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90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Jaray Jenkins, Kyron Johnson, Cameron Johnston

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 3, 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 Jaray Jenkins, Kyron Johnson, and Cameron Johnston.

WR Jaray Jenkins: The Steelers added Jenkins to their offseason roster in early June, and now the LSU product and former undrafted free agent seems set to attend training camp with the team at the end of July. Originally signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 as an undrafted free agent, Jenkins wound up sustaining a foot injury last summer that resulted in him being waived/injured with a settlement. That injury reportedly required surgery, and Jenkins ultimately did not surface on an NFL practice squad last season.

In his four seasons at LSU, Jenkins, who measured in at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine at 6015, 204 pounds, registered 89 receptions for 1,370 yards and 14 touchdowns. Last year, during the preseason, Jenkins registered just two receptions for 32 yards in limited playing time of 37 offensive snaps.

Outlook: Jenkins’ late arrival on the roster this offseason will put him behind the eight-ball once training camp gets underway in late July. On top of that, the Steelers have several more experienced wide receivers on their roster who will serve as legitimate competition for Jenkins. It should also be noted that Jenkins’ long speed isn’t all that great. He also had nine drops in college.

Merely staying on the Steelers’ offseason roster through the preseason would be a huge accomplishment for Jenkins. In summation, Jenkins’ best shot at sticking in Pittsburgh after the preseason ends would likely be as a practice squad player. He has a tough battle ahead of him at training camp this year, and the numbers at the wide receiver position really work against him.

OLB Kyron Johnson: The Steelers originally signed Johnson to their practice squad last October after the Philadelphia Eagles cut him loose. From there, Johnson, a former sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft of the Eagles, was elevated to the Active/Inactive gameday roster three times during the second half of the season before ultimately being signed to the 53-man roster in late December and right after OLB T.J. Watt went down injured.

In total, Johnson played in seven games for the Steelers in 2023. One of those contests was the Wild Card game. He only logged one defensive snap in those seven total games but did register 116 snaps on special teams as a core player. He did not register any tackles, however, on special teams. The Steelers view Johnson as an outside linebacker in their defense.

It’s probably worth noting that Johnson registered 11.5 sacks, 191 total tackles, five passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries during his five seasons in college at Kansas. 22 of his college tackles resulted in lost yardage as well.

Outlook: When looking at the Steelers’ offseason roster, Johnson is a bit of a forgotten player. The fact that the Steelers thought enough of him to dress him in so many games last season speaks volumes overall, even though he was mainly just used on special teams. Remember, Johnson spent the first half of the 2023 season on the Eagles’ practice squad, so he had to transition to what the Steelers wanted him to do in a hurry.

The Steelers will likely keep at least four outside linebackers on their 53-man roster to start the 2024 regular season, and with three of those spots easily already spoken for, Johnson has a chance at claiming the fourth one. The Steelers added OLB Jeremiah Moon to their roster during the offseason, so he will be in legitimate competition this summer with Johnson.

If Johnson can put together an impressive training camp and preseason, he should have a legitimate chance at making the 53-man roster to start the 2024 regular season. In closing, Johnson is worth keeping close tabs on once the team reports to Latrobe for training camp. He’s probably a player on defense that shouldn’t be slept on. At worst, Johnson could be a solid practice squad candidate once the preseason concludes.

P Cameron Johnston: After spending his previous three NFL seasons with the Houston Texans, Johnston, a former undrafted free agent out of Ohio State, signed a three-year, $9 million unrestricted free agent contract with the Steelers in March.

Last season with the Texans, Johnston, who entered the NFL originally with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 as an undrafted free agent, punted 66 times during the regular season for a 47.7-yard average and a net average of 44.0 yards. 30 of his punts were inside the opponents’ 20-yard-line last season, and he recorded just three touchbacks. His long last season was 74 yards.

For his NFL career to date, Johnston has a punting average of 47.3 yards with a net average of 43.5 yards. He also has only had one punt blocked during his NFL career. Johnston is now 32 years of age.

Outlook: Johnston will be expected to be the Steelers’ punter in 2024, and with that, more consistency will be expected in that phase of the game. He will obviously be the team’s holder for kicker Chris Boswell on field goals and extra-point attempts as well, and there should be no issues there.

It’s been a long time since the Steelers have had an exceptionally good punter, and hopefully, Johnston can change that starting in 2024. Flipping the field consistently, especially when deep in Pittsburgh’s own side of the field, could change the outcome of a game or two this upcoming season.

The fact that the Steelers addressed the punter position in the manner that they did this offseason speaks volumes about the team’s outlook for him. We’ll now see if he can live up to those expectations.

Previous Posts In This Series:

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