Rookies’ work begins at home
Virtual learning can’t replicate on-field drills
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin sometimes refers to the NFL’s organized team activities (OTAs) phase of the offseason as “football in shorts.” It’s an annual cautionary tale for reporters that any grand takeaways from the spring practice sessions should be taken with a grain of salt.
Tomlin’s point, in essence, is making judgments about players when they’re not in pads is pointless. Real football (and real evaluation) begins in training camp.
But for rookies, OTAs and minicamp are important aspects of their development. It’s how they learn playbook terminology, develop chemistry with teammates, and, most important, get on-field reps.
And without it this spring, the 2020 rookie class is facing a set of challenges no other rookie class has had to endure.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak Steelers rookies still haven’t set foot in their new city. Relationships with coaches and teammates are being forged in a virtual setting, highlighted by a rookie minicamp this weekend, but it’s a far cry from what they would experience in a normal year.
“It’s definitely different,” said receiver Chase Claypool, the Steelers’ secondround pick. “There are a couple of different websites we have to go to get in and out of our meetings. We have an iPad that has some of the basic terminology and concepts, but not the entire playbook, so it’s kind of hard to dissect it that way. That’s what this rookie minicamp is for.
“We have to troubleshoot things every day because there’s always some audio issue or something. It’s definitely a unique experience.”
Rookie minicamp started Friday and runs through Sunday. Friday, there was a meeting with Tomlin, followed by specialteams meetings and then meetings with position coaches. The rookies were supposed to participate in OTAs in a couple of weeks with the veterans, but those plans were canceled due to the pandemic.
“We [dived] into the playbook about a week ago so this is my second time going through the installs,” said defensive tackle Carlos Davis, who was selected in the seventh round. “I’m just trying to fine -tune everything and dive into the defense.”
But the rookies won’t be able to completely dive in with on-field work anytime soon.
Claypool is working out in his native British Columbia with his longtime trainer Eddie Ferg. Claypool is able to train on the field, and he works out in a weight room five days a week. He talked of coming to the states “soon.” There are tentative plans to work out with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the other receivers, but no one knows when it will happen.
“Ben has a group chat going, and he said as soon as we can get together we are going to get together,” Claypool said.
In the meantime, Claypool is taking what he is learning from the playbook and walking through some concepts on the field with his trainers. His routine stands in stark contrast to what took place with another Steelers rookie receiver a year ago.
Diontae Johnson, the Steelers’ thirdround pick in 2019, burst onto the scene
with an impressive array of catches in those “football in shorts” practices. Not only did the OTAs aid in his understanding of the playbook, but he quickly gained the trust of his quarterbacks by proving to have a dependable set of hands.
“It’s different being able to show him I can be consistent, that he can rely on me, show him I can retain information,” Johnson said last year around this time. “I’m trying to get that connection down with Ben. It’s crazy to me. It’s a big moment for me. I used to watch him growing up. Now I’m here with him. It’s different.”
Johnson applied what he learned in the spring and used it as a springboard to an excellent rookie season.
Claypool’s only interaction with Roethlisberger to date has been through text messages and phone calls. He and the other rookies hope to have some semblance of football activities with teammates before training camp, but it’s not going to be the same as the usual month’s worth of practices at the team’s South Side facility.
The past two weeks has been a bit of a different experience for Davis. He is going through the NFL’s first virtual offseason with his twin brother Khalil, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are living at their parents’ home without access to a weight room. Resistance band work is the substitute for free weights.
When it’s time for the virtual meetings with their respective teams, the brothers set up shop in different spots in the house and do the best they can to familiarize themselves with their new teams.
“There is a little uncertainty with not being able to be there,” Carlos Davis said. “I’m just focusing on learning the playbook. When we do get there I just want to go to work.”