Each week, the Post-Gazette will recap the most interesting Steelers player grades released by Pro Football Focus, the scouting website that evaluates players’ performance on every play of every game. You can read more about the methodology here. For context, players are graded on a 0-100 scale.
Kenny Pickett (74.0), Mitch Trubisky (71.7) and Mason Rudolph (70.2)
Debate has already raged about which quarterback had the best night Saturday against Seattle. And the scouts say it was the rookie from Pitt. His critics would be correct to argue that he wasn’t doing much downfield. His average depth of target (ADOT) was just 5.5 yards. And he didn’t have any throws that PFF graded as “big time,” rated among the best throws leaguewide in a given week. He was, however, very consistent in completing 13 of his 15 attempts, and he didn’t have any throws graded as turnover-worthy, either.
Trubisky, meanwhile, was probably hurt most by his lack of action. He threw just seven passes across two drives before giving way to Rudolph. So it’s hard to put too much weight on his mark. As for Rudolph, he earned the trio’s only big-time throw of the night — the 26-yard scoring play to rookie George Pickens — but was also responsible for the only pass graded as turnover-worthy. He can hang his hat on an ADOT of 10.1, signaling that coaches are a little more comfortable letting him look for targets downfield.
George Pickens (91.2)
The hero of the training camp practice field at Saint Vincent College showed he could be a statistical freak, as well. His grade was fifth-best among receivers leaguewide during Week 1 of the preseason, and only one of the four in front of him saw more than Pickens’ five targets. He averaged 3.07 yards for all of his 14 routes run. For context, Diontae Johnson led the Steelers in that category last season at 1.89. And his ADOT across his five targets was an eye-popping 22.2. The long touchdown catch certainly helped in that regard, but a number that high is only possible if quarterbacks are consistently looking for a receiver in the second and third levels of a defense. That’s a good sign for the rookie, even if the total volume of 21 snaps probably wasn’t enough to draw any hard conclusions. For now, at least, the numbers seem to be backing up the eye test.
Tre Norwood (82.8)
The second-year defensive back hasn’t earned the plaudits many of his offensive counterparts did, but the scouts loved him. He played the most snaps of any defensive player Saturday night and still posted the unit’s second-best grade. In 29 coverage snaps, he was targeted four times and allowed zero receptions, which added up to a very solid coverage grade of 77.5. And he was versatile, taking snaps at corner and safety spots. He’s one to keep an eye on to see if he keep it up for the rest of the preseason.
Among corners, newcomer Levi Wallace (70.9), James Pierre (69.6) and Arthur Maulet (66.9) also had productive nights in extended playing time to make the secondary the defense’s strongest position group by far.
Devin Bush (34.2)
Familiar territory for the fourth-year linebacker and former first-round pick, who struggled through much of 2021. He only played 15 snaps, but the scouts didn’t like many of them, grading him as the defense’s third-worst player ahead of just Carlos Davis (31.7) and Chris Wormley (30.1). And his 29.0 grade in run defense was the worst on the team. Not good news for a unit that has a lot to fix in that facet and was hoping to get a lot more from Bush.
The good news for him — and the bad news for first-year coordinator Teryl Austin — is that his primary competition for the second inside linebacker spot alongside Myles Jack struggled, too. Robert Spillane’s grade was just 45.5 in 20 snaps on the evening. His 65.0 run defense grade was markedly better. Poor coverage was the trade-off, though, as he earned just a 44.2 grade across 12 snaps in that department.
Add it all up and it was an ugly night across the board in run defense. Only Cincinnati (36.0), Carolina (35.0), San Francisco (32.5) and Seattle fared worse than the Steelers did at 36.3. Granted, there were a lot of big names not playing, including Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. Still, it was an inauspicious start for a unit that has to be better.
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.
First Published: August 15, 2022, 3:08 p.m.
Updated: August 15, 2022, 3:23 p.m.
