With the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers training camp officially in the books, it\u2019s time to review what\u2019s taken place over the last three weeks. My annual awards are back, examining everything big and small from my experience watching practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.<\/p>\n
This is based only on the training camp practices and not the preseason opener. In-stadium performance will be considered when I write up player and positional grades in separate articles over the next two weeks.<\/p>\n
Biggest Winner\/Best Camp Award: CB Asante Samuel Jr.<\/p>\n
Samuel didn\u2019t take any time to begin turning heads. He made several plays during the padless \u201cramp-up\u201d sessions that only continued throughout the rest of camp. Taking full advantage of Joey Porter Jr.\u2019s absence, Samuel ran as the starting left corner. Healthy and fully focused on football after recovering from spinal-fusion surgery the year before, Samuel looked every bit the quality starting corner he became in Los Angeles with the Chargers.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not a big corner, which Pittsburgh has gravitated toward, but he plays large. His ball skills are excellent, with natural instincts to find and make plays on the football. Whether it was breaking up passes or just erasing receivers in man coverage, Samuel was hard to beat in an environment where defenders can\u2019t fully hit back.<\/p>\n
While our focus is on camp performance, Samuel\u2019s stellar play carried the preseason opener. He had a pass breakup and did not allow a reception on his three targets against Green Bay.<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s play doesn\u2019t change Porter\u2019s standing as the team\u2019s top corner or the team\u2019s willingness to pay him. However, the Steelers must now view Samuel as more than just great depth. There has to be a plan to carve out a sub-package role for him. Maybe that\u2019s in dime defense, maybe that\u2019s some other creative vision. He\u2019s too good to sit on the bench in case there\u2019s an injury. And if he needs to start for a stretch of time, the Steelers\u2019 pass coverage shouldn\u2019t miss a beat.<\/p>\n
Honorable Mention: ILB Payton Wilson, WR Roman Wilson, DL Derrick Harmon, TE Pat Freiermuth<\/p>\n
Biggest Disappointment: WR Michael Pittman Jr.<\/p>\n
Pittman was the big-name receiver Pittsburgh finally landed after spending the last two offseasons doing little to address the No. 2 spot. The trade was cheap. The contract was not.<\/a><\/p>\n Training camp matters less for a proven veteran than it does for a young guy, but Pittman hardly made a blip on the summer. In our charting through the first seven practices, he caught just four passes, mostly short, during team periods. Occasional miscommunication between him and Aaron Rodgers didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n Pittman suffered a right leg injury, likely a hamstring pull, during the Saturday night practice. He failed to practice the rest of camp. The injury seems relatively minor, and he was already doing light rehab work during Sunday\u2019s final session. Still, it was a very quiet summer that offered no feeling he can help where Pittsburgh needs it most: explosive pass plays and beating man coverage. The routes he did run and catches he did make looked like his role in Indianapolis. Underneath and over the middle, his self-admitted superpower.<\/p>\n There\u2019s value in that, but Pittsburgh needs more. Pittman could still end up having a fine season, but it was a forgettable camp.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: RB Kaleb Johnson, S Darnell Savage, ILB Malik Harrison<\/p>\n Hardest Worker: RB Travis Homer<\/p>\n I struggled with a selection here more than any other category. A practice pace that never stopped made \u201cextra\u201d reps harder to spot. There simply wasn\u2019t as much downtime.<\/p>\n Homer was the first man on the field for nearly every practice. Often, he\u2019d beat the next player by 10 or more minutes. In fairness, and the reason why I struggled, is that Homer wasn\u2019t exactly sprinting up mountains. He just had an early pre-practice routine of getting loose, conducting basic grounding exercises in his bare feet, and didn\u2019t put on his pads and jersey until shortly before stretch line.<\/p>\n He did, however, get on the JUGs machine before every practice to catch a couple dozen passes. Sometimes, a sleepy-eyed staffer had to pull the JUGs machine out early to get him set up.<\/p>\n A veteran who knows how to make a roster through his special teams value, Homer has done all he can to stick in Pittsburgh. Time will tell if he wins the No. 3 job.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: OT Broderick Jones, DL Kyler Baugh, ILB Payton Wilson, ILB Cole Holcomb, WR Max Hurleman, DL Gabriel Rubio<\/p>\n Best Play: Aaron Rodgers Sideline Throw To Darnell Washington<\/p>\n The days of camp get so jumbled that it\u2019s hard to even think of one particular play that stuck out. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll remind me of several I didn\u2019t mention. This play wasn\u2019t a touchdown and was one of the few catches Washington made this camp, but oh man, was it a wild one.<\/p>\n During the Saturday night practice, Aaron Rodgers rolled to his right and, falling away, threw an absolute laser 15-or-so yards to Darnell Washington on the right sideline. Despite multiple defenders in the area, the ball fit perfectly into Washington\u2019s hands for the catch. Simply a vintage Rodgers throw with velocity and accuracy at its highest level that got an audible \u201cwow\u201d out of me watching.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Rodgers to R. Wilson TD vs. Dean, Allar\u2019s 4th Down Completion to Perry, Dean Pick-Six to Begin Night Practice, Rudolph to Skowronek TD, Watt\u2019s Forced Fumble vs. Warren<\/p>\n \u2018Got A T-Shirt\u2019 Award: WR Colton Dowell<\/p>\n Even by training camp standards, Dowell\u2019s time in Pittsburgh was unusually brief. He was claimed off waivers Aug. 7, did not practice with the team during its Aug. 8 night practice, and was waived on the 9th.<\/a> Why his stint was so short is unclear.<\/p>\n It might even be a stretch to say Dowell got himself a T-shirt. He may have never reported in the first place.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: DL Logan Lee, TE JJ Galbreath, CB Ahmari Harvey<\/p>\n Biggest Surprise: DL Gabriel Rubio<\/p>\n On Day 3 of the draft, there was a collective \u201cwho?