Player: TE JJ Galbreath
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Rookie TE JJ Galbreath has an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, but he’s going to give it hell. After drawing buzz in the spring, he is already turning heads in the early days of training camp. An athletic pass-catching tight end, he is managing to make plays, even if with the lower strings. In a deep tight end room, he should still find a spot on the practice squad, at least, if he keeps it up.
Everyone loves a training camp darling, and the Steelers might have one in rookie free agent TE JJ Galbreath. An athletic player with a good build, he is showing out during the first couple days of camp. He is also making himself useful on special teams, which would be essentially to his 53-man roster bid.
On the penultimate rep of the first Seven Shots drill of camp, JJ Galbreath hauled in a pass from QB Will Howard to tie the score at 3-3. That prompted HC Mike Tomlin to bring back the first-string units for the tiebreaker.
Galbreath spent time with Howard during the spring taking extra reps after practice, the young guns trying to maximize their chances of making the roster. At that time, Howard praised the rookie tight end, but others are noticing him, too.
Since signing him, the Steelers have thrown a major hurdle in his way. Previously, he was battling Connor Heyward for the third tight end spot. Then Pittsburgh traded for Jonnu Smith. If JJ Galbreath makes the roster, he has to do so as the fourth tight end—and knock Heyward off. While he might have more chops on offense, Heyward is a special teams mainstay.
For what it’s worth, Galbreath isn’t working only with Will Howard. He did, in fact, catch a pass from Aaron Rodgers yesterday, showing some YAC, as Alex Kozora noted, even if it was against DeMarvin Leal dropping into coverage.
With training camp underway and the Steelers exploring their new roster, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
As we speak, we are in the process of learning what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re in camp. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
