Steelers 2026 Training Camp Diary: Day Seven - Steelers Depot

A lengthy and team-period-heavy day at Saint Vincent College on Thursday. Let’s talk about what went down. A reminder there’s a summary/recap near the bottom of the post for those who don’t have time to read through all of today’s notes. We’re happy once again to have Len Testa and TouringPlans.com as our Steelers Depot training camp sponsor. TouringPlans uses math and science to help families save time and money at theme parks like Walt Disney World and Disneyland. You’ll find a crowd calendar showing the best days to visit each park, step-by-step plans to avoid hours waiting in lines, views from every hotel room, and big discounts on theme park tickets.  If you’re planning a trip to Disney, this is the team you want to work with. Reach out to TouringPlans via their website at the link here. – Injury roundup: DL Logan Lee missed his third day of open practice. Presumably, he sat out yesterday’s closed session, too. It’s still unknown what injury he’s dealing with. Rookie RB Eli Heidenreich didn’t practice today for similar unknown reasons. He did some stretching with the PUP guys early in practice and watched throughout. As I mentioned in Tuesday’s notes, OG/OT Steven Jones was injured midway through the last open practice. He didn’t practice today. No status change for the three on the Active/PUP list: CB Donte Kent, CB Joey Porter Jr., and DB Jalen Ramsey. The most notable moment was Ramsey tossing his black cleats to fans along the fence line as he made his way back to the facility (about 10 after noon) after completing his rehab work. Ramsey walked the rest of the way to the facility in his white socks. A kind gesture. SS DeShon Elliott was again limited but worked at least a little bit during the team period. Defensive lineman Cam Heyward got the day off and helped Domata Peko a bit with d-line drills on the far field during a stack/shed drill on the blocking sled. The in-practice injuries. Two of them to note. CB Brandin Echols suffered a left ankle injury after an awkward landing during a 7v7 drill. Head trainer Gabe Amponsah immediately came over and attended to him. Echols stayed down for a few minutes before walking around the near end zone and getting his left ankle iced and propped up on a Guardian Cap/helmet for a while. He later watched the rest of practice while standing. Hopefully, all a good sign and something similar to CB Darius Slay’s ankle sprain last year, which ended up being minor. Rookie OT Max Iheanachor was injured after the first contact team period today. It’s unclear how it happened or the exact nature of the injury. It looks like a neck/shoulder issue, possibly on his right side. I first noted Amponsah walking with Iheanachor during the ensuing special teams period. They made their way to the left-corner end zone of the near field next to where the offensive linemen were working drills. Amponsah and someone else I didn’t recognize spent time examining him. Iheanachor spent time working out his right arm and at one point grimaced as he tried an arm circle. He also occasionally pointed at his left shoulder, making it hard to know exactly the area of his injury. After roughly 10 minutes, the trainers walked away, and Iheanachor stood in the back of the end zone without his helmet while watching the rest of the o-line go through drills. He briefly spoke with teammates like Brock Hoffman and Troy Fautanu. Then, another trainer, I believe Sonia Ruef, walked with Iheanachor up the path and stairs and into the facility, passing Logan Lee, who was coming down the path at that time. Iheanachor’s day was done. Without Mike McCarthy speaking post-practice, we won’t have more information until Friday morning, barring any reporter offering an update. – New S Israel Mukuamu will wear No. 30, replacing the digits of CB Ahmari Harvey, whom the Steelers waived to clear roster space. Harvey struggled to see reps throughout the start of camp. Mukuamu has a corner and safety background but worked today at safety and even mixed into team drills. – Another sunny