For the rest of the summer, we’ll give a position-by-position, player-by-player recap of what I saw during the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers training camp and preseason games. This list is based off the 16 public camp practices and the preseason games I’ve watched to this point. It’s based solely off their performance over that span and does not necessarily represent my feelings for the player over the course of the regular season.
A heads up, I intend on using the full grading scale through these reports. Not just giving players A’s to C’s. It may sound harsh but it’s as honest and fair as I can be.
Today, flipping over to the defense with the line.
Montravius Adams
Always a summer winner, Adams is athletic with a red-hot motor. He chases the ball all over the field, even far downfield, with good straight-line foot speed. He was a wrecker shooting gaps and beating blocks to get in the backfield and made several run stops, including a great knife-through to bear hug RB Aaron Shampklin later in training camp. He also showed C Zach Frazier the ropes in 1v1s before Frazier locked in later in camp. Battling Adams probably helped.
He’s played well in preseason action and picked up a sack against the Houston Texans. There are few negative marks to write about his training camp, though he’s had trouble translating that into regular-season production. Playing behind Keeanu Benton limits his role but he’s fine as a backup nose tackle seeing 10-15 snaps per game.
Camp Grade: A
Larry Ogunjobi
I’ve been critical of Ogunjobi throughout his Steelers career, underwhelming as he’s battled injuries. But this was his best camp, in part because he stayed healthy. No nagging toe or foot issue that kept him sidelined. Ogunjobi got the better of James Daniels throughout camp, made plays during run sessions, and has had two strong preseason performances, especially in last Saturday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. He’s gotta finish more plays but he looks spry and explosive and is consistent wire to wire.
You’d expect a veteran like Ogunjobi to look good in the summer so his success is no guarantee of a big-time regular-season impact. But this is as encouraged as I’ve ever been with Ogunjobi heading into the season. There’s a lot on the line for him this year because if he struggles in 2024, it’s doubtful the team will pick up his roster bonus in March.
Camp Grade: A-
DeMarvin Leal
Entering camp on the outside looking in and needing a big summer, Leal got it. Coaches raved about his conditioning and being in shape, Leal reportedly getting his weight way down to 275 pounds. He was athletic and chased the ball as hard as anyone while also showing versatility. After playing d-line the first week, lines got thin at outside linebacker and Leal began to stand up as he did in 2022 when T.J. Watt tore his pec to open the season.
Leal’s snaps there ebbed and flowed, and he saw just one EDGE rush snap against Houston. But he followed that with 12 against Buffalo. It doesn’t seem like Leal profiles as a true base end but rotational and sub-package player who can wear a lot of hats and utilize his athleticism.
What’s different is Leal’s technique. He’s using his hands much better now, especially as a pass rusher. Too often in the past, he was a block of energy who didn’t know what to do with it. Now, he’s beating blocks in the run game while still using good leverage and technique in the run game, an area he was further along in his career.
It was a bit disappointing to see Leal get matched up against so many third-stringers in camp, especially in 1v1 periods, and those were weird choices by the Steelers. Beating Anderson Hardy doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But Leal has played well in-game and besides missing a couple of days with injury, always a blip on his radar, Leal helped his cause as much as anyone this summer.
Camp: A-
Cam Heyward
Heyward looked healthy and his usual summer self. Pittsburgh managed his reps and rest days, Heyward getting several days off and held out of the first two preseason games. On days where he practiced in pads, he often was held out of the final team period or two, allowing Isaiahh Loudermilk to receive first-team RDE reps. At his age and with his resume, there wasn’t a need to push him this summer.
But he looked good. He’s gotten his groove back, quick off the ball and creating power on his punch and bull rush. Good battles with OG Isaac Seumalo, two burly vets going at it, and he schooled OG Mason McCormick after McCormick graduated to a boss battle. Heyward’s bull was effective twice while he hit him with a dirty outside spin move in 1v1, leaving a lunging McCormick in the dust. Heyward is battling history and Father Time, but his game looks back on track.
Camp Grade: B+
Keeanu Benton
Benton felt quiet in the earlygoing of training camp. Some of that is a product of his position, nose tackles getting lost in the live action of plays. In 1v1s, he seemed to be testing a spin move that didn’t offer much success. But he picked things up in-game and has played well this preseason even if a Three Stooges poked eye cost him a little bit of time.
Inside stadiums, Benton has continued to defeat blocks with his quick hands and oily hips. He also has flashed power and a long-arm/bull rush that is critical to becoming a more well-rounded and potent pass rusher. His ankle and hip flexibility for his frame is remarkable and he looks poised for a big second year as the Steelers’ starting nose tackle out of the gate.
