Steelers training camp sleepers for every offensive position
That time of year is here once again! It’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to convene at Saint Vincent College for their 51st training camp at that location.
With an expanded 90-man roster heading into camp, which is due to be trimmed to only 53 players (plus a practice squad) it felt like a natural time to get ahead of the game and start thinking about who isn’t making headlines but could stand out in the crowd.
To simplify matters, I picked a “sleeper”, or underrated player, at each major position group. (Sorry kickers and punters, you don’t count here!) As I went down the list of names, there were some easy picks; some are rookies, others are veterans, but all were overlooked.
Note: Before I get flack for my quarterback pick, as I always do when I bring up this name, keep in mind there are only four on the roster! Ben Roethlisberger isn’t a sleeper by any means and Bart Houston… they don’t call these guys “camp bodies” for nothing!
OL – Ethan Cooper
Standing 6’2″ and weighing 322 pounds, Cooper won’t have much room to hide when training camp breaks, but the former IUP lineman is someone you should keep an eye out for. He’s much in the same vein of recent undrafted offensive linemen such as Chris Hubbard and B.J. Finney; it may take a year on the practice squad to bring Cooper up to speed, but he has the tools to become yet another college free agent who sticks with the unit.
Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva are other undrafted offensive linemen in the Steelers system who panned out to be starters. With Mike Munchak coaching the offensive line, Cooper has the potential to be a future find. Equally telling is that Cooper is the only offensive lineman the Steelers added to their roster via free agency or the draft this season.
QB – Landry Jones
Jones isn’t a name who screams sleeper, but the honest truth is that many Steelers fans aren’t giving him enough credit for his development over the years. Securing a new two-year contract this offseason, it’s unlikely that Jones will lose hold of his backup job to QB Ben Roethlisberger, even with the addition of Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft.
Dobbs will require the similar seasoning Jones did to transition from college to the pros; not only learning the playbook but familiarizing himself with the speed of the game. It’s that learning period which makes Landry a sleeper, even for the segment of Steelers Nation who thinks he should be gone.
RB – Knile Davis
With all of the fervor over Le’Veon Bell and James Conner, most fans have forgotten that the Steelers added another veteran running back to the roster this offseason: Knile Davis.
The former Kansas City Chiefs back has experience as a starter. He was shipped off to Green Bay in a trade last season, as the Packers were running back poor (due to injuries) and the Chiefs were running back rich (with Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West). He was waived by Green Bay after a few weeks with the team, claimed by the Jets (who cut him a day later) and then re-signed by the Chiefs before becoming a free agent this offseason.
The volatility surrounding Davis’ movement from team-to-team in 2016 makes him a sleeper; it’s his kick return skills which could see him make the 53-man roster as a special teams ace, but his experience is what could see him receive a small amount of carries over Conner early in the regular season.
WR – Justin Hunter
Martavis Bryant is back. Sammie Coates is (or isn’t) going to be healthy. JuJu Smith-Schuster could be a second-round steal for this year’s draft. Antonio Brown received a long-term deal to make him a Steeler for life. Eli Rogers feels better than ever. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Cobi Hamilton are traveled veterans and Demarcus Ayers enters his second season with the Steelers.
What name is missing on this list? Justin Hunter.
The former Titans second-round pick is a 6-foot-4 target receiving very little attention after Pittsburgh added him to their roster shortly after the free agency period began. Hunter hasn’t lived up to his second-round billing with the Titans, Dolphins, and Bills, but he has the size and the speed (4.36s 40-yard dash) to make opposing defenses pay attention.
Hunter could be the ultimate sleeper in a stacked receiver room. Imagine adding his size and speed with those other names mentioned and you can see how having Hunter on the field would give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares.
TE – Scott Orndoff
Following the release of Ladarius Green, the Steelers tight end depth chart is a little on the light side. There’s third-year pro Jesse James, journeyman Xavier Grimble (entering his second season in the NFL and with the Steelers) and veteran David Johnson, who acts as more of a blocking back.
Whether or not there’s an additional spot for another tight end will be up to Orndoff’s camp and preseason performances. The willing blocker is also a capable pass catcher who went undrafted in a year where there was a logjam at his position in terms of talent.
This could create an opportunity for Orndoff to sneak onto the final 53-man roster should the Steelers keep with their previous depth chart pattern from the last few seasons, where they retained an extra fullback-type player in addition to the traditional fullback. In 2016, those two players were Johnson and Roosevelt Nix, with Nix pairing alongside Will Johnson the previous season as the team still held onto three additional tight ends (Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth and Jesse James in 2015… Green, James, and Grimble in 2016).
The depth of talent at wide receiver and a hotly contested defensive back camp battle are the only things that could change the Steelers mind about keep an extra tight end on the roster. Should they stick with one more as usual, Orndoff is the early sleeper to win the spot.