and warm day of practice. Rain may be in the forecast tomorrow, and it’ll be interesting to see if the team moves to the indoor facility. If so, that’ll be closed to fans in the stands like me. – RB Travis Homer took the field even earlier than usual. He walked out at 10:07 today for the 11 AM practice, basically even beating the staffer who gets the JUGs machines loaded and ready. The staffer walked out of the tent behind the end zone to get it set up. LB Payton Wilson was next out at 10:24, with T.J. Watt early to the field at 10:26. – Some walkout pairings: QB Mason Rudolph and OG Mason McCormick, OG Spencer Anderson and OT Max Iheanachor, K Chris Boswell and TE Robert Tonyan. – Kaleb Johnson signed a couple of autographs before walking down to the field. Michael Pittman Jr. took plenty of time to sign for and take selfies with fans. – Doug Nester continued to work with the centers pre-practice. As a new add-on, the running backs joined them to take simulated handoffs as the rest of the team went through stretch line. – Several young defensive linemen getting a couple of reps on the blocking sled after walking down to the field before practice officially began: Kyler Baugh, Gabriel Rubio, Anthony Goodlow, and Kevin Jobity Jr. – During the initial install/on-air reps with just the offense, RB Rico Dowdle took the first three reps. Still, throughout practice, he and Jaylen Warren traded off starting playing time. – First-team o-line unchanged in warmups. Second-team: Broderick Jones-Brock Hoffman-Ryan McCollum-Gennings Dunker-Max Iheanachor (pre-injury). After Iheanachor left, Jack Driscoll got the jump-in reps and worked with the 2s, primarily at left tackle with Broderick Jones flipping to right tackle. Third-team line: Doug Nester-Lorenzo Thompson-Greg Crippen-Gennings Dunker-Jack Driscoll. Dunker double-dipping with lines thin. – During the walkthrough portion of team period, the first team session of the day, Max Iheanachor got some work with the 1’s at right tackle with Dylan Cook at left tackle. Pittsburgh continues to mix and match its o-line to prepare for any front-five combination. Later, Brock Hoffman got a couple 1st-team reps at right guard between Zach Frazier and Dylan Cook. Before going down, the Steelers ran a “Dart” scheme with Iheanachor, the backside right tackle, pulling to lead the way. – Mike McCarthy continues coaching and working with the “2s’ to spend as much time as possible with Will Howard and Drew Allar. – It’s interesting that despite Robert Spears-Jennings opening with the 1s during the contact-team periods, he worked with the 2s during the walkthrough. Sebastian Castro and Jack Henderson were with the 1’s today. New safety Israel Mukuamu worked with the 2s. – Actor Joe Manganiello was on-hand for practice today, sitting in a chair in front of the new building that’s been built behind/beside the fields. – Defensive assistant Shawn Howe put the d-line through change-of-direction drills. Patrick Graham watched. Graham later worked with the EDGE rushers on a hoop drill, showing how he wanted each player to dip/rip around a bag held by DL Coach Domata Peko while turning the corner. Graham continues to work closely with the d-linemen and pass rushers. The pass rushers later had to hit a blocking sled, flip around, and tackle a giant tackle wheel (looks like this but black in color and larger) while landing on a big yellow mat to break their fall. After that, two pass rushers would run the hoop at nearly the same time. The first would go, followed one second later by the second. Sort of a “chase the rabbit” drill. – Rookie Riley Nowakowski worked with the tight ends during the individual period today. Mukuamu worked with the safeties as did Devan Boykin, who has split between corner and safety throughout camp. – Haven’t noted him much, but rookie TE Lake McRee made a nifty, one-handed snag behind him during one of the on-air individual drills. – Field goal kicks and kickoffs were today’s focus. Chris Boswell went 2-of-2 on his field goals, connecting on a pair of short ones from 29 and 32 yards out. Rookie