Another week of four rookie contributors for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but this one came in a loss to snap their five-game win streak. As always, I will take a look at the performance of all four rookies, their snap counts, PFF grades, and a clip or two of their play from the Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Week 12 – At Cleveland Browns
C Zach Frazier
Snaps: 69 on offense (100 percent), 0 on special teams
PFF Grades: 61.8 overall, 20.3 pass block, 72.5 run block
Frazier has been pretty solid snapping the football this season. Some snaps weren’t on time because of miscommunications with Justin Fields, but the placement has been solid. He unfortunately picked the worst time to have a bad snap. To be fair, it was in blizzard conditions, but putting one over Russell Wilson’s head turned a 2nd and 6 in the red zone to a 3rd and 13 to settle for a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Otherwise, he had his worst pass-blocking performance of his young career. He hadn’t allowed a sack all season, but he did in this game. He also allowed four total pressures, which is double the next-highest game of his career so far.
Here is the untimely bad snap in the fourth quarter.
ILB Payton Wilson
Snaps: 31 on defense (53 percent), 12 on special teams
PFF Grades: 79.7 overall, 68.7 run defense, 76.4 coverage, 77.7 tackling
After a few games of less usage for Wilson, he was heavily involved in the defense against the Browns. He was a strong tackler and posted another solid performance after his career-best game last week. He was just shy of an 80.0 overall grade. He was a sound tackler and did a good job in coverage, allowing one reception on two targets into his coverage for four yards. His rookie performance continues to trend up for the Steelers.
In the play below, he does a nice job coming around the edge and stopping Nick Chubb for a one-yard gain.
OG Mason McCormick
Snaps: 69 on offense (100 percent), 4 on special teams
PFF Grades: 50.8 overall, 75.7 pass block, 44.4 run block
Mike Tomlin got on McCormick’s case this week to drill into him the significance of the No. 66 jersey he wears in Pittsburgh and the legacy he needs to live up to. He has done a great job for a fourth-round rookie so far, and Tomlin’s tough love towards him as a Steelers rookie speaks volumes about what they think of his potential.
I am encouraged by his progression with certain aspects of his technique. Earlier in the season, he had a problem standing straight up and letting his feet get too narrow, which limited his functional strength at times. In the play below, he does a nice job of keeping a wide base and not giving up his leverage by standing straight up.
CB Beanie Bishop Jr.
Snaps: 21 on defense (36 percent), 10 on special teams
PFF Grades: 68.5 overall, 62.0 run defense, 79.1 coverage, 73.1 tackling
Bishop had one of his best days in coverage, allowing just six yards on one reception with two targets into his coverage. Given how Jameis Winston was dicing up the defense at times, that isn’t a bad performance at all.
He does a nice job of closing on Elijah Moore and tackling the catch on the one reception allowed into his coverage.
