Rookies get work as camp ends
Tomlin wants to make sure young players are ready for position battles
The Steelers completed the spring phase of their offseason with the final practice of mandatory minicamp Thursday afternoon, and coach Mike Tomlin ended the week just as he did the previous three, with an emphasis on giving the younger players an opportunity to get repetitions.
“We talked very openly at the beginning of this thing we weren’t going to distribute reps evenly; we were going to distribute them appropriately,” Tomlin said. “We just felt like the young guys needed additional reps to gain experience, to display know-how, to gain and display conditioning, all the things that will put them on even footing and allow all 90 men to compete in Latrobe. That’s been our focus.”
Steelers players have the next five weeks off before reporting to Saint Vincent College for training camp July 25. They’ll head to Latrobe with a veteran-laden team, but several rookies and other young players will be counted on for big contributions.
Devin Bush, the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, is likely to start at inside linebacker. Receiver Diontae Johnson, a third-round pick, and running back Benny Snell, who was taken in the fourth round, also will vie for roles. Justin Layne, another third-round pick, and a slew of other draft choices and undrafted free agents will be competing with veterans for roles on special teams and spots on the 53man roster.
“I left them with the message that they have to show up ready,” Tomlin said. “We’ve outlined that in detail about that means for each guy. Rest assured, conditioning and readiness has to be the most significant element of their time here in the upcoming weeks.”
In all, there are nine rookie draft picks and 10 undrafted free agents among others who will be pushing veterans later this summer.
“I learned a lot about them, not necessarily in an evaluation-type way, but how they learn, their level of conditioning, their skill set,” Tomlin said. “But it’s more about their learning styles and learning capabilities more so than the evaluationlike things.”
One theme of the spring was the improved locker room culture without Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Offensive lineman David DeCastro said earlier in the week it was a “weird offseason with a lot of things.” That’s one way to put it, but he also made it clear he was happy the locker room was free from the drama that enveloped it in recent years.
“You can’t judge chemistry or culture until you’re faced with adversity,” Tomlin said. “At this time of the year all 32 teams are undefeated and unscored upon. There was some good teaching and learning. The journey itself is the indicator of that, some of the adversity the journey provides. Obviously, when you’re in a training camp-like setting, and it’s highly competitive and physically and mentally challenging, that will be the first real adversity this team sees.”