Steelers fans who had long sought major changes got what they asked for this offseason. But who on the roster has the most to gain? Which players may have, to some degree, fallen through the cracks of the old coaching staff who may benefit? Albeit somewhat reluctantly, Bob Labriola offered some names in his latest Asked and Answered segment.
One reader asked Labriola for his thoughts about which Steelers players might benefit most from the coaching change. After Mike Tomlin’s resignation, the team hired Mike McCarthy, new to the Steelers but not to Pittsburgh or to this stage. While he provided a paragraph’s worth of caveats, he finally settled on three. Unsurprisingly, two of them are also names Alex Kozora recently highlighted.
“The best way for me to try to answer your question is to point to a couple of guys I believe could benefit from a fresh start: WR Roman Wilson and RB Kaleb Johnson”, he wrote. “Add Will Howard because he’s a second-year quarterback who didn’t even take a snap in a preseason game as a rookie, and McCarthy has a reputation as an offensive-minded developer of quarterbacks”.
Many Steelers fans and beat writers—and perhaps coaches, too—expected Roman Wilson and Kaleb Johnson to have bigger roles. Wilson was a second-year player, albeit following a rookie season of virtual anonymity. Johnson plays a position that’s regarded as relatively easy to transition into the NFL.
That’s not how the season played out for either of the Steelers’ most recent third-round picks, however. Nor did even the plans for sixth-round QB Will Howard go as planned. After all, he spent most of his rookie season sidelined with a hand injury. In that case, there wasn’t much that had to do with the coaching staff.
Of the three players, Roman Wilson may well have the most to lose if the Steelers’ new staff can’t help him. Going into his third season and losing the playing time he had gained, he is trending in the wrong direction. Kaleb Johnson, as a rookie, can’t be a shock if he failed to contribute immediately, even as a running back. Will Howard was never supposed to play, anyway, but he barely practiced.
With former Steelers OC Arthur Smith gone, all the Steelers’ pass-catching players should be happy. Especially the wide receivers, who lost playing time to tight ends. But Wilson also lost playing time to Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, so it’s not that simple.
Johnson played very limited snaps, only showing rare glimpses of his talent. That was partly because the Steelers already had the running backs they needed. Jaylen Warren will return, and presumably, they will endeavor to re-sign Kenneth Gainwell.
There are already very positive signs for Will Howard, of course. He is one of the few Steelers players new HC Mike McCarthy has actually mentioned. He spoke of the second-year quarterback glowingly and seems to see great potential in him. Of course, he has barely seen anything of him, since he barely did anything last year.
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