10 Takeaways from my visit to Latrobe to see 2025 Steelers Training Camp

I traveled to St. Vincent College in Latrobe on Wednesday to attend Steelers’ training camp. Here are 10 observations about the team from a steamy, competitive practice in pads:

1. THE VIBE

This was my fourth straight visit to Latrobe, and there is no doubt this one felt different. From the buzz surrounding the big-name acquisitions like Rodgers, Metcalf and Ramsey, to the exciting rookie class, there was a vibe at practice that suggests enthusiasm for this Steelers’ squad is higher than in recent seasons. The presence of Pat McAfee and his crew doing a live show on Wednesday amped things up, but fans needed little prodding.

There were ovations from the outset for big catches, crunching tackles, a fight between Robert Woods and Joey Porter Jr., and even Calvin Austin III managing the tricky task of catching a punt while holding five other footballs. Fans didn’t need extra motivation to cheer. They have it in a Steelers team that feels more complete than any in recent memory.

2. THE RODGERS REPORT

Rodgers still looks the part at quarterback. His feet are nimble, his release is quick and his arm is strong. But it’s going to take time for him to acclimate to the new offense in Pittsburgh, and to get on the same page with his receivers. There were several examples of Rodgers expecting a receiver to do A when he did B, or of Rodgers just missing on balls that would have created big plays.

Rodgers seemed frustrated with the line at times as well. That unit was working without two starters in Broderick Jones and Issac Seumalo. Seumalo is nursing a lower body injury, and Jones did individual drills but no team sessions as he recovers from a groin injury suffered last week. Their replacements, Calvin Anderson and Spencer Anderson, struggled with both the personnel and the scheme of the Pittsburgh defense. There were some run-throughs on blitzes and some immediate pressure on Rodgers that would have created a sack had things been live. At one point near the end of practice, Rodgers left the huddle in frustration and stood by himself, seeming to cool off.

In a word, Rodgers was decent on Wednesday, but looks like he’ll improve with reps. Hopefully, the rest of the offense will improve with him.

3. AS FOR THE LINE…

It didn’t go well. Plain and simple. The two Andersons struggled, Zach Frazier had another bad snap, and the entire unit seemed on its heels against Pittsburgh’s aggressive defensive front. There is no shame in being overmatched early in training camp against this Pittsburgh defense, which looks great, but the Steelers need their starting five up front to get as many reps as possible in camp so they can gel. With Jones and Seumalo out, they can’t do that.

The performance of the Andersons convinced me the Steelers need veteran line depth. This is not an area they can go into the season feeling uncertain about. An injury or two up front will put them in a bad place, and without a solid line the run game won’t improve and Rodgers may get killed. If there’s one issue that worries me about this football team at the moment, this is it.

4. WR GROUP LOOKS SHARP

DK Metcalf was the best football player on the field on Wednesday, bar none. He threw Porter aside in a one-on-one drill to beat him deep for a score, and also caught the deciding touchdown in the “Seven Shots” session to give the offense a 4-3 win. He gets open a lot. He is as good a WR1 as this team has had in years.

Austin looked fast and ran by a couple of defenders in one-on-ones. He seems much more confident in his second full season. Roman Wilson made some nice catches over the middle — an area of the field the Steelers threw into quite frequently — and plays fast as well. And Robert Woods made his mark by finishing every rep he took and by being physical with the defensive backs. As an example, Woods’ scuffle with Porter started because Woods blocked him about five yards downfield and kept at him through the whistle.

This is going to be a tight end-centric offense (more on that in a moment), and the receivers seem to realize they’ll need to fight for playing time. The urgency with which they played on Wednesday conveyed their understanding of that.

5. A TRUE ARTHUR SMITH OFFENSE

The tight ends were everywhere on Wednesday. On the line. In the slot. Out wide. Even in the backfield. Smith moved them around like queens on a chess board, probing for mismatches or trying to create leverage.