Laith Marjan got an extended look today and went 5-of-6. He connected from 39 yards, 41 yards, 43 yards, 46 yards, and a long of 52 yards, showing a better leg than he did the other day. His lone miss came from 48 yards, his kick long enough but thudding off the right upright and falling back into the end zone. – In the kick-return period, Kaden Wetjen and D’Shawn Jamison served as one pairing with Kaleb Johnson and Roman Wilson the other. New WR Jakobi Keeney-James stood in the back of the end zone, but I don’t think he took an actual rep. I was distracted by Iheanachor’s unfolding injury situation, though. – OL/DL notes in their pass-rush drill. They didn’t break it up into 1s and 2s today, so I didn’t have to pick a group. Perhaps because injuries are making the lines a little bit shorter. 1. Troy Fautanu seals Alex Highsmith. 2. Ryan McCollum stops Esezi Otomewo’s spin move, Otomewo falling backward into McCollum by the rep’s end. 3. Zach Frazier anchors against Yahya Black’s bull rush. 4. Nice job by Spencer Anderson to mirror Dean Lowry as he tries to rush inside. 5. Late rip at top of the arc by T.J. Watt sheds Dylan Cook, but Cook held his own here. 6. Nick Herbig dusts Jack Driscoll (as a LT) around the edge. Unfair fight. 7. Bull/rip by Anthony Goodlow on Lorenzo Thompson with Goodlow’s punch jolting Thompson back. 8. McCollum stays square and anchors against Kevin Jobity Jr. 9. Broderick Jones hops out of the way as Brock Hoffman rides Derrick Harmon’s outside rush/swim upfield. 10. Jack Sawyer shows good power to beat Broderick Jones inside. 11. Fautanu rides Jamin Davis’ outside rush upfield for the win. 12. Kyler Baugh’s tip/spin doesn’t work against Hoffman. 13. Greg Crippen mirrors Jobity’s outside rush. 14. Having trouble reading my notes here but think I have Doug Nester winning against Jobity here. 15. Easy win for Cook against Julius Welschof. 16. Fautanu misses his chop initially against Malik Harrison, rushing from the ROLB spot. Harrison gets his punch into Fautanu, knocking him back, but Fautanu stays square to the block. 17. Sebastian Joseph-Day with a good bull rush into Mason McCormick, who bumps into adjacent lineman Zach Frazier at the start of the rep. 18. Sawyer swim-to-dip gets by Broderick Jones. 19. Driscoll seals Welschof up the arc. 20. Otomewo with an initial push on his bull against Nester, who pushes back in the end. 21. McCollum anchors against Gabriel Rubio’s bull rush. 22. Harmon walks back Anderson, who hangs on, but it’s a good rep from Harmon. 23. Rep of the day from Dylan Cook against Nick Herbig. Not fooled by Herbig’s inside head fake, he seals him to the outside. Cook got a lot of props from teammates for winning the rep. 24. Thompson mirrors Joseph-Day’s inside-spin move. 25. Thompson flash/bait hand, but Joseph-Day fires his hands and gets into Thompson’s pads on a bull rush, shoving him back. 26. Nester anchors against Rubio’s bull rush. 27. Goodlow gets under Crippen’s pads with a good long-arm rush. 28. Jobity initially swims over Dunker, but Dunker recovers well to get back into the fight. 29. Dunker mirrors Jobity’s inside rush. – The Monday Night Football music blared to signal a “Mojo” moment that’s a staple of McCarthy’s camp practices, which he’s now dubbed “Franco” moments in honor of the late Franco Harris. Working third/fourth down. 1. Derrick Harmon and Sebastian Joseph-Day the d-tackles. Asante Samuel Jr. and Jamel Dean the cornerbacks. Robert Spears-Jennings and Jaquan Brisker the safeties. Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Rico Dowdle at running back. Rodgers wants to throw right side, but Watt leaps and throws both hands up to swat the pass at the line of scrimmage. 2. Rodgers skies a pass to Roman Wilson down the middle. Catches it to beat Brandin Echols for the score, but an offensive penalty nullified it. May have been on Dylan Cook for holding T.J. Watt around the right edge. Still a good throw and catch. 