The first post-draft event of the offseason took place this weekend, with the Steelers hosting their rookie minicamp. It includes Pittsburgh’s 10 draft selections, as well as a host of undrafted free agents and tryout bodies. While it was scheduled to run through Sunday, Mike McCarthy explained why the Steelers are wrapping things up after practice on Saturday.
“It’s been an extremely productive couple days here. The rookies will conclude tonight. We felt it was important for them to be home for Mother’s Day, and then we’ll start with those guys with our veterans on Monday. Very pleased with the amount of work and the quality of work that we’ve been able to accomplish with these young men. We’ve taken a very slow approach. I’ve kind of gone to this format probably the last 10, 12 years,” McCarthy said Saturday via a team-provided transcript. ” So far, they’ve passed the mental challenge that we’ve thrown in front of them.”
There were some notable storylines coming into camp. At the quarterback position, Drew Allar took all the reps as the only quarterback present at camp this weekend. Predictably, one of the biggest things McCarthy was working on with Allar was his footwork. But the young quarterback seems to have passed the first test. Speaking after practice, McCarthy mentioned he was pleased with Allar, and that the quarterback left a “good first impression” on him.
Another storyline was the offensive line. It’s something of a game of Tetris at this point, with many names being able to play in different positions across the board. One early fan-favorite is Gennings Dunker, who played tackle at Iowa, but looks to be shifting to guard at the NFL level. The Steelers were starting Dunker out at left guard this weekend, a position he seems to be competing for along with Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman.
Of course, there are eyes on the Steelers’ first-round pick, Max Iheanachor, as well. He played right tackle at Arizona State, but there’s been speculation that he might be moving to the left side at the NFL level, with Troy Fautanu playing well on the right in 2025. However, the Steelers kept him on the right side during camp this weekend.
With the Steelers rookie minicamp in the books, the next notable event is OTAs. Those start May 18th. For now, McCarthy is giving the Steelers a slight break ahead of Mother’s Day tomorrow.
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