On one snap, Pat Freiermuth lined up in a bunch set, then motioned into the backfield and put his hand in the dirt as a fullback before serving as the lead blocker for Jaylen Warren on an iso play. On another, the Steelers lined up in the rare “04” personnel grouping — 0 running backs, 4 tight ends — with Jonnu Smith beside Rodgers in the backfield and Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and Conner Heyward scattered about the formation.

Smith loves tight ends, and he’s got a bunch of pretty good ones. This offense will run through that position group in one way, shape or form. It’s going to be fun watching the various ways Smith puts his tight ends to use.

6. THE OTHER QBs

Mason Rudolph was fine. Not great, not terrible. But fine. He completed a bunch of short passes. He got chewed out by Smith for not getting the team lined up correctly after they broke the huddle in the wrong formation. He looked like QB2, which is (hopefully) all the Steelers need him to be.

Skylar Thompson took the majority of reps as QB3. He did some good things, in particular a deep ball to Metcalf that went for six in one-on-ones. I’m not sure how he makes this roster, given how the team seems to value Will Howard. But Thompson had a nice day.

Howard didn’t show much, nor was he given much of a chance to. It seemed as though the Steelers wanted to get a better look at Thompson on Wednesday, which made Howard’s day unremarkable.

7. BLITZBURGH 2.0

On the defensive side of the ball, Teryl Austin did his best Dick LeBeau impersonation, blitzing like it was 1994. The Steelers sent linebackers, corners and safeties at the offense, to great effect. Jalen Ramsey came out of the slot a number of times to apply pressure, and Payton Wilson got home on a cross-blitz that caused a blown protection from the offensive line.

On the back end, the Steelers mixed their coverages behind the blitz. Juan Thornhill did a nice job keeping plays in front of him, and the defense ran to the ball well when the quarterbacks inevitably checked down to their hot receivers. After seeing Pittsburgh’s blitz percentage fall in each of the past three seasons, it looks like Austin plans to be more aggressive in 2025.

8. RAMSEY TO THE RESCUE

Last season, opposing offenses tormented the Steelers by going 11-personnel, forcing Pittsburgh into their nickel package, then running the ball right down their throats. Beanie Bishop and Cam Sutton, both of whom manned the slot, simply couldn’t hold up.

Jalen Ramsey changes that equation. Ramsey, who played in the slot most of the afternoon, was quick to penetrate into the backfield on run reps, and though there was no live tackling, put himself in good position to make tackles on several reps. Ramsey was solid in coverage as well, whether assigned to receivers or tight ends. He looks like the answer in the slot, which remedies Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness on defense from a season ago.

9. THE ROOKIES

Derrick Harmon looks like the real deal. He worked with the starting unit and more than held his own. Harmon is big and long and does a nice job shedding blocks and penetrating. He will be a Day One starter and an impact player immediately.

So will Kaleb Johnson. He looked smooth running Arthur Smith’s wide zone concept, and has sneaky speed when he gets into space. I suspect Johnson will earn the lion’s share of the carries in this offense before the season ends.

It was a good day for Jack Sawyer, too. He didn’t make any impact plays but he worked in with the starters a decent amount, suggesting the Steelers believe he may be ready to contribute sooner than later.

10. RANDOM NOTES

Other players who had nice days included Cory Trice, Brandin Echols, Nick Herbig, Kenneth Gainwell and Jonnu Smith. Gainwell twice faked defenders out of their shoes, and looks difficult to corral in space. Smith is a crafty veteran who knows how to get open, and Rodgers seems to be trying to develop an early chemistry with him.

Players who struggled were the two Andersons up front, plus Zach Frazier (snap issues) and Roc Taylor, who is trying to earn a spot as the team’s fifth receiver. Taylor didn’t do anything to stand out, and looked a step slow at times, which is a bad recipe for a fringe player.

Jerseys I saw most commonly in the crowd included TJ Watt (90), DK Metcalf (4) and Pat Freiermuth (88). Not too many Rodgers jerseys, though. I guess people aren’t wild about shelling out $100 for a guy who will only be here one season.

Check out my Call Sheet Daily podcast on Thursday for more news and observations from Latrobe.