3. Offense backs up due to the penalty. Fourth down. Rodgers hitches up and hits WR DK Metcalf over the middle, working between Spears-Jennings and others for a first down and good gain. 4. Esezi Otomewo and Dean Lowry the d-tackles. Jack Sawyer and Nick Herbig the EDGEs. Rayshawn Jenkins and Jack Henderson at safety with D’Shawn Jamison at LCB and Doneiko Slaughter in the slot. Mason Rudolph in at QB. Rudolph completes a dig to WR Ben Skowronek, securing the catch before Jamison can knock it away. 5. O-line of B. Jones-Hoffman-McCollum-Dunker-Iheanachor. Rudolph hitches up in the pocket and completes underneath and over the middle to WR Brandon Smith. Sebastian Castro greets him with a thud. 6. O-line of Nester-Thompson-Crippen-Dunker-Driscoll. Lake McRee in at tight end with Kaden Wetjen split out wide right. Will Howard in at quarterback. Good pass complete to A.T. Perry on the right side. 7. Tamon Lynum at LCB and Daryl Porter at RCB. Malik Harrison and Jacoby Windmon at ILB mugging up the A-gaps at the line of scrimmage. The pocket collapses on Howard, and he can’t step into the throw. Wetjen does a nice job of adjusting and grabs the ball off his shoelaces for the completion. 1. Offensive line of Fautanu-McCormick-Frazier-Anderson-Cook. D-line of Harmon-Black-Joseph-Day. Brisker and Spears-Jennings at safety, Queen and Wilson at inside linebacker. Jaylen Warren carry up the middle. He dragged a few defenders as he muscled his way upfield. 2. Warren another carry. Spears-Jennings fills the lane with gusto as Devan Boykin makes first contact with Warren. He bounces off it and into Queen’s arms, who got under Warren’s pads and stopped him cold around the line of scrimmage. 3. Rodgers boot right. Complete to Max Hurleman with Daryl Porter and Wilson thudding him. You have a mix of backup receivers and DBs because they were rotating due to the 7-on-7 drill on the other end of the field. 4. Jack Sawyer and Nick Herbig the EDGE rushers. Rico Dowdle gets the carry. Payton Wilson is the first one to get hands on Dowdle as he spins out. 5. Lew Nichols carry left side. Jack Henderson and others in on the stop. 6. O-line of Driscoll-Thompson-Crippen-Dunker-B. Jones. Kaleb Johnson carry right side. Alex Highsmith from his LOLB spot beats Jones inside and stuffs Johnson. 7. D-line base trio of Goodlow-Baugh-Jobity. Drew Allar in at QB. Jamin Davis comes in free from his ROLB spot to tag Travis Homer for a loss. 8. Toss right to Dowdle. Baugh keys and flows to the ball well, tossing Dowdle down. Nowakowski the lead blocker on this play and got a piece of Spears-Jennings coming downhill. Warren carry left side. Spears-Jennings the first to touch him while Jenkins is more forceful, popping Warren near the play’s end. 1. Harmon at LDE, Black at NT, Joseph-Day at RDE. Watt at LOLB, Highsmith at ROLB. Queen and Wilson the ILBs, Samuel and Dean at CB. Brisker the safety in the box with Elliott jumping into team on this rep. Flag after Troy Fautanu false starts. He gets pulled and Jack Driscoll enters. Dowdle carry up the middle. Harmon crashes through and makes the stop at the LOS, engulfing Dowdle and picking him up before setting him down. 2. Escort swing right side from Rodgers to Warren. Slaughter comes down to pop him goos. Skirmish post-play with Ben Skowronek hot and Payton Wilson tugging his jersey while Skowronek was on the ground. 3. Mason Rudolph checks in. Warren up the middle with a cluster of defenders closing on him for just a few yards. 4. Rudolph boots out. Pittman is the primary read, but he’s covered, and Rudolph has to dirt the football. 5. Tamon Lynum at LCB, Daylen Everette at RCB, Doneiko Slaughter at NCB. Will Howard at QB. O-line of Driscoll-Hoffman-McCollum-Dunker-B. Jones. Kaleb Johnson carry left side. Not much there for him. 6. Play-action. Sawyer beats Broderick Jones around the edge. Pressure is all over Howard, who gets flushed out and tries to run right before the coaches blow the play dead to end things. 