Despite the win, not everything was great for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. While there were plenty of excellent individual efforts, other players struggled. And with only two preseason games left to go, there’s no time for huge mistakes. Here are the players or positional units that their stock took a hit at the midway point of the preseason.
Chukwuma Okorafor
Chukwuma Okorafor has looked poor at offensive tackle so far this preseason. Coming off a two-penalty performance in the first game of the preseason he worked with the starters against the Chiefs. He played right tackle while starting right tackle Matt Feiler kicked inside to guard. But during the Steelers first possession, he got absolutely no movement at the point of attack. James Conner ran behind him for a short gain on a drive that amounted to a three and out.
His pass-protection has been even worse. Mason Rudolph, the Steelers starting quarterback for the game, got the ball out quickly with Okorafor protecting his right side. But his lone sack took place on the Steelers’ second drive when Okorafor was beaten around the edge by Chiefs defensive end Alex Okafor. While Okorafor isn’t fighting for a roster spot and is solidified on the depth chart, it was evident that he was a weak link on the offensive line.
Steelers tight ends
The Steelers knew what they were getting when they traded for Vance McDonald. Ball security has always been the knock on McDonald. He already had the highest drop rate among tight ends in the NFL when the Steelers traded for him. But he’s an outstanding athlete and can be dynamic in the open field when he takes care of the ball. That wasn’t the case in his first action of 2019. He had one catch and one fumble. Not a good start to the season. It ended up not affecting the Steelers because the ball rolled out of bounds. But with McDonald’s history of poor ball security, this was a disappointing debut.
Xavier Grimble looks like he’s going to secure the second tight end spot on the 2019 Steelers roster, but he had a poor showing as well. Grimble, who’s considered a pass-catching tight end was targeted three times, but only managed one reception for 13 yards. Usually, the Steelers have a run-blocking specialist as one of their tight ends. Matt Spaeth comes to mind. Heath Miller was an asset as a blocker and a receiver. Grimble can’t expect to see the field if he’s going to be a liability in both the running and the passing game. Hopefully, he’ll bounce back, but the Steelers looked low on talent at the tight end position.
Josh Dobbs
I didn’t think Mason Rudolph starting against the Chiefs signaled that there was a battle for backup quarterback on the Steelers roster. Dobbs is the more proven commodity, he’s more dynamic with his feet, and has at least some NFL experience. But Dobbs went 6/11 for 95 yards and an interception in the red zone against the Chiefs. Which essentially left the door open for Rudolph to make a run at the backup quarterback spot.
Maybe Dobbs was under orders to stay in the pocket to avoid injury because this was a preseason game. Mobility is a highly coveted asset at the quarterback position. Chiefs all-pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a first down while he was on the field. Dobbs is as mobile as they come but doesn’t seem to be able to make defenses pay for not respecting his speed.
They aren’t defending him like a running quarterback in the mold of the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. Dobbs’ hesitation to pull the ball down and break the pocket, along with a red-zone turnover make him a player with a lot of tools. But they haven’t led to him being as effective as he needs to be.
