The Pittsburgh Steelers came out on top in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, and they did so with some significant contributions from rookie players. Two of the team’s first three draft picks were either unavailable or not starting because of recent injuries, but those who did play were largely impressive in their NFL debut.
Today, I will go through each of the Steelers’ rookies and give a brief analysis of their play including some of what they did well and some of what they need to work on. I am only including the players who played in the game. Troy Fautanu, Roman Wilson, Mason McCormick, Logan Lee, and Ryan Watts did not play.
Week 1 – At Texans
C Zach Frazier
Snaps: 69 on offense (100-percent)
Pro Football Focus Grades: 70.1 overall, 83.3 pass block, 66.0 run block
Frazier had one of the better rookie debuts that I can remember in recent Steelers history. It is often hard to gauge an offensive lineman’s performance while watching the game live, but Frazier jumped off the screen in my first review of the all-22 tape.
He was aggressive, played through the whistle, looked for extra work, and he had too many pancakes or knockdowns to count. He is an instant upgrade over anything the Steelers have had at center since Maurkice Pouncey’s prime.
A lot of Frazier’s success is powered by great hand placement, and an unbreakable grip once he gets a hold of a defender’s chest plate. You can see on the below play how he lands his punch with his outside arm, which made it nearly impossible for Grady Jarrett to disengage from the block. Then Frazier drove his feet and pancaked Jarrett.
In terms of what Frazier can improve on, the list isn’t very long. There were only a few plays where he was beat. One thing I noticed twice was Frazier dumping defenders on the ground in the intended hole. I like the mentality of finishing with the defender on the ground, but it looked like Frazier jerked the defender into the hole to make a tackle on the play below.
There were also two shaky exchanges under center between Frazier and QB Justin Fields. Not sure who the blame falls on, but they need to clean that up.
You can view my film room breakdown of Frazier’s debut here. What a great debut for this Steelers rookie.
ILB Payton Wilson
Snaps: 24 on defense (43-percent), 17 on special teams
PFF Grades: 57.2 overall, 58.6 run defense, 57.7 coverage, 77.9 tackling
Payton Wilson had a fairly quiet debut other than one very significant play he made during the Falcons’ opening drive. They marched down the field and would have likely scored a touchdown if not for Wilson getting off a block and diving sideways to tackle Bijan Robinson. He finished the game with three tackles.
The Steelers aligned him out wide as a cornerback on that play, and it worked out well for them as he blew up the play and forced the Falcons to settle for a field goal.
In total, Wilson lined up as a wide corner two times, and in the slot three times. Wilson and DC Teryl Austin talked about a dime linebacker role for him, so it is no surprise to see him used this way. He can turn and run with guys and sticks to receivers pretty well. Here he is in the slot near the top of the screen covering a route.
There weren’t a ton of glaring issues with his tape, but he could have limited this 13-yard run in the fourth quarter. Chris Lindstrom worked to the second level and cut block Wilson. He kind of whiffed the block, but Wilson still lost his feet. I think his eyes were locked in on the ball carrier and a little unaware (until it was too late) that an offensive lineman was coming his way.
CB Beanie Bishop Jr.
Snaps: 33 on defense (59-percent), 6 on special teams
PFF Grades: 65.4 overall, 61.1 run defense, 64.7 coverage, 75.4 tackling
Bishop was listed as the starting nickel corner, and the Steelers did not shy away from using him, the West Virginia product played 59 percent of the total defensive snaps. He aligned in the slot 30 times and back as more of a safety on three others.
The biggest thing from his tape was his solid tackling abilities. Mike Tomlin said he looks for little guys who can hit, and Bishop proved that he can do that at the NFL level last Sunday. He was tied for the fourth-most tackles on the team with four, and all four of those were solo tackles.
Alex Kozora broke down his tackling ability in a film room, so check that out for a more complete analysis, and below is one play that stood out to me. Bishop showed nice closing speed and tackled the catch to limit any yards after.
If anything negative, Bishop had a tendency to tackle low. That is smart for a smaller guy, and better than bouncing off receivers or tight ends if he goes high, but a couple of times he grabbed a hold of just one foot to make a tackle. Some tight ends will be able to break that type of tackle pretty easily. Though it should be mentioned, he had zero missed tackles in this game.
Overall, Bishop’s rookie debut for the Steelers was encouraging considering he was an undrafted free agent asked to play 59 percent of the defensive snaps in Week 1.
