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90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Julius Welschof, Rodney Williams, Payton Wilson

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 18, 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 Julius Welschof, Rodney Williams, and Payton Wilson.

OLB Julius Welschof: The Steelers signed Welschof as an undrafted free agent. As a German native, he was issued an international roster spot as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. The Calgary Stampeders also chose him in the second round of the 2024 CFL global draft. Welschof played his college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Charlotte 49ers.

For his college career, the last season spent at Charlotte, Welschof registered 29 total tackles, one for loss, one sack, and one pass defensed. At his 2024 pro day, Welschof measured in at 6065, 257 pounds with 32 1/4-inch arms and 10 1/4-inch hands. He reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in 4.82 seconds, his short shuttle time was 4.40 seconds, and his three-cone drill time was 7.01 seconds.

Outlook: With Welschof being an International Pathway Program player, he can easily be kept on the practice squad throughout the 2024 season. The Steelers consider him an outside linebacker in their scheme, so that is the position he will get reps at throughout training camp and the preseason. It will be interesting to see how many preseason game snaps he ultimately receives. It won’t be many, however.

While Welschof will be a fun player to track throughout the rest of the summer, there’s no way that he will be on the Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2024. The goal for him in 2024 is to show that he has the ability to play in the NFL and potentially compete for more than a practice squad spot next summer.

TE Rodney Williams: After failing to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster out of the preseason last year, Williams started the 2023 regular season on the team’s practice squad. However, Williams was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad in early October, and he remained on it for the remainder of the season as a backup tight end and special teams player.

Last season, including the Steelers’ lone playoff game, Williams logged 57 offensive snaps, most of them as an inline tight end. He also played 205 special teams snaps.

All told, Williams did not register any stats on offense last season. He did, however, record six total special teams tackles in 2023. When asked to block in his limited offensive playing time in 2023, Williams was slightly above average in that phase of his game. He was on the field for just 40 running plays.

Williams started his NFL career in 2022 with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of UT Martin, where he played some at wide receiver. After getting cut by the Broncos after the 2022 preseason ended, Williams spent nearly all of the ensuing regular season on the Steelers practice squad.

Outlook: This year’s training camp will be an intriguing one for Williams, especially with Arthur Smith now installed as the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator. With Smith now running the show, the Steelers are expected to use two and three tight-end personnel groupings quite a bit. Because of that, we could see the Steelers carry four tight ends on their 53-man roster this year. With Williams having a nice special teams resume, his 53-man roster cause should be helped by that.

While Williams isn’t a premier blocking tight end, he might be able to develop some in that phase of his game this summer. If that happens, that will also help his cause. His biggest competition this summer might be new tight end MyCole Pruitt, a veteran who has played for Smith previously. Pruitt, however, is a lot older than Williams is.

While certainly not a lock to make the 53-man roster come the start of the 2024 regular season, Williams does have a fighter’s chance just the same. If he stays healthy all summer and can show enough as a special teamer, don’t be surprised if he survives the final round of roster cuts. Should Williams ultimately fail to make the 53-man roster, there’s a very strong chance he will start the 2024 regular season on the Steelers practice squad again.

ILB Payton Wilson: The Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of North Carolina State, and he was the 98th overall selection this year. Wilson was considered one of the top off-the-ball linebackers in this year’s draft class but did presumably slide some due to his injury history, including knee and shoulder injuries.

For his college career, Wilson registered 402 total tackles, 48 for loss, 15 sacks, seven interceptions, 13 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. His 2023 season was stellar, including Wilson registering 138 total tackles, 17.5 for loss, six sacks, three interceptions, six passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

A 2024 NFL Scouting Combine invitee, Wilson measured in at the annual event at 6037, 233 pounds with 30 1/2-inch arms and 9-inch hands. He reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. His pro-day short-shuttle time was 4.20 seconds, and his three-cone time was 6.85 seconds. Ahead of the combine, Wilson participated in the 2024 Senior Bowl.

In 2023, Wilson received the Butkus Award, given annually to college football’s best linebacker.

Outlook: Entering training camp, it’s not hard to be excited about Wilson’s future. He doesn’t consider his previous injuries to be an issue for him as he begins his NFL career. Wilson showed no signs of his previous injuries in his final two seasons at North Carolina State. His speed and change of direction were very evident on tape, and he made a ton of key plays, with some even coming in coverage.

Wilson lined up all over the place in college. While he was an off-the-ball linebacker at his core, he was asked to rush opposing quarterbacks off the edge quite a bit in college. He even occasionally covered opposing players from the slot position on defense. He is a very smart player to boot and reads plays well.

For 2024, Wilson should be on the team’s 53-man roster as a backup inside linebacker. He should also start the 2024 regular season as a core special teams player as well. At some point during his rookie season, Wilson should see some defensive snaps in some sub-packages. Gradually, his role on defense could grow as the 2024 regular season progresses. In short, Wilson should be expected to progress swiftly, and it won’t be surprising to see him play at least 200 defensive snaps by the end of his rookie season. Potentially, even more than that.

If Wilson can stay healthy, the Steelers may have just gotten the steal of the 2024 NFL Draft when it comes to Wilson. He likely would have been a first-round selection this year if not for the injury concerns several teams appeared to have with them. Watch out for this kid in 2024.

Previous Posts In This Series:

Related Items:2024 Training Camp, Julius Welschof, Payton Wilson, Rodney Williams

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