Rookies could be key for Steelers
PITTSBURGH – The Steelers expected their rookie class to make an impact this season.
Linebacker Ryan Shazier, the team’s top pick, was immediately thrust into the starting lineup on the opening day of mini-camp, while defensive end Stephon Tuitt, a second-round selection, was viewed more as a situational player.
As things have developed, the Steelers, who enter their bye week at 7-4, have received big contributions from their rookie class. But from unexpected sources.
Shazier has missed six games, including the past two, with knee and ankle injuries, and Tuitt has been unable to get on the field for more than a handful of plays in every game.
But wide receiver Martavis Bryant and nose tackle Daniel McCullers, selected in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, have played larger parts in recent weeks.
Bryant has scored six touchdowns in his first five games since being inserted into the rotation at wide receiver, so it’s been easy to see his growth.
The contribution of McCullers hasn’t been quite as obvious, which is hard to believe considering that at 6-7 and 352 pounds, he’s the biggest man on pretty much every football field on which he has ever set foot upon.
McCullers was part of a makeshift defensive unit in the Steelers’ 27-24 victory at Tennessee last Monday. Six players were missing for various reasons who were in the opening day starting lineup.
The Steelers expect those contributions to continue.
“Martavis, he’s going to be one of the keys to how far we go,” said Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. “I truly believe between him and Big Dan, they’re going to be key. We’re going to rely on the veteran guys, they guys who are in their prime, like (wide receiver Antonio Brown). Those guys, we know what they’re going to do from week to week. I think for us, those two young guys are going to help us a lot.”
McCullers became the first rookie to start for the Steelers on their defensive line since Casey Hampton in 2001. He stepped in for Steve McLendon, who was out with a shoulder injury.
“He was a great player, a great nose tackle for the Steelers,” said McCullers. “To be in the same group as him is a good thing. I just want to keep working to get onto his level someday.”
McCullers did not record a tackle for the Steelers, but helped limit Tennessee to 49 rushing yards on 15 carries, a 3.3-yard average.
“Overall, I did pretty good,” said McCullers. “I got good push on a couple of plays.”
The Steelers could see a number of their injured defensive players, including Taylor, return to practice Monday, when they begin preparations for their Nov. 30 game against New Orleans at Heinz Field.
“We have a lot of guys that are on the cusp of coming back from injury,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “Hopefully, they will be on the other side of that as we come out of this thing and get back to playing football.”
McLendon and Shazier will be two of those players. Safety Troy Polamalu, out the past two games with a knee injury, is another. Taylor has an appointment Monday with team doctor Jim Bradley to see if he will be cleared to return from a forearm fracture that has sidelined him since Sept. 21.
But that doesn’t mean McCullers will head back to being a weekly addition to the team’s inactive list on game days as he has been seven times already, something he admits has been difficult because he loves to play the game.
McCullers and Bryant have shown they can be contributors for the Steelers in their final five games as they make a push toward the playoffs.
“Big Dan, he’s got a future,” said Taylor. “He’s one of the few humans that big, that strong, that athletic that can play football, let alone walk on the earth.
“There’s not many guys his size walking the earth.”
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was named FedEx Ground Player of the Week for his 204-yard rushing performance against the Titans. … With heavy snow shutting down much of Buffalo, the NFL considered moving the Bills’ home game against the New York Jets Sunday to Heinz Field but has since crossed Pittsburgh off the list because the venue will host four WPIAL championship games today and a Pitt-Syracuse game Saturday.