group,” Tomlin said. “I think they got bright futures ahead of them and I’m excited about being a component of their development.”