7. D-line of Otomewo-Rubio-Lowry. Nowakowski in at fullback. Lew Nichols up the gut. Jacoby Windmon pops him in the hole. A good jolt. 8. Jamin Davis at LOLB, Julius Welschof at ROLB. Windmon and Harrison at ILB. Drew Allar under center. Kaleb Johnson the back with Robert Tonyan and Jaheim Bell at TE. Allar looks for Hurleman left side. Daryl Porter drives well to dive and knock it away. 9. Rodgers checks in. Group gets to the line, and Rodgers wants to motion one of the wide receivers over. They can’t get on the same page, so Rodgers, with a sigh you could feel from the bleachers, re-huddles the group. They get back to the line. Rodgers hard count. Dylan Cook flinches and false starts. Cook gets yanked for Broderick Jones, and the offense backs up with a third huddle ensuing. Finally, they get the play off. Dowdle toss left side. Some space as he cuts up left side. 10. Rodgers good pass 15-ish yards down the left sideline. Complete to Metcalf with Dean covering but unable to knock it out. Pittsburgh had three outside linebackers here with Watt and Highsmith on the line of scrimmage and Herbig playing off it, dropping into coverage. This was second down, not third, so we’re seeing the package evolve beyond obvious passing situations. Something to file away. 11. Draw to Warren. Holcomb flies through with Fautanu sealing him off. Brisker fills alley for the pop. 12. Rayshawn Jenkins and Robert Spears-Jennings the safety duo. Asante Samuel Jr. and Daylen Everette the corner pairing. Nowakowski in at fullback. Rudolph play-action. Rolls left and hits Roman Wilson left side, Wilson coming back to the ball and working away from Everette. Good pass and catch. 13. Ball on the offense’s 35. Highsmith and Watt at OLB with Herbig off-ball. Queen and Wilson at ILB, Samuel and Dean at CB, Brisker and Spears-Jennings at S. Brandon Smith and Germie Bernard the receivers with Rodgers under center. Warren the back. Rodgers completes right side to Smith. Highlight here was Warren’s blitz pickup, stoning Herbig and putting him into the ground. Warren had fun with it, putting his arm around Herbig after the play was over. Textbook pass pro to keep his quarterback clean and allow him to complete the pass. 14. Rodgers shotgun toss to Warren right side. Samuel closes space from his left cornerback spot with Warren hurdling over a mess of bodies. Hurleman and Watt had to get untangled after the play, but they were okay. 15. Rudolph heaves a deep pass to Metcalf right sideline. Gains a step on Samuel but Brisker shows range to bat the ball out of bounds. Nice rep. 16. Travis Homer carries right side. Payton Wilson on the stop, and he seemed pretty fired up about it while walking away from the play. 17. Bernard and Tonyan get pulled for a pre-snap infraction. Skowronek and Hurleman replace them. Mukuamu at safety. Kaleb Johnson carry right side. Jenkins fills and is the first man there. 18. Will Howard checks at the LOS. Jamison and Everette the CBs. Jenkins and Mukuamu at safety. Otomewo-Rubio-Lowry along the d-line. Nowakowski at fullback. Play-action. Howard has nothing downfield and checks down to Nowakowski, who gets bumped down by Malik Harrison and Everette. 19. O-line of Driscoll-Hoffman-McCollum-Dunker-B. Jones. Allar in at QB and sprints left. Sebastian Castro blitzes from behind, and Allar’s throw is short of Hurleman in the left flat. Incomplete. 20. Henderson and Castro at safety. A.T. Perry and Germie Bernard at WR with Nowakowski, going in motion, and Tonyan the tight ends. Nichols carry up the middle. Otomewo and others take him down. 21. Harmon-Black-Joseph-Day along the d-line. Rodgers play fake. Wants Dowdle short left but Joseph-Day tips the pass and Dowdle can’t bring it in. Nice play by Joseph-Day, who makes the “tipped pass motion” with his hands above his head to let everyone know. 22. Freiermuth the tight end. Rodgers fakes the gun run to Warren and throws around an unblocked Watt from his LOLB spot, the read player, complete to Freiermuth in the right flat. Samuel trips him up by his ankles and takes him down, putting his hands up to signal he shouldn’t have tackled him. 23. Play-action. Receivers, including intended target Michael Pittman Jr., think it’s a run, and Rudolph has no outlet. Dirts the ball and it’s incomplete. 