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, keeping with the defense to grade the linebackers.
Nick Herbig
Herbig was a stud this summer as he looks to make a second-year jump. Explosive off the ball, he stresses tackles trying to defend the edge and he has an array of rush moves. Swipes, cross chops, he’s also added an inside spin and his speed to power and bull rush is more effective.
Pittsburgh flashed three outside linebacker packages in obvious passing downs, getting him, Alex Highsmith, and T.J. Watt on the field. Herbig plays all-out and still works hard on special teams, seeing snaps there despite an increased defensive role. Super strong summer with few complaints. He works his butt off and soaks up the chance to learn from anyone around him, working every day on rush moves with Watt and spending 10 minutes with James Harrison after one practice. Herbig has flashed in preseason action, recording three pressures and 1.5 sacks.
The top three Pittsburgh has off the edge is elite and among the best in football. Herbig would start for a lot of teams or this one if he wasn’t behind the guys ahead of him on the depth chart.
Camp Grade: A
Patrick Queen
A strong camp for Queen after becoming the highest-paid free agent in Steelers’ history this offseason. A flat eraser, his ability to ID and close downhill is remarkable and the best Pittsburgh’s had since Ryan Shazier. Screen passes, checkdowns, RPOs, Queen took them all away.
He set the tone with his intensity and energy and the catalyst for two of the biggest camp skirmishes. He and Elandon Roberts poked the hornet’s nest and dared the offense to step up, which they did throughout camp. Bringing some of that Ravens’ edge to a Steelers’ team building a similar mentality for the first time in awhile.
My only concern is him in pure coverage. Turning and running. There weren’t a lot of opportunities in camp but he didn’t make many plays, including getting beat on a crosser by Darnell Washington on one rep. Queen looked a little shakier there against Buffalo, too.
Overall, a great camp for Queen. One of the best on the team.
Camp Grade: A
Elandon Roberts
Steady as they come, Roberts shows up and puts in the work each day. The best defender in run sessions, there were a couple team periods he absolutely dominated. He’s a hitter and tone setter who lit a match when he knocked down Justin Fields at the end of a read option. It wasn’t a vicious hit but it’s the first time I’ve seen a quarterback get impacted like that in camp.
Roberts is solid in coverage and better than given credit for. With Payton Wilson’s addition, Roberts seems ticketed to play in base packages while Wilson plays in nickel.
Camp Grade: A
T.J. Watt
Not that anyone was using this summer to really judge a future Hall of Famer like T.J. Watt, but his camp was solid as always. Troy Fautanu battled him well but overall, Watt got consistent pressure and was tough to block. If hitting the QB in camp was legal, Watt would’ve had more than a dozen sacks. About to turn 30, Watt is seeing more rest and hasn’t played in the first two preseason games. But his tires are warmed up for the regular season.
While still a quiet leader who does so more by example, he’s spent plenty of time working with Nick Herbig to improve his game. A great mentor for a young guy like Herbig. Watt is poised for another 20-plus sack season.
Camp Grade: A
Payton Wilson
The rookie with perhaps the biggest buzz this camp, even more than OL Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, Wilson mostly delivered. It was a good camp. Wilson became known for being the first player on the field most days, sometimes getting on the grass an hour before the first practice horn. He’s athletic and covers a lot of ground sideline-to-sideline. Wilson made plays in the 1v1 coverage drill slanted for the offense, picking off at least two passes. Overall, Wilson is a mature and top-tier athlete who puts in the time to get better.
Run defense was a mixed bag, especially in the preseason. He lacks length and needs to work his hands better to defeat blocks as opposed to shooting gaps and trying to run past people. Doesn’t always work. Wilson was solid this summer, make no mistake, but not quite as good as some made it out to be.
Wilson should work in nickel packages as part of the Steelers’ three-headed attack at inside linebacker along with Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts.
Camp Grade: B+
Mark Robinson
A good camp for Robinson who came on strong at the end, he appears to have locked up a roster spot. Robinson is a heavy hitter and impact run defender, traits and skills he continued to show from start to finish. He didn’t make a ton of plays in coverage, that’s not his game, but had a breakup on the goal line during one seven shots period.
Robinson was excellent against Buffalo and one of the best defenders that night. Stuffing the run, blanketing in coverage that led to an interception, and making a big stick on special teams. At the start of camp and maybe mid-way through, it felt like he could miss the 53. Now, his spot seems on solid footing.
Camp Grade: B
Kyron Johnson
A forgotten man on the Steelers roster who finished out 2023 on the team’s 53, Johnson impressed. He’s small but quick with great snap timing. Johnson can dip the edge and tackles often have to open their hips and abandon their pass set to avoid getting whooped upfield. Johnson was awesome the first week of camp and had one of the top starts to the summer.
A hamstring injury knocked him out for a week but he recovered in quick fashion. He out-snapped Moon in the Bills game by a wide margin and has played well this preseason as a pass rusher and shown the ability to handle a volume of snaps. The big concern is his run defense. Undersized, he’s too easily pushed around and struggles to set the edge or hold the point of attack. It became very noticeable when former punter/quarterback Zach Davidson was knocking him around in the Bills’ game.
We’ll see if he can stick on the roster, still fighting at the end of the preseason. At worst, he should land on the practice squad.
