PITTSBURGH — The first week of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organized team activities is in the books, and Mike Tomlin said he was “excited about the participation and the engagement” at the voluntary sessions, even though there were a handful of players who decided not to attend.
Cameron Heyward did not show up for any of the three days. Nor did two other veterans, who cannot be disclosed by the media unless a player confirms their absence, but neither should cause much of a fuss in the front office.
One thing that is evident about Heyward’s absence: Nobody cares. That’s not a negative. His teammates and coaches are well aware of what type of person and player he is, and doing what’s best for him trumps anything else at this point of the offseason.
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Even if he doesn’t show up at mandatory minicamp in June, or if his holdout continues into training camp and the preseason, you won’t hear a negative word about Heyward. Where it would get dicey is if his absence bleeds into the regular season and affects the greater good of the team.
Knowing Heyward and how the Steelers operate, that’s not going to be an issue.
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“Cam’s a guy with over 10,000 plus career snaps,” Tomlin said. “It’s probably an easier day for me with him not being here. It thins the lines out and gets to know some people that I know less than him.”
OTAs aren’t overly productive, so if you expect a definitive answer on just about anything at this point, you will be disappointed.
Still, there was more than six hours of on-field time this week. What stood out? Here are some observations, all with the giant caveat that it’s only May.
1. Wilson on point
All eyes were on Russell Wilson, and rightfully so. There wasn’t much to glean, but there were a handful of competitive, scrimmage-like periods over the week.
You can criticize all you want about Wilson’s game and decision-making over the past couple of years, but you cannot question his arm talent. At age 35, he will make you take a second look when he throws the ball. The accuracy was spot on this week, whether in warmups, drills or competition periods, including a 70-yard bomb in stride to Quez Watkins on Thursday.
“That’s what he’s been doing his whole career, and I just want to be one of his guys,” Watkins said after Thursday’s practice.
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2. Mastering the fundamentals
Speaking of Wilson, the Steelers’ quarterbacks worked often on play-action fakes, and his ability to make a pass look like a run was quite noticeably better than the others. You can see from the first week that play-action is going to be a significant part of the offense. Yes, we knew that with Arthur Smith as the coordinator, but the team would be foolish not to take advantage of Wilson’s gift.
3. Wilson’s favorite target?
It’s hard to not notice the connection that Wilson and Pat Freiermuth had. The two had a throwing session in San Diego earlier in the spring, which might have helped. But I couldn’t tell you how many times Wilson and Freiermuth connected over three days.
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The tight end caught a touchdown on a Seven Shots drill, which he confirmed afterward, but more than that, Wilson seems to have the most trust in him right off the bat. Freiermuth is healthy, entering his contract year and finally has an accurate quarterback and an offensive coordinator who will highlight the tight end. He could have a breakout year.
“One thing about Russ is that he demands communication,” Freiermuth said. “We have to adjust that and understand our role.”
4. The battle at WR2
It’s the first week, but the WR2 spot is wide open in my eyes. Watkins, Calvin Austin III and Marquez Callaway each did some good things, and Van Jefferson looks steady as hell. Is that enough? Who knows now? If the Steelers don’t add a legitimate veteran No. 2 receiver via trade before the season, the battle in training camp and the preseason will come down to who is the most consistent. That just might be Austin, but don’t count out rookie Roman Wilson. He is quick as a hiccup.
Steelers rookie WR Roman Wilson running through change of direction drills pic.twitter.com/xINcNA16sb
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) May 23, 2024
5. Checking in on the RBs
Najee Harris looks trim, and Jaylen Warren looks jacked. Warren looked jacked at this time last year, too, but he hadn’t put on any weight. Amazingly, Warren is the back who can break the long run, and Harris is more of the short-area quickness guy, despite their disparate body types.
6. Faulkner back to business
You can’t tell from watching running backs coach Eddie Faulkner that he was passed over for the offensive coordinator position after being a co-interim coordinator for the second half of last season. Faulkner was as engaged as I have seen, which can’t be easy considering he was told he wasn’t what the team wanted in a play caller. The same goes for Mike Sullivan, but that has to be a little easier to swallow considering he got a promotion (senior offensive assistant) rather than returning to his old job (quarterbacks coach).
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7. Veterans on the edge
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith attended all three of the OTA sessions. It might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but just watching those two work at their craft has to have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the defense.
T.J. Watt working on improving his pass rush win rate at OTAs pic.twitter.com/VikusSdDk1
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) May 23, 2024
8. Too early to read into OL
It’s been well-documented that rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu has played right tackle the first three days (behind 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones), and veteran Dan Moore Jr. has been at left tackle. Don’t read into that at this juncture.
For a rookie, this part of the offseason is for teaching and getting acclimated to playing offensive line in the NFL. Fautanu even said his head was swimming after a couple of practices. If it remains that way in and throughout training camp, then you can start reading into where he lines up.
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9. Give Fields some time
I loved that Justin Fields said he doesn’t plan to hold the clipboard all season. Fields is learning, and you can tell that when he’s on the field. That’s OK. I’d be more worried if Fields was happy being Wilson’s backup than saying that he is approaching the position as a competition.
10. One under-the-radar hole
There are concerns at wide receiver and maybe depth on the defensive line, but nothing I saw in the first week told me that the starting slot cornerback is currently on this roster. It doesn’t appear Donte Jackson will be that guy, so even if the Steelers do bring in Patrick Peterson, that’s the position that needs to be monitored. Josiah Scott confirmed he worked as the first-team slot during the week, so that’s the jumping-off point at the position.
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(Photo of Pat Freiermuth: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
