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90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Cole Holcomb, Donte Jackson, Van Jefferson

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 2, 2024 at 7:15 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which gets underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of Steelers training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time as part of a multi-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow. This series figures to exceed 90 players this year as the team can carry 91 players in total during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.

The next set of players we will preview ahead of the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Cole Holcomb, Donte Jackson, and Van Jefferson.

ILB Cole Holcomb: After signing Holcomb to a three-year, $18 million unrestricted free agent contract in March of 2023, the North Carolina product and former fifth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft proceeded to open last season as a starter at inside linebacker. A serious knee injury sustained during the Steelers’ Week 8 game against the Tennessee Titans ended Holcomb’s 2023 season, and he landed on the team’s Reserve/Injured list after undergoing surgery.

In the eight games that Holcomb played for the Steelers in 2023, he registered 54 total tackles, four for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two passes defensed. He wore the green dot helmet for the Steelers in the games that he started and played 447 total defensive snaps before getting injured. Pro Football Focus graded Holcomb out at 65.5 overall for his defensive play in 2023. His run defense grade was higher at 72.2, however.

Outlook: Holcomb’s return from his serious 2023 knee injury will be something to monitor for the remainder of the summer. On the surface, that rehab seems to be going well, but the start of training camp will reveal how true that is. There is a chance that Holcomb will open up the team’s 2024 training camp on the Active/PUP list. If that happens, it will be interesting to see if he can get himself off that list prior to the start of the 2024 regular season. There is some speculation that Holcomb might be a late summer cut if it looks like he won’t be able to return to form. That’s just idle off-season talk right now, however.

The Steelers once again invested in their inside linebacker position group this past offseason by signing Patrick Queen to a lucrative three-year contract. With Queen now in the fold, he is expected to be an every-down player in the defense. Assuming Holcomb is able to resume playing for the Steelers in 2024, he will likely not see the field as much as he was on pace for in 2023. The Steelers also still have veteran ILB Elandon Roberts on their roster, and that could complicate things even more for Holcomb when it comes to overall playing time. Additionally, the Steelers selected ILB Payton Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

In closing, it’s really hard to gauge the kind of 2024 season that might be ahead for Holcomb, mainly because of the injury that he sustained last season and the additions the Steelers made at his position group during the offseason.

CB Donte Jackson: Jackson arrived in Pittsburgh this offseason via a trade with the Carolina Panthers. That trade included the Steelers sending WR Diontae Johnson to the Panthers. The Steelers promptly got Jackson to redo the final year of his current contract, resulting in him taking a notable pay cut. He is now scheduled to earn $6 million in 2024.

A former second-round draft pick in 2018, Jackson played in 16 games in 2023, registering 59 total tackles, five for loss, five passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He played 903 defensive snaps in total and three more on special teams.

Jackson has had 14 interceptions since entering the NFL and last season was his first one not registering at least one. Jackson has mainly played outside cornerback in the NFL. However, he played a few snaps in the slot during his several seasons with the Panthers.

Outlook: With Jackson arriving via trade this offseason and with him set to earn $6 million in 2024, it’s hard to imagine him not opening the upcoming season as the Steelers’ outside starting cornerback and opposite Joey Porter Jr. Last season, Jackson graded out well in man coverage. However, it was a small sample size of snaps, and his performance in man-coverage in 2023 didn’t match previous seasons in which he was asked to do it while with the Panthers.

Jackson’s play against the run has been very average and spotty throughout his NFL career, so that phase of his defensive play will need to be watched closely now that he’s a member of the Steelers. All told, Jackson should play quite a bit in 2024, and as long as his overall play is above the line, he should remain a starter. However, Jackson is probably not above being benched in 2024 should he give up too many receptions and big plays. He’s only under contract for the 2024 season, so how he plays in this upcoming season will decide his future.

Jackson does have 14 interceptions for his NFL career and adding three or four more to that total in 2024 would certainly be a plus for the Steelers. The Steelers cornerbacks combined last season to register just six interceptions, and it would be nice to see the 2024 group exceed that amount with Jackson having a few of those.

WR Van Jefferson: The Steelers signed Jefferson to a one-year, $1.2925 million unrestricted free-agent contract in March, and that deal included a signing bonus of $167,500. Jefferson comes to Pittsburgh after having played for both the Los Angeles Rams and the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. The Rams, the team that selected Jefferson in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Florida, traded Jefferson to the Falcons last October.

In total last season, Jefferson registered just 20 receptions for 209 yards and no touchdowns on 43 total targets. His long reception in 2023 was 46 yards, and he did register three drops on the season. In total, Jefferson played 621 offensive snaps in 2023 with 356 of those coming with the Falcons. While Jefferson did log a decent amount of playing time on offense in 2023, he did not see the field on special teams.

Outlook: Jefferson being signed by the Steelers this offseason is likely a result of him playing for Arthur Smith, the team’s new offensive coordinator, last season in Atlanta. Smith and Jefferson are familiar with each other, and that could be very beneficial for the team throughout the offseason as the new offense is completely installed. Jefferson has been in the NFL a few years now so he can somewhat mentor the younger wide receivers under contract for the time being.

Overall, Jefferson has been a bit of a bust at the NFL level, especially considering he was originally selected in the second round. His best season came in 2021 with the Rams, as he caught 50 passes that year for 802 yards and six touchdowns. He’s a tough fit in Pittsburgh, especially with the team likely to use a lot of two and three wide receiver groupings. Even so, there is a possible role for him on the 2024 Steelers, especially as a second, third, or fourth wide receiver, and if he can improve his run blocking and route running.

Jefferson has never been known as a huge special teams asset, so that could ultimately hurt him if he doesn’t secure a second or third wide receiver job this summer in training camp and the preseason. The Steelers don’t have a lot of cash invested in Jefferson, so he’s not guaranteed anything ahead of the team reporting to Latrobe in late July. If he does stick, 20-25 receptions in 2024 seems like the ceiling for him.

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