Steelers’ Week 1 Training Camp Impressions: New DBs Impress Early; Justin Fields, WR, on Track

Pittsburgh Steelers training camp week is in booksWhen the team returns to the practice fields Tuesday at Saint Vincent College, the shin guards should be on and the intensity will be up.

Here are some observations from the team’s first week of training he got acclimatized until the early stages of the 2024 season.

• Russell Wilson gives really good press conference and enthusiastically signs autographs.

Other than that, there’s not much to say about the Steelers team. new quarterback because he got injured calf while pushing a sled during the fitness test on the first day.

Why what was necessary for the 35-year-old quarterback to do, I have no ideaAre there any plans for Wilson to lead the block on Justin Fields in a two-quarterback formation or something like that?

Perhaps under different circumstances Wilson would have hesitated to do so. But given his attempts to improve his image, which distinguished him from the rest of the team and treated himself as one of his own own corporations playing in Denver and Seattle, I’d wager Wilson did everything he could to “just be one of them.”

Then the injury happened. As a result, everyone He he did it Some light individual work and side throwing.

The Steelers love to promote the narrative that every rep counts in training camp. Well, after a week of practice this year, their new offense, with a new coordinator, a bunch of new wide receivers and potentially two new offensive linemen, hasn’t had a chance to work with new starting signal.

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• Justin Fields is Exactly as advertised.

Athleticism and creating a game ability to use legs Is 100% true, but equally inconsistent are the passes. Sometimes he throws a perfectly placed line or a pass in the red zone with a touch. Other times the ball comes out wide and off target.

His best shot of the day usually comes after his worst shot of the day, or his worst shot of the day comes after his best shot of the day.

Not to mention, were a lot of pieces This would result in dismissal if Fields was he was allowed to be held up during training because the ball didn’t come out when it was supposed to be released.

On Sunday, however, Fields and the offense arguably had their best day in the red zone, scoring on six of seven plays in the “Seven Shots” drill.

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• The new defenders made an impression.

Veteran secondary additions Donte Jackson and DaShon Elliott have been notably strong, while undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop has excelled at multiple slot assignments.

“I feel like I had a pretty good OTA and minicamp,” Bishop said. “I I knew I’d get some reps. So many repetitions, I wasn’t sure. I can hide well. I am a great player. These are the skills you must have “play the slot machine.”

Elliott often makes plays at the line of scrimmage, moves into the defensive zone and handles coverage duties well in the middle of the field. Jackson repeatedly broke up passes and was often stuck with George Pickens when He has left assigned to cover him one on one.

In addition, Jackson had first interception of the camp during team drills on Sunday. Aside from slipping on a deep touchdown bomb that Fields threw Wednesday, Jackson showed why the Steelers thought he was worth bringing aboard from Carolina in exchange for Diontae Johnson.

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• This wide the target group is as we expected.

Apart from Pickens, no one else made the Steelers reserve list. Really stands out as a serious threat. So far, in practice, that’s still the case. None of the players in this group have Really emerged as someone who was going to be main target opposite Pickens in 2024.

Although it’s not like any of them have been bad. Van Jefferson, Marquez Callaway, Quez Watkins, Calvin Austin III and rookie Roman Wilson have all taken turns playing when called upon, and it’s not like any of them seem like fish out of water entirely.

Then again, with so many balls being thrown to tight ends, it’s hard to tell at this point. Pat Freiermuth has been very busy. So has Connor Heyward. MyCole Pruitt created Great on Sunday he caught the ball with one hand and on Friday he scored a touchdown.

After underperforming in his first two seasons, Austin was a force to be reckoned with, catching balls in various areas of the pitch and appearing to be more talented quarterback and running back in his third year of play.

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• The defense does a good job of deflecting passes beyond the line of scrimmage.

Or, perhaps more accurately put, Fields and the rest of the Steelers’ quarterbacks need to do a better job of avoiding passes. get hit back in their faces. Cameron Heyward, TJ Watt, Logan Lee and DeMarvin Leal have all engaged in the street party at training camp so far.

Fields showed how to adjust Sunday, throwing several passes in motion. One went to Scotty Miller for a “Seven Shots” touchdown. Another went for a big gain after Jaylen Warren made a deft one-handed catch.

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• Leal flashed Very for the first few days of camp.

He looks like a player who is just starting out, facing rookies and reserves.

“I wanted to start off well, keep going and building from there,” Leal said Friday. “I’ve learned so much, I can’t even begin to tell you. I can Just to talk This I grew up, AND I am Here.”

This was advertised as make or break year for Leal. Entering his third camp, the Texas A&M product was always an intriguing prospect. But the Steelers were never able to fully unlock his toolbox, and 24 years old he coped with A lot injuries.

However, if Leal stays healthy and productive, he could provide some benefits very much needed depth and pressure on the passer along the defensive line.

Also in the second wave along the first seven, after nice in his rookie season, Nick Herbig came back a bit in his second year greater (he says he was “three or four pounds” heavier) and spent much of the first two or three days of practice disrupting play at the line of scrimmage.