The Pittsburgh Steelers have clear and defined needs heading into draft weekend. Which wide receiver starts opposite George Pickens? Who will handle slot corner snaps? Who in the world is going to be this team’s center? All key, critical positions to watch for, evaluate, and analyze.
But the biggest camp battle of the summer might not be at any of those spots. The fight to become the Steelers’ starting gunner is shaping up to be an intense, wide-open contest.
For the past two years, the Steelers’ gunners, the furthest-aligned players on the punt coverage team, have been CB James Pierre and WR Miles Boykin. Both players are good at their jobs, Boykin especially, but both were really solid. Both men are now in the NFC East. Pierre signed with the Washington Commanders, Boykin just inked a contract with the New York Giants. This leaves those firmly occupied slots wide open ahead of training camp.
Who could fill their shoes? There should be plenty of candidates, but the answers are anyone’s guess. This sets up a camp battle to capture one of the final few spots on the team’s 53-man roster before Week One gets started. Let’s roll through some of the potential candidates.
CB Darius Rush – Signed off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad last year (after failing to make the Indianapolis Colts roster), Rush logged about 40 defensive snaps. Most came in the team’s Week Nine win over the Tennessee Titans. He logged 20 special teams snaps for the Steelers, a mix of kick and punt coverage along with punt return. Rush was a starting gunner in college at South Carolina throughout his career, even when he was firmly established as a starting corner. Our scouting report noted it was an asset of his game. In that report, we shared a 2022 clip of him downing this punt inside the five, preventing the touchback.
Playing gunner won’t be anything new to Rush, and he should be one of the team’s frontrunners for the job. We’ll see if Cory Trice Jr. gets a shot. Assuming he’s healthy, he’ll likely receive work to see how well he can do the job as a Steelers’ gunner.
WR Dez Fitzpatrick – Entering training camp low on the totem pole, Fitzpatrick made noise, and ultimately, the practice squad, because of his special teams performance. He performed well as a gunner, making tackles and downing punts inside stadiums during the preseason, and is a sneaky choice to replace Boykin as the team’s No. 5 wide receiver. Though his offensive value is limited, in an offense that may not need much from its No. 4/No. 5 wideouts, Fitzpatrick could present better gameday value than veteran free agent adds in Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson. Neither of them has much special teams experience outside of Watkins handling a handful of kick returns.
CB Kalon Barnes – One of the team’s long list of Reserve/Future players, Barnes spent part of the 2023 season on the Steelers’ practice squad before inking his offseason deal. A seventh-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, he’s appeared in just two NFL games, logging only nine special teams snaps. His resume is light, but his lightning speed, running a 4.23 40, makes him a potential cover guy who can eat up a lot of ground on punts. He’s logged some punt coverage reps throughout the past two preseasons.
Many of the other Reserve/Future contracts will be given camp reps, too, but Barnes stands out above the others.
Draft Picks/Undrafted Free Agents – Right now, there is a list of nameless grey faces. But count on some of the team’s draft picks and UDFAs to be in the hunt. I wouldn’t be surprised if they drafted someone with a solid special teams resume, someone like Rutgers CB Max Melton. But a smattering of picks and UDFAs should also be given the chance. Any selection in Rounds 1-4 should make the roster and could get the first crack at a gunner role.
Of course, Pierre and Boykin were more than just gunners. They were multi-phase special teamers, combining to play nearly 600 special teams snaps. Due to the league’s rule changes, a more active kick return game will only require a better coverage unit. Whoever takes their spots will have to show more than just playing on punt coverage. But those are two starting gunner spots up for grabs, just in the way there could be battles at other more prominent positions when the Steelers report for camp this summer.
