While the 2023 season ended earlier for the Pittsburgh Steelers than they hoped, there were still plenty of bright spots throughout it. One of the major developments was the play of the rookie class. By the end of the season, CB Joey Porter Jr. and OT Broderick Jones had entrenched themselves in the starting lineup. TE Darnell Washington saw regular playing time as a second tight end. LB Nick Herbig made a big impact in limited snaps, including a massive play in the win over the Seattle Seahawks late in the season.
So it was no surprise that a veteran like LB T.J. Watt had some thoughts on the rookie class. During his end-of-season media availability, Watt talked about how he felt the rookies did this season, per video from Steelers.com.
“I thought they did really well,” Watt said. “I’m very proud of our young guys… That rookie year is such a long season. It’s such a long year, from going from college to training to Combine to OTAs. There’s so many extra things those rookies have to do throughout the season. Very likely, they could have hit the rookie wall and gave up, but I’m proud of those guys. They played hard, they played physical Steelers football, and they helped us win football games.”
Going from college to the NFL is such a big jump for multiple reasons. The competition is stiffer at the professional level. The season is much longer, even for players who make it to the championship game. So for guys like Jones and Porter to still be playing at a high level at the end of the season is impressive.
Then there’s the Combine process that Watt alluded to. While veteran NFL players are in their offseason schedule, prospective rookie players are gearing up with physical training to get ready for the NFL Combine. Some players are doing everything they can to have the best 40-yard dash time or 3-cone shuttle time they can. Some are working hard on improving their explosiveness for showing off a vertical or broad jump. Others might even be focusing on the bench press.
Regardless of what drill these players are preparing for, it’s a different process from preparing for an NFL season. Preparing for the Combine is devoted to making players faster and stronger, and it can be an arduous process that starts while most NFL players are in offseason mode. That’s a lot of extra work for players who have recently wrapped up their college seasons.
So for this rookie class to come in and make this kind of impression and this kind of contribution is a very good sign for the future. Porter and Jones have already proven themselves to be NFL-capable starters, and Porter was named to the Top 20 Rookie list on NFL.com. As the team looks toward the offseason and plans for 2024, this group of rookies has proven that it will be making a positive impact going forward.