Camp Grade: B+
Isaiahh Loudermilk
Loudermilk saw plenty of first-team reps this summer, benefitting from the load management the Steelers mapped out with Cam Heyward. It gave him first-team base RDE work, and he did fine with the opportunity. Loudermilk has become a more focused and steadier player over the years, ditching the cross chops and finesse rush moves to focus on bull rushes, rips, and push/pulls. He even got some solid pressure against the Texans. Against the run, he’s not great but strong and serviceable for his role as a rotational backup.
With Pittsburgh’s depth, his roster spot doesn’t feel completely locked in and there’s no high-end traits to get excited about. He’s a modern Travis Kirschke, and for his status and draft billing, it’s acceptable. The concern is how redundant he is to Dean Lowry, whom the Steelers signed this offseason. Could they be competing for one spot?
Camp Grade: B
Breiden Fehoko
Fehoko looked good before getting hurt. It was more of the same. A plugger against the run, a strong bull rush, not offering a ton more than that. He did swim into one gap and blew up on one play. But he suffered a left shoulder injury midway through camp, was placed on IR, and then released with an injury settlement. Disappointing because he would’ve been a fine keep on the practice squad.
Camp Grade: B-
Willington Previlon
The apple of our eye for a week, Previlon flashed with his quick first step, active hands, and overall athleticism. He’s got a solid frame with length and had a stretch of some solid practices, including forcing a fumble on Kyle Allen in a two-minute drill. Bumping the quarterback is crossing the line but Mike Tomlin prefers to say “whoa” than “sic ’em.” Previlon was getting increased reps because of his play and shined during the Friday Night Lights practice.
Then…”Beef” Willington cooled off on the table. His last week of camp was quiet and his in-game performances have been pretty non-descript. He’s played up and down the line but hasn’t carried that camp play over and faded down the stretch, something common with younger players who get off to hot starts. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
There’s still practice squad potential, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him stick there. But if the team keeps seven d-linemen on the 53 with Logan Lee a lock for the practice squad, Previlon might be 86’d.
Camp Grade: C+
Dean Lowry
He spent the first two weeks of camp on Active/PUP, presumably though never explicitly due to the pec injury that ended his season halfway through 2023. He ramped things up alongside Cordarrelle Patterson on the side before being cleared the practice following the exhibition opener against the Texans.
Lowry made an impact, one of several defensive linemen to bat down Justin Fields’ throws. He worked at left defensive end in base packages and was functionally strong and steady. Against the Bills, he played 18 defensive snaps. Pittsburgh signed him to a two-year deal, and he has experience, but he feels like an older Loudermilk. Decent against the run but lacks length and limited as a pass rusher. It makes his spot feel less secure than it should heading into roster cutdowns.
Camp Grade: C
Logan Lee
Lee was among the most versatile players in camp and did all he could to create value. He played base end, he played d-tackle in nickel, he played nose tackle when Breiden Fehoko was lost, he long snapped on the side and during a couple special teams periods, he was used on the kick-coverage unit in practice. He checked a lot of boxes.
The quality of his actual play, however, was mixed. He chased the ball hard and has the kind of straight-line speed Montravius Adams possesses. But he’s gotta work on using his hands and keeping his pads down, too often pushed around and out of his gap. It’s unfortunate he’s gotten got stuck at nose tackle for much of his in-stadium work. A position he hasn’t played much, Lee’s outleveraged at 6-5. Per our charting, 89.1 percent of his snaps (33 of 37) have come at nose tackle in the Steelers’ 3-4. That’s not his game and makes for a difficult evaluation.
Lee should spend his rookie year on the practice squad refining his game.
Camp Grade: C-
Jacob Slade
A reserve end, he picked up a fair amount of snaps with some chunks of the d-line missing time. Heyward getting his rest, Lowry starting camp on PUP. Slade’s play was inoffensive but there’s very little positive I noted day to day. He’s logged 32 total defensive snaps through two preseason contests. Slade is serviceable against the run and minimal against the pass. He won’t make the 53 and the practice squad appears unlikely. He did seem to become good friends with Logan Lee, a couple of Midwest natives who probably have a lot in common.
Camp Grade: D+
Marquiss Spencer
Spencer was signed mid-camp to replace Fehoko and offer some nose tackle depth, working third or fourth string while rotating a bit with Logan Lee. It’s hard to get much of an evaluation on him. Against the Bills, he logged seven snaps. He’ll be an easy cut.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
