The Pittsburgh Steelers open up their preseason slate Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks.  There are several Steelers players we are looking forward to watching, but these seven in particular are the ones we will be paying close attention to:

1.  Mitch Trubisky:

There is no player more key to the overall success of the Pittsburgh Steelers than Mitch Trubisky.  Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and for the first time in twenty years this organization will not have Ben Roethlisberger under center.  It’s early, but a good performance by Trubisky would go a long way in giving this team a positive outlook for 2022.

2.  George Pickens:

No Steelers player has created more buzz this off-season than George Pickens.  He has been electric so far in training camp.  All eyes will be on this rookie receiver to see how he performs in a game setting.  The sky is the limit for this talented wide receiver.

3. Devin Bush:

We all expect this Steelers defense to be very good in 2022.  But to be great, they will need the best version of linebacker Devin Bush.  Unfortunately news from training camp has him on the verge of losing his starting job to Robert Spillane.  These next few preseason games could make or break Bush’s career as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

4.  The entire starting offensive line:

We are cheating a little here by lumping this entire group into one, but how this unit plays is vital to the success of this team.  The Steelers beleaguered offensive line had what we thought were some significant upgrades this off-season.  So far through camp however, the results have been much the same as last year.  It will take some time for this rebuilt line to gel, so we hope to see some positive steps on Saturday night.  Especially from newcomers James Daniels, and Mason Cole.  

5.  Calvin Austin:

Small, shifty, and speed for days Calvin Austin should provide plenty of excitement for the Steelers this season.  This entire wide receiver core should be incredibly fun to watch, but no player has the potential to be as exciting as Austin in the open field.  Hopefully we get a flash or two of that skill on Saturday from this talented rookie prospect.

6. Mark Robinson:

We already discussed the issues at inside linebacker with Devin Bush.  On the other end of the spectrum Mark Robinson has been turning some heads at training camp.  https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/allsteelers-plus/pittsburgh-steelers-takeaways-jaylen-warren-mark-robinson-impress

This rookie only has one year of experience playing inside linebacker in college.  The converted running back still managed almost 100 tackles last season at the University of Mississippi. He is raw and inexperienced, but from what we hear he is holding his own in training cap.   Robinson’s chances of making the final 53 are slim, but don’t completely count him out just yet.

7.  Chris Steele:

Admittedly we have a little invested in this undrafted free agent as we have him making the team in our latest 53 man roster prediction.  Steelers 53 man roster prediction: The pre-camp edition

Corner is not exactly a stacked position for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In Steele the team has a physically gifted athlete who was a big recruit coming out of high school.  Steele has been making noise in camp with a couple of interceptions.  Here’s to hoping Pittsburgh caught lightning in a bottle with this player.  We will be watching him closely.