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90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Scotty Miller, Jeremiah Moon, Dan Moore Jr.

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 8, 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 Scotty Miller, Jeremiah Moon, and Dan Moore Jr.

WR Scotty Miller: The Steelers signed Miller to a one-year, veteran benefit contract in early May. A former 2019 sixth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miller had 11 receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 16 total targets last season as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. For his NFL career to date, Miller has 85 regular season receptions for 1,085 yards and six touchdowns on 144 total targets.

Miller played 267 offensive snaps in 2023 and 107 more on special teams for the Falcons. Additionally, Miller lined up outside on 124 plays and in the slot on 138 plays in 2023, per Pro Football Focus. He played for new Steelers OC Arthur Smith last season in Atlanta, so it was easy to connect the dots when he landed in Pittsburgh on a cheap contract earlier in the summer.

While Miller has returned many punts or kickoffs since entering the NFL, he has done both before. His returner resume in college included a lot more volume.

Outlook: Miller is one of several new veteran wide receivers on the Steelers’ offseason roster looking to claim a 53-man roster spot this summer. Miller’s familiarity with Smith from last season when the two were with the Falcons certainly won’t hurt his cause and nor will the fact that he has experience playing both outside and in the slot. While Miller shouldn’t be in the running to be the Steelers punt and kickoff returner in 2024, at least he can function in such a role should an emergency arise.

In reality, Miller is a fringe NFL wide receiver at this point of his career, so he’ll need a great training camp and preseason and potentially a little luck to make the opening week 53-man roster. It quite honestly could go either way for Miller, and his odds of sticking increase slightly if the Steelers don’t add another significant playmaking wide receiver between now and the start of the 2024 regular season. If he does stick, Miller’s role in the offense and overall playing time is likely to be minimal.

While probably very unlikely in totality, there’s probably a slight chance that Miller opens the 2024 regular season on the Steelers practice squad should he not make the final cut and then ultimately land on another team’s roster after the smoke clears.

OLB Jeremiah Moon: In a bit of a shrewd move, the Steelers claimed Moon off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens late last season, and then they turned around and tendered the exclusive rights free agent to a one-year deal early in the offseason. This resulted in Moon being under contract for the 2024 season at a minimum, yet not guaranteed, minimum salary.

After originally signing with the Ravens in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Florida, Moon spent his rookie season on Baltimore’s practice squad. In 2023, he again started the regular season on the Ravens’ practice squad but got elevated to their gameday Active/Inactive roster several times. In total, Moon dressed and played in nine games for the Ravens in 2023, one of which was a playoff contest.

All told, Moon played 102 defensive snaps in 2023 and 158 more on special teams. He registered 12 total tackles, one for loss and two forced fumbles in 2023.

Outlook: With Moon fitting as an outside linebacker in the Steelers’ defensive scheme, he’ll likely be competing this summer to make the 53-man roster as the fourth player on that position’s depth chart. Other players likely competing for that roster spot should be Kyron Johnson and David Perales. Moon, like Johnson, has a nice special teams background at the NFL level, so the battle between those two players should be fun to watch in training camp and the preseason.

Barring an injury, there’s no reason to think that Moon won’t be on the Steelers’ offseason roster through the preseason, and thus, we should get a chance to see him play in all three preseason games. While not an accomplished pass rusher in college, Moon registered eight sacks at Florida. The fact that the Ravens thought enough of Moon to elevate him for several games last season is telling. He has a legitimate shot to stick in Pittsburgh this summer and, at worst, be a practice squad member to open the 2024 regular season.

OT Dan Moore Jr.: In 2023, Moore was once again the Steelers’ starting left tackle. However, he missed one game in 2023 due to a minor knee injury. All told, Moore, who the Steelers originally selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, played 1,117 offensive snaps in 2023. He logged 58 additional snaps on special teams in 2023 and all came as a member of the kick attempt unit.

Pro Football Focus graded out Moore at 54.4 for the 2023 season, and they have him down as allowing eight sacks and 56 total pressures. He was also penalized four times in 2023, with three calls being for offensive holding. PFF grading aside, 2023 seemed to be Moore’s worst NFL season to date if you watched the tape.

Outlook: The Steelers selected OT Troy Fautanu out of Washington in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and with that, there’s a decent chance that Moore will begin the regular season as a backup. Moore is not deemed a great fit at right tackle, so if Fautanu can prove to be the better option on that side during training camp and the preseason, last year’s first-round selection, OT Broderick Jones, will likely switch over to the left tackle position and become the new starter on that side.

Moore did qualify for a Proven Performance Escalator raise in his first three NFL seasons, so his new base salary in 2024 will be $3.366 million. Should a current under-contract backup tackle such as Dylan Cook prove this summer that he can be a dependable swing player for the Steelers, it would be interesting to see if Moore could be jettisoned via a trade just prior to the start of the 2024 regular season. The Steelers did a similar thing last summer with OG Kevin Dotson.

Realistically, Moore will likely start the 2024 regular season on the Steelers’ 53-man roster. He could even very well wind up being the team’s starting left tackle to start the season if Fautanu is deemed to need a little more seasoning. All told, it’s hard to imagine Moore starting every game for the Steelers in 2024, and that’s because, at some point, Jones and Fautanu are expected to man the two tackle spots sooner rather than later.

Previous Posts In This Series:

Related Items:2024 Training Camp, Dan Moore Jr., Jeremiah Moon, Scotty Miller

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