Today is the big day, and one of the most anticipated of training camp: the pads come on and full contact can begin. Teams are required to hold four practices without full pads and with limitations in terms of the type of contact that can occur before they can begin the real football activities. After having Monday off, the Pittsburgh Steelers return today and the physicality will be dialed up.
“I mean, I’m a linebacker, so Tuesday is gonna be a lot more fun than these past four days for me,” rookie ILB Payton Wilson said in a clip posted by 93.7 The Fan on X. “I just can’t wait to put on the pads and play ball. These are like, I call them underwear practices, just a little bit fake.
“Coach [Mike] Tomlin says it all the time. It’s not football, it’s football-like. So Tuesday it’ll be football. So we’ll be able to see who can play and see who can continue to show up.”
One of the big tests for Wilson, and one where he might stand out, is backs-on-backers. That drill should take place later today where the running backs and linebackers square off against each other to simulate a blitz. Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris are both very solid in this area of their game, so the linebackers will have their hands full. But the running backs have never had to protect against an ILB room this talented. Guys like Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, and Wilson should provide an excellent test.
Queen is tied for the fifth-most sacks at the ILB position since entering the league in 2020. Roberts has 9.5 sacks since 2020, so he is plenty capable, and Wilson had 15 sacks since 2020, which was the fourth-most in the NCAA over that time. The inside linebacker group should be able to provide plenty of splash via the blitz this season. That is something the Steelers have been lacking in recent years with just six sacks out of their inside linebackers over the last three seasons combined.
On the flipside, Harris was credited for zero sacks allowed last season and Jaylen Warren allowed two, per Pro Football Focus.
Though competitions have started to take shape over the first four days of camp, the real position battles begin later today with the pads on. Payton Wilson is trying to solidify his role as the team’s dime linebacker, and his performance with the pads on will go a long way toward achieving that goal.
