You cannot understand the importance of evaluations that take place during NFL preseason games. For fans it isn’t always the most entertaining football but for the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff, every snap of these games is crucial. This week the Steelers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first preseason game of the season and we personally can’t wait to see some of these young players in live action.
Here are four positional units we want to keep a close eye on this Friday.
Free safety
With Sean Davis dealing with a finger wound it has been primarily Kameron Kelly taking first-team reps. But on Wednesday we saw rookie P.J. Locke in that spot and Marcus Allen is listed at the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart. All three guys should see snaps this week and we really want to see someone step up and give some confidence in the safety depth chart.
Tight end
Pittsburgh desperately needs to find a true No. 2 tight end over the next month. Right now the depth chart is basically Vance McDonald and a bunch of guys, all with glaring flaws. The player we are most anxious to see if Christian Scotland-Williamson who is in his second season. It’s also his second year of playing American football after coming over from England last year as part of the league’s International Player Pathway. He’s a ridiculous athlete and we can’t wait to see him play.
Outside linebacker
It’s highly unlikely T.J. Watt or Bud Dupree play Friday which will give us all a good look at Ola Adeniyi and Sutton Smith. Both guys are crazy explosive and should provide some exciting plays. Pittsburgh needs to find some pass rushing in their outside linebacker rotation and Adeniyi, in particular, has the skills to do it.
Wide receiver
Other than JuJu Smith-Schuster every wide receiver on the roster is fair game for snaps on Friday. The reason we want to watch is to see who actually plays and who plays big. There’s a chance Diontae Johnson and Donte Moncrief won’t be able to go with not only opens things up for the wide receivers but doesn’t make like easy on the young quarterbacks trying to throw the football.
