As the 90-man rosters are now set, the information to begin examining training camp battles is here. You can also see positions the Pittsburgh Steelers may want to upgrade this year. We will look through the Steelers roster and see who will make the team. Also, we will see where they stand in terms of playing time for the 2016 season and beyond. Reasons to hold on to these lower-end players vary, and some may be able to make a future impact as players come and go via free agency. This edition will look at the defensive tackle position. The Steelers will likely carry two defensive tackles.
Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Tackle Depth Chart Projections
1. Javon Hargrave
Hargrave was the third round pick by the Steelers in the 2016 NFL draft. Still, he seems to have the clearest path to playing time of any of the rookies. He fell in the draft mainly because of where he went to college. A South Carolina State product, he does not have the big school reputation that is tied to many top draft picks. Still, in his time at SCSU he was arguably the best defensive player in the country. He put up 29.5 sacks and 45 tackles for loss in his last two years.
The question will be how much time does he get in the nose tackle position in the 3-4? The Steelers will go to the sub-package defense a lot as that is the way the NFL is trending. He will rotate in with Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt as interior pass rushers in sub-packages. It is the best fit for him, and appears to be why the Steelers drafted him.
Still, they will need to go to the base defense at times. They will need to stop the run with a defensive front of three players. That will be the big test for Hargrave to take over the middle. If he is able to stop the run he will play the vast majority of the interior snaps. If not, he will be rotated throughout his rookie season. Either way, there seems to be really high expectations for the third round pick.
2. Daniel McCullers
McCullers is a former sixth round selection in the 2014 draft. He was seen as a project when he was drafted from Tennessee. Unfortunately it does not look an NFL starter will come from this project. He was unable to beat out Cam Thomas for snaps last year, and saw the field for just nine percent of the time. The Steelers would have played him a bit more if they had interest in him being closer to a starter this year.
Hargrave should see more snaps than McCullers from the start. Still, McCullers should see a jump in snaps this year also. If Hargrave is to struggle on early downs against the run it would be ideal to throw McCullers out there. At the worst McCullers is a house to move and a guy who can jam the middle at 6’7″, 325 pounds. The Steelers will need to get some type of use out of him this year. If he can get on the field on limited snaps as a run stopper it is at least something.
Competition
McCullers job will be pretty safe this summer however. Ricardo Matthews can play on the interior, but as mentioned the lack of depth on the ends makes him a major need for one of those spots. Roy Philon is on the roster and will be the most competition for McCullers. Philon is an undrafted free agent from 2014. He has been on the Steelers, Lions and Bears roster in his first two years. It would be unlikely to see him unseat either of these two players for a spot on the team. Still, the line is the weakest position on the team in terms of depth, and the Steelers should be on the look for anyone cut late in the summer.
