LATROBE, Pa. — Practice wasn’t over when reports surfaced that Kenny Pickett was snapping a first-team offense during practice at training camp on Tuesday. Pickett, who just had a good run in the preseason opener against Seattle in Pittsburgh, SteelersPenultimate practice of the camp.
So what did he do?
Tuesday’s practice ended with a two-minute drill between the Steelers’ starting units. The drill began with the Steelers offense facing second and fifth from their own 47-yard line with 1:01 on the clock. Pickett ran the first team offense, but Mitch Trubisky, who attended the rest of the practice, was absent from this part of the practice.
Pickett started the drive with quick completions to Chase Claypool and Nagy Harris. He then had an incomplete throw on a deep try to Pat Freyelmuth that brought TJ Watt down (Watt vainly claimed his pressure should have counted as a sack). Pickett rebounded and rookie wideout George He stole the ball to Pickens, who had less than 20 seconds left to put the ball inside his 20-yard line.
A short completion from Pickett to Pickens sets the end zone path ending the drill. Both passes fell short of the mark. Pickett couldn’t hit Pickens, who was double covered in the back of the end zone, but beat Claypool as time expired.
Mason Rudolph experienced similar results when it was his turn to perform a drill. Working with the second-team offense, Rudolph moved the offense into the red zone before hitting the wall, the Steelers’ secondary.
Pickett also received a job in the Steelers’ seven-shot drill (a seven-play drill from the 3-yard line). The offense started off slow, with back-to-back scoring passes from Trubisky evening the score at 2-2. Pickett entered the fifth play and thumped Anthony McFarland with a short score. He then stood tall under pressure before running into a diving Conor Hayward in the end zone. The offense completed a 5-2 win when Rudolph hit receiver Tyler Bones (the recipient of the winning score against Seattle on Saturday night) for the score.
Drill’s star was tight end Frey Ermut, who regularly lined up in a slot on the near side of the field alongside Dionte Johnson during seven shots. Having been a very productive player during his rookie season, Fryams is excited to see what this year’s rookie class will do once the regular season begins.
“Rookies are the best,” Freihermut said after practice. “We get along well, we are all young and there is a good camaraderie in the team now.”
As far as pickets go, the Steelers’ first-round pick continued to show signs of progress during practice Tuesday. Trubisky remains Pittsburgh’s favorite starting quarterback, and Pickett continues to work at his own pace while strengthening his relationship with the first-team offense.
Here are some other notable Steelers tidbits from Latrobe.
rookie vs all pro
The aforementioned Pickens faced former All-Pro free safety Minka Fitzpatrick many times one-on-one. Pickens initially won comments from his coach, Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, as he beat his older teammate.
“Let him do his job, GP!” Tomlin yelled at the young wideout.
Fitzpatrick reacted quickly and hit a comeback pass for Pickens. Tomlin, who has coached numerous talented young wideouts during his 16 years as a Steelers coach, wasn’t ready to see the Pickens-Fitzpatrick matchup come to an end.
“Fourteen, I’ll be back!” declared Tomlin.
Pickens, whose star rose considerably during camp, responded by catching a short pass after selling a deep route. The training seemed to have the desired effect for Tomlin.
“Ask George, do you know what I mean?” When asked about the match, Tomlin smiled. “The exposure wasn’t for Minka, it was for George.”
Backup running back Benny Snell practiced Tuesday after missing the previous practice session with an injury. Snell looked sharp on Tuesday, putting in some impressive runs while also being involved in the passing game. The four-year veteran is looking to hold off the competition behind him, which includes Jaylen Warren and recently signed Master Teague.
Snell continued to work after practice was over, doing extra work on the Jag Machine.
harvin’s big day
Second-year punter Presley Harvin III had several booming punts, including one near 70 yards. What Harvin faced with his 2021 seventh-round pick Some challenging moments as a rookieincluding the loss of his father and grandfather over the course of two weeks.
Robinson “Rocks” McFarland
Rookie seventh-round pick Mark Robinson’s arrow continues to point north. Three days after his strip sack and fumble recovery set the score for the Steelers’ victory against Seattle, Robinson erased his pass from the screen during practice Tuesday. He simply held off McFarland, but stopped a speedy backdead in his footsteps while showing impressive recognition for someone who didn’t start playing linebacker until his final year of college.
not everyone’s buddy
The lone turnover of the day was submitted by linebacker Buddy Johnson, who, like Robinson, is trying to move up the depth chart. The former Texas A&M standout pulled Rudolph out at the end of Tuesday’s practice. Having appeared in just his four games as a rookie, Johnson is looking to make a bigger impact this season.
Johnson showing his presence
It was hard not to notice Johnson during Tuesday’s practice. Johnson did nothing out of the ordinary during practice, but Johnson was very vocal for two hours. .
“Go for that comfort!” Johnson yelled at the secondary after the first-team’s two-minute practice.
Johnson then did more work after practice. Johnson, who wore a sweatshirt despite the heat, caught a series of balls in an attempt to capitalize on his campaign in last year’s Pro Bowl.
There was one more notable thing about Johnson’s practice. As noted above, Johnson regularly lined up alongside the 6-foot-5 Frei Elmousse during seven shots. It could be a sign that something is going to happen to the enemy’s defense when the regular season begins on September 11th.
