The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is going to look a lot different this season with a new starting quarterback, new offensive coordinator and revamped offensive line with changes also made in the wide receiver room. That’s going to lend itself to training camp competition, and in an article assigning superlatives to each AFC team, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell named the Steelers the “team most likely to have multiple real training camp competitions on offense.”
Barnwell pointed to competitions at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and offensive tackle as spots up for grabs under Smith.
“Smith’s propensity for using his entire roster and the nature of what Pittsburgh did this offseason leave some interesting battles to be fought during preseason. There’s going to be a lot up for grabs,” he wrote.
At quarterback, it’s between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, and while the assumption is that Wilson will win the job, Barnwell thinks Fields would be the better option.
“Who will start at quarterback? Russell Wilson heads into camp as the favorite, but Smith’s offenses have worked best when he has had a mobile quarterback such as Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota to help create numbers advantages in the run game,” Barnwell wrote. “That would point more toward Justin Fields being the better option.”
Mariota was benched during his tenure with the Falcons under Smith, so that might not necessarily be the best example to use. But Smith can get a lot out of mobile quarterbacks, and Fields is much more mobile than Wilson at this point. Still, with Wilson’s pedigree and veteran savvy, it’s hard to see Fields winning the job outright to start the season. If Fields does start, it will be later in the 2024 season.
While running back isn’t necessarily a competition, it becomes a question of whether Jaylen Warren or Najee Harris get more reps. Neither are going to get a ton of work this offseason as the team looks to keep them healthy, so that’s not something we’ll really get much of an idea of until the regular season starts. Barnwell also mentioned Cordarrelle Patterson as someone who could be in the mix, but he didn’t get a ton of touches last season and it would be hard to see him as a major contributor outside of returning kicks.
The next battle that Barnwell mentions is whether Roman Wilson will play in two-wideout sets, something Arthur Smith loves to utilize. While Wilson’s fit is better in the slot, the Steelers’ receiver room right now just doesn’t have a lot of talent, and Wilson might be the team’s best option as its No. 2. He has experience playing outside too, and that versatility could lend itself to him playing outside as well in certain packages as a rookie.
Finally, Barnwell looks at whether Troy Fautanu, the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2024 will start as a rookie. Barnwell notes that Arthur Smith hasn’t had to deal with a rookie left tackle before, with Taylor Lewan and Jake Matthews in place for him as a play caller in Tennessee and Atlanta, but Fautanu also might kick over to the right side, and it’s not as if Smith hasn’t had rookie offensive line starters. Just last season, Matthew Bergeron started all 17 games at left guard for the Falcons.
If Fautanu shows he’s the best option for the job on either the left or right side, he’ll start despite the fact he’s a rookie.
It is interesting to look broadly at all the potential camp competitions on just the offensive side of the ball, but it’s not a surprise given how much turnover the Steelers have had on offense this offseason. With OTAs continuing today, we’ll begin to get a little bit of a clearer picture of where things stand in some of these competitions.