24. Black and Joseph-Day the d-tackles. Jamison at LCB, Everette at RCB, Slaughter in the slot. Freiermuth split out wide. Rudolph complete to Skowronek right side with Jamison thumping him as Skowronek heads out of bounds for a couple yards. 25. O-line of Driscoll-Hoffman-Crippen-Nester-B. Jones. Hoffman pulls left to right, but Windmon crashes downhill and helps stop Homer at the line of scrimmage. 26. Allar boots out. Pressure from Jobity in his face. Allar just has to get rid of it and throws to no specific target. 27. Devan Boykin at safety. Lew Nichols picks up the blitz with Jobity dropping into coverage on the other side. Nice read and throw from Allar to Tonyan for about a 10-yard gain with Castro tagging him. 28. Samuel and Dean on the outside with Slaughter in the slot. At receiver, Roman Wilson in the slot with Metcalf and Pittman on the outside. Rodgers rolls right and throws off platform deep down the middle. Ball hangs a bit. Brisker reads it but misjudges slightly and is under the ball. It slips through his fingertips, changing the path of the ball, and Roman Wilson can’t make the grab. Long way to say “it was incomplete.” 29. Mason Rudolph in at QB. Nowakowski Y-off. Warren up the middle. Joseph-Day on the run stuff. Nice pick/rub route with Metcalf setting the pick and Pittman running underneath free to the flat, making the catch with open space as he moves down the right side. 30. Nowakowski at FB. Play-action. Sawyer runs in free for an easy would-be sack. Rudolph completes to TE Darnell Washington, who makes a nice grab away from his body for a short gain. 1. Ball on the offense’s 45. Dowdle carries up the middle. Yahya Black gets off Zach Frazier’s block to collect him. 2. Rodgers completes to Freiermuth on a crosser working left to right. Slaughter with the thud. There was a flag right before the snap, potentially for delay of game on the offense. 3. Watt and Highsmith at their usual end spots with Herbig aligned over B-gap on Watt’s side. Mug/pressure look. Brisker blitzes. Bunch to the left and Rodgers completes to Pittman for a short gain. 4. Bernard in the slot with Hurleman and Smith out wide. Rudolph at QB. Sawyer and Herbig the EDGE rushers with Slaughter in the slot. Rudolph’s throw is complete to Brandon Smith, who takes a hard shot from Everette and Jenkins. Aggressive for practice. Some jawing and exception taken to it after the play. 5. Bell and Tonyan the tight ends. Nowakowski in at fullback. Johnson has a lane right side. Harrison and Everette close the gap with healthy contact on the second-year back. 6. Daryl Porter in the slot. Germie Bernard nice hands catch right side working away from Porter, breaking his tackle attempt and turning down the right side. Good play from Bernard. 7. Allar at QB, Homer at RB. Crippen at C. Allar complete to Wetjen on a crosser from left to right. Homer nice blitz pickup against S Jack Henderson. 8. O-line of Nester-Thompson-Crippen-Dunker-Driscoll. Windmon aligned at LOLB. 9. Darnell Washington split out wide right. Someone, I think Asante Samuel, calls out, “He’s gonna motion back in.” Sure enough, Washington does. Rodgers good pass over the middle complete to Metcalf. Anderson was uncovered and gave pass-pro help to his RT on the play to keep the pocket clean. 10. Dowdle in at RB. Slaughter in the slot. Rodgers downfield throw to Roman Wilson. Wilson’s route is too sharp and shallow, and Rodgers wants him deeper. Pass over his head and incomplete. 11. Bernard and Metcalf out wide with Pittman in the slot. The throw off Rodgers’ back foot is intentionally out of bounds left side. Nothing there. 12. D-line of Otomewo-Black-Lowry. Holcomb and Harrison the ILBs. Driscoll at LT, B. Jones at RT. Nowakowski at FB. Rudolph wants Brandon Smith on a post down the hashes. It’s a little in front and Smith can’t make the play. Jenkins was covering and pleased to help force the incompletion. 13. Porter at LCB. Allar finds an open A.T. Perry on a crosser left to right complete. – Two-minute drill with Allar getting a chance. Ball at midfield. 1. Joaquin Davis the X receiver. Homer run with McRee pulling but not much doing. 