The Pittsburgh Steelers entered camp with depth concerns at defensive tackle and wide receiver. They leave with unexpected standouts at both. Ray Fittipaldo’s three biggest camp risers all came from those spots.
“I’m gonna go Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, Yahya Black,” Fittipaldo said via The North Shore Drive podcast on Post-Gazette Sports’ YouTube. “When we think about risers, it’s kinda like guys who are maybe surprises or maybe you weren’t expecting it the way we’ve seen it with these guys. It tends to be guys who are maybe on that roster bubble or guys like Roman Wilson, who has a spot on the team but their role was undefined. So for me, those are the three biggest names that come to mind.”
If you look back to the very first 53-man roster prediction that we published in May, Alex Kozora left both Miller and Black off it. Miller wasn’t even on the roster at the time, and Black didn’t seem like a lock as a fifth-round rookie.
Black leaves camp as a lock, and Miller is close behind him with a strong case to make the team. It goes to show you how important the spring and summer can be for roster construction.
Wilson was always going to make the team, but there were questions about how much he would actually play behind Calvin Austin III in an offense that will use a lot of two- and three-TE sets. Now Wilson is starting to look like a bona fide No. 2 WR with strong performances over the Steelers’ first two preseason games.
Outside of DK Metcalf, Scotty Miller may have formed the strongest connection with Aaron Rodgers and the other quarterbacks of any receiver on the roster. He caught 18 of his 25 targets throughout camp for 273 yards and three TDs. And he has caught all six of his preseason targets for 85 yards, including receptions of 22 and 23 yards to add explosive playmaking to the Steelers’ offense.
As for Black, it felt like he was batting down passes almost every day at training camp with those long 35-inch arms. His preseason performances have also proven that he can use his length as a weapon with much better hand usage than expected.
He played with the first-team defense at times throughout camp and should factor into a rotational role as an early-down run stopper as a rookie. His potential looks much higher than the fifth-round pick spent on him. Brian Baldinger has already labeled him the “steal of the fifth round.”
Camp began with depth questions. It ends with the Steelers finding three answers.
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