The Pittsburgh Steelers have released their latest depth chart ahead of Week 4’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland.
steelers-week-4-depth-chart-VikingsThere weren’t many changes overall, other than OG Max Scharping being removed after his season-ending injury that landed him on IR. The same should have happened with DE Isaiahh Loudermilk going to IR and DE DeMarvin Leal being called up, but Pittsburgh failed to make that change. They have an open spot on the 53-man roster. The Week 6 depth chart after the bye should have at least one new player listed.
What is more notable is the changes that weren’t made.
Jabrill Peppers played more snaps than Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark in Week 3, but he remains a third-team safety, even behind Miles Killebrew on the depth chart. Team insider Mark Kaboly expects Peppers to continue in a larger role, especially once DeShon Elliott returns from injury.
It’s a similar story with ILB Cole Holcomb. He started the game over ILB Payton Wilson and kickstarted the barrage of turnovers with a forced fumble early in the game. Holcomb played 37 snaps to Wilson’s 35. They will likely change the division of labor from week to week depending on the opponent. If they need to shut down the run, Holcomb will get more burn and vice versa with Wilson to shut down the pass.
Keeanu Benton remains the starting nose tackle despite his struggles so far this season. NT Daniel Ekuale played quite a bit and represented himself well. DT Yahya Black didn’t play much nose tackle, but that remains a possibility later in the season. Some think it’s only a matter of time.
Finally, RB Kaleb Johnson is still listed as the secondary return specialist on the kick return unit. He didn’t play a single snap in Week 3 despite getting a helmet on game day.
The Steelers don’t micromanage their depth chart and only release one because it’s required by the league. But that means when an update is eventually made, it will carry even more weight. Some of the changes outlined above might eventually be made when that happens.