Camp Grade: B
Jacoby Windmon
A forgotten UDFA overshadowed by the likes of CB Beanie Bishop Jr. and others, Windmon had a nice camp. He’s athletic and plays with good energy and positional flexibility. When lines got thin at outside linebacker, Windmon split time between there and inside linebacker. He played some OLB in college with over 18 career sacks during his time at UNLV and Michigan State.
He had a string of positive practices in the middle of camp and played well in the preseason opener, including a key third down breakup over the middle. His performance against Buffalo was quieter as the backup front seven struggled to stop the run.
Windmon could stick on the practice squad as a developmental player. He should be happy with the summer he put in.
Camp Grade: B-
Jeremiah Moon
Moon has had a funky summer. Entering camp as the N0. 4 and impressing early. Long and strong, he can set the edge against the run and his inside spin is his go-to move. But then Markus Golden was brought back and seemingly threatened his spot. Golden retired, making Moon feel safe until Kyron Johnson poured it on and out-snapped him through the first two preseason games.
Moon battled a minor injury and missed a couple of practices. He recorded a sack in the opener against the Houston Texans, though it came off a blitz and free rush to the quarterback. He’s fighting for a special teams role against Johnson. Moon has a resume there but it’s a battle to the end.
Camp Grade: B-
Tyler Matakevich
Dirty Red was signed right before training camp to resume his special teams role. He worked as a third-team inside linebacker rotating next to Jacoby Windmon and a rotation of others who mixed in. His play didn’t stand out in a dramatic way, he had a bat down on a blitz, but you know what you have in the guy. He’s a quality and multi-phase special teamer.
Camp Grade: C+
Julius Welschof
Undrafted and the team’s International Exemption, Welschof born and growing in Germany, there’s credit to be given for his availability. Welschof didn’t miss a practice or a rep and through two preseason games, he has 100 total snaps. That’s the most on the team.
Welschof uses his hands well to beat blocks against the run and made plays in those sessions. There were some impressive moments. And he earned his first sack at the end of the Bills’ game, not fooled on a bootleg that he took down in open grass. Teammates were pumped for him, hard working paying off for a really cool moment.
But as Josh Carney pointed out in his scouting report months ago, Welschof offers little as a pass rusher. He’s tall and tight with little flexibility to turn the edge. And he’s fighting his height and leverage to get into the chest of the tackle and create power. Welschof loved using his spin move. It didn’t love him back. Despite all those snaps, he had just one pressure, his aforementioned sack.
Welschof will spend the year on the practice squad as an international exemption, allowing them to keep 17 total players.
Camp Grade: C
Tyler Murray
Murray was often odd-man-out in camp, the seventh inside linebacker in a group of six. He had one solid practice about mid-way through and caught my attention with his ability to diagnose and close. But he suffered a a groin injury during the first week of August and was waived/injured. Since, he’s been released with an injury settlement. Even had he stayed healthy, his path to sticking even on the practice squad would’ve been tough.
Camp Grade: C-
Alex Highsmith
Highsmith’s camp was stunted by a groin injury. He began ramping up recovery at the end of camp and practiced on an individual basis on the final day. But much of his time, especially the padded practices, was spent getting healthy and not rushing back early.
Before getting hurt, he had fun battles with Dan Moore Jr. in 1v1. Highsmith’s inside spin is still a weapon though he might be working on counters off it. He showed an outside spin during one rep against Moore. It was clunky and ineffective but he tested it out, often what vets like him use these periods for. Unfortunate he got hurt and couldn’t spend more time working on it.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
David Perales
Unfortunate summer for Perales, who could’ve pushed for a 53-man roster spot. Perales suffered a severe knee injury early in camp during seven shots attempting to make a tackle on RB Najee Harris. He immediately grabbed his knee before crawling and limping off, soon waived/injured and placed on IR. He remains there instead of receiving an injury settlement, meaning the injury is probably pretty bad.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Marcus Haynes
Haynes was signed post-camp and will try to catch the moving train in the preseason finale. I never got to see him in person and have no evaluation. We’ll see if he picks up a couple reps in today’s finale.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Easton Gibbs
Gibbs was added to replace an injured Tyler Murray’s roster spot. He got in a tiny bit of practice and played four defensive snaps in the preseason opener, one of them being the Texans’ game-ending kneeldown. The team apparently didn’t like what they saw, cutting him for Luquay Washington right after. Gibbs since latched on with the Seattle Seahawks. Not a big enough body of work to evaluate.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Luquay Washington
Washington was a late add to give Pittsburgh additional depth at the end of camp and replaced Gibbs. Washington is a plus athlete and easy mover. Just watching him move around on the field told you that. But there’s still not been enough time or reps to evaluate him. He impressed in the 1v1 Oklahoma drill towards the end of camp and picked up 22 snaps in the second preseason game. There’s more to watch. Sleeper to make the practice squad.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Kyahva Tezino
Like Marcus Haynes, Tezino was signed post-camp. Not 100 percent sure why he was brought in, perhaps because of Payton Wilson’s concussion. But Wilson is cleared and Tezino may struggle to see reps in the finale even assuming Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts either sit out or play only a drive or two. Tezino profiles as an off-ball linebacker and former San Francisco 49er.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Markus Golden
Golden re-signed Aug. 1 to create competitive outside linebacker depth so no one go too comfortable about their chances. But either realizing his heart wasn’t in it or understanding his chances of making the team were far worse than a year ago, he retired a week later. Wish him the best in his life’s work after a very good NFL career.
Camp Grade: Incomplete
Previous Camp Grades
Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End
Interior O-Line
Defensive Line
