PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers open 2023 NFL training camp Wednesday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Here’s a closer look at a few storylines:
Biggest question: Can Kenny Pickett pick up where he left off at the end of the 2022 season?
Pickett is primed for the Year 2 jump after finishing the season with five touchdown passes to one interception over his final seven games. It’s hard to measure improvement in a camp setting, but things like scoring in Mike Tomlin’s signature "7 shots" drill -- a period that simulates two-point conversions -- and launching (and completing) more deep shots in team periods are good barometers of Pickett and the offense’s evolution.
Not only is this season pivotal for Pickett, but it’s also a critical one for offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who enters the final year of his contract. Though the offense got better after the midseason bye, the Steelers still mustered a league-worst 12 passing touchdowns. Pickett has plenty of high-caliber weapons in Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens. It’s up to Canada to work with Pickett to use them.
The most compelling position battle: Left tackle
The Steelers traded up to draft Broderick Jones in the first round, but that doesn’t mean he’s an automatic Day 1 starter. Incumbent left tackle Dan Moore Jr. maintained his first-string spot through OTAs and minicamp, but the two will renew their competition in training camp. Moore has 33 starts under his belt since being selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2021 draft.
The line has been lackluster, and Moore allowed a league-worst 85 quarterback pressures and 19 quarterback hits in that time. But offensive line coach Pat Meyer praised Moore during minicamp, suggesting Moore is well positioned to battle Jones for the starting job. “Dan’s been unbelievable throughout this whole experience,” Meyer said in June. “He’s improved as much as anyone I’ve been around.”
Player with the most to prove: Calvin Austin III, WR
Austin is the pick here only because he didn’t get any experience last season after experiencing a training camp injury that led to surgery and kept him out for his entire rookie year. There are big hopes for Austin, though, and he could give the Steelers another dimension in the receiving game as a true slot receiver with much-needed speed. The 5-foot-8 Austin ran a 4.32 at the NFL combine after a standout career at Memphis that began when he joined the team as a preferred walk-on.
Austin also has the opportunity to take over returner duties after Steven Sims departed in free agency. The Steelers will likely audition Gunner Olszewski at returner, but he struggled last season and fumbled twice, leading to Sims taking over. If Austin wins the return job out of camp, it could mean the end of the road for Olszewski in Pittsburgh -- but the beginning of a more dynamic return game for the Steelers.
Most impactful offseason addition: Let's go with two -- Isaac Seumalo, OG, and Markus Golden, OLB
The argument for Seumalo is an easy one. The former Philadelphia offensive lineman is an instant boost to a run game that didn’t get going until the second half of the 2022 season. Meanwhile, on the defensive side the most impactful addition isn’t one of the Steelers' new starters. Instead, it’s a key depth player in Golden. The Steelers haven’t had a reliable third outside linebacker since T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree and Alex Highsmith were all on the roster -- and it’s not for lack of trying.
Two years ago, the team signed Melvin Ingram to fill that rotational spot, but he expressed frustration with the reduced role and was traded before the deadline. In late August 2022, the team added Malik Reed via trade from the Broncos. He appeared in 14 games in his lone season in Pittsburgh but finished the year as a healthy scratch in the final games. Golden gives the Steelers both a better insurance policy and the flexibility to use the kind of three-linebacker packages that were effective for Watt, Highsmith and Dupree.