2. Nice breakup by CB Tamon Lynum, knocking away Allar’s throw intended for Levi Wentz left side. Wentz had a chance to get his hands under the ball, but it squirted away. 3. Ball on the defense’s 49. Wentz and Davis out wide with Wetjen in the slot. Mug/aggressive look from the defense. Allar complete to Davis right side against Porter. But an offensive penalty negates it as the defense cheers the ref’s call. 4. Third and 13 from the offense’s 47. Allar looks for Wetjen on a dig left side. Pass is tall for the 5-9 Wetjen, who throws up a hand but can’t make the grab. Incomplete. 5. Fourth and long. Galbreath subs in for McRee. Nester at LT, Driscoll at RT. Castro/Henderson the safeties. Porter and Lynum the cornerbacks. Welschof at LOLB, Davis at ROLB. Baugh and Goodlow the d-tackles. Homer the back. Allar wants Wetjen again left side, but it’s a little out in front and incomplete. Looked catchable but difficult to tell from my sideline angle. Offense loses three yards during a very unsuccessful two-minute drill to close practice. – I didn’t mention it at the end of Tuesday’s notes, but after that practice, and I assume the rest, trainers bring around plates of watermelons or popsicles for players to cool down with. – Sloppy day for the offense. High snaps (I lost where I had it in my notes, so it’s not noted above, but it happened on a draw, I think Crippen to Allar), miscommunication on routes and run/pass, false starts, penalties, an ugly two-minute drive. Offense has to clean it up, starters and backups. – On that point, too many false starts for Troy Fautanu this camp. Has happened 2-3 times already. Gotta hold his water. – Dylan Cook looked really good in 1v1 periods. Broderick Jones has struggled, so with Max Iheanachor out and any potential time he misses, Cook is the main guy at right tackle. Jones is likely to focus on RT until Iheanachor returns, at least, if the rest of practice today is any indication. – Nice day for OL Doug Nester and DL Kyler Baugh in the 1v1 drill, too. – DL Derrick Harmon heating up the last two open practices in team-run period. He’s been hard to block. Yahya Black has been stout against the run, too. – Active day for backup ILB Jacoby Windmon, who made multiple run stops and played downhill. Like the energy and swagger Payton Wilson is showing. He needs to play meaner and is showing it this camp. – EDGEs Julius Welschof and Jamin Davis have struggled. Tight-hipped and not winning as pass rushers. – Slot corner has gotten thin after Echols’ injury. No Ramsey, no Kent, no Echols the rest of Thursday. Left team with D’Shawn Jamison, Doneiko Slaughter and a little bit of Devan Boykin and Daryl Porter to fill the gap. – Rayshawn Jenkins wants to hit. He brings a physical mentality even to these non-tackling practices. Of course, that’s been Jenkins’ style since his days at Miami (FL). – Dog days of summer here. Chippiest practice of the day with a ton of team reps. Even excluding the walkthrough, there were 57 team reps, and it would’ve hit 60 had the two-minute drill not stalled out so quickly. Under Mike Tomlin, the typical number was about 48. Players are being tested while they’re tired and hot. – The running backs looked good in pass protection today, especially Warren and Homer. – Kaden Wetjen made a nice low catch early, but his lack of size and catch radius becomes evident on throws outside his frame high or away, as shown in the two-minute drill. Bigger receivers probably make those plays. The skies turned a lot sunnier than this, but here’s my view walking into the campus today. Highlighting the tallest players who have played for the franchise.  This list is mostly comprised of offensive linemen, but there are a couple of tight ends, like James. A fifth-round pick out of Penn State, James spent four years with the Steelers. He’s best remembered for having a touchdown taken away against the New England Patriots, a play that’s still contested with the phrase “Jesse caught it.” A song I listened to during my trip to or from Latrobe.  “You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.”