\u201d when the Steelers snagged Rubio in the sixth round. From fans and\u00a0draftniks \u2013 us included. Rubio is showing why scouts get paid to look high and low for talent.<\/p>\n He has the makeup of a Steelers defensive lineman. Big, strong, physical, tough, and plays hard. You felt that even before the pads came on, but it became even clearer once the trench players could truly start to get after it. Rubio has a powerful punch and plays with good pad level and hand placement. He controls blocks in the running game and can shed them to make tackles. In the preseason opener, he tallied six tackles<\/a> on barely more than 20 defensive snaps.<\/p>\n Rubio was a standout during run-oriented periods of camp. He went from being on the bubble, or perhaps outside of it, to resting inside the bubble with cutdowns less than two weeks away. His ceiling might not be through the roof, but he can be a key run stuffer and someone worthy of being drafted.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: TE Robert Tonyan, CB Doneiko Slaughter, S Robert Spears-Jennings<\/p>\n Best Teammate: QB Aaron Rodgers<\/p>\n For all the controversy Rodgers drummed up during his Pat McAfee Show appearance,<\/a> there\u2019s no outward animosity from his teammates. This year\u2019s fast pace of practice made quiet moments of mentoring, teaching, and hanging out a little more difficult to judge, and I wrestled with a list of candidates for this award outside of the usual suspects.<\/p>\n I ultimately fell back on Rodgers. He can be prickly if a teammate makes a mistake, but players genuinely seem to like hanging around him. He\u2019s always chatting up the interior linemen pre-practice before they work on exchanges, taking young quarterbacks like Will Howard and Drew Allar under his wing, and just feeling like one of the guys despite his celebrity status and iconic place in football history.<\/p>\n There were little moments with fans, too. Like the day practice was moved indoors. Rodgers was initially stopped with a group of teammates at the top of the stairs where school buses were taking them to the indoor facility. Rodgers turned down the bus ride and instead made his usual trek down the stairs, signing autographs for fans and greeting the youth football team that straddled the bottom of the entranceway, giving the youngsters something to be excited about on a day that was otherwise rained out. He then walked across the field on his way to the facility.<\/p>\n In Rodgers\u2019 worldview, you\u2019re either with him or against him, but his teammates sure seem on his side.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: DL Cam Heyward, TE Pat Freiermuth<\/p>\n Fast Friends Award: ILB Patrick Queen & ILBs Coach Scott McCurley<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t find many oddball pairings this year, like Dri Archer and Brad Wing many moons ago, and the lack of downtime during practice made it hard to see who hung around who. So I\u2019m taking a little different approach.<\/p>\n Queen and McCurley aren\u2019t a new pairing. McCurley was hired last year to coach Queen and the inside linebackers. But I couldn\u2019t help but notice how much time they spent side by side during the little bit of rest the practice offered. Multiple times, I saw the two walking and talking together to the next drill. It\u2019s a big year for both. Queen is in a contract year, and a big season could net him another hefty payday. McCurley is feeling the pressure of a group that must be better than a year ago and has the talent to get there.<\/p>\n Even as player\/coach, the two are linked. And I think they know it.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: ILBs Payton Wilson & Cole Holcomb, QB Aaron Rodgers & WR Ben Skowronek, C Zach Frazier & OG Mason McCormick<\/p>\n Most Underrated: DL Dean Lowry<\/p>\n Lowry is a tried-and-true vet who knows this new system. It\u2019s a big reason why he returned after tearing his ACL last year. Lowry didn\u2019t generate much daily buzz from the media, myself included, but he was consistently good. He knocked around Broderick Jones in the run game and was active around the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n Cam Heyward made sure to give Lowry a shoutout<\/a> and with good reason. His place on the 53-man roster isn\u2019t secure, but it was a nice camp for a guy who received next to no coverage as attention centered on young linemen like Derrick Harmon, Yahya Black, Keeanu Benton, and Gabriel Rubio.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: OG Mason McCormick, EDGE Alex Highsmith, ILB Carson Bruener<\/p>\n Top Coach: Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham<\/p>\n Evaluating players is tough enough. Evaluating coaches is even more difficult. With a nearly brand-new coaching staff, there were lots of faces to watch this year. Graham stuck out as the clear leader of the defense. No longer will there be discussion or debate over who is really in charge of it.<\/p>\n Graham is a respected veteran willing to put his stamp on the defense even as he works within the confines of Pittsburgh\u2019s base 3-4. In particular, he spent 95 percent of his time hovering around the front seven: the defensive line, edge rushers, and inside linebackers, while letting veteran secondary coaches Joe Whitt Jr. and Jason Simmons handle the back end.<\/p>\n Mic\u2019d up videos from the team show his lively personality, and he\u2019s hands-on in drills. Late in camp, he showcased a Gator Roll tackle by actually spinning down and tackling the dummy himself. He might be a little corny with his air high-fives<\/a> and clapping in meetings<\/a>, but he seems to care and is invested in getting these guys to succeed. He\u2019s also showing the right touch of when to lead and when to delegate to the assistants.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: QBs Coach Tom Arth, OL Coach James Campen, DL Coach Domata Peko<\/p>\n Most Popular: QB Will Howard<\/p>\n I don\u2019t often hang around after practices to see who is fighting \u2013 sometimes literally \u2013 for autographs. But the one day I stuck around, fans chanted and cheered for Will Howard to come over and sign. He eventually did and was mobbed by the crowd. Fans love a backup quarterback, and that applies to Howard, who routinely signed after practices.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: EDGE T.J. Watt, TE Pat Freiermuth, QB Drew Allar, QB Aaron Rodgers<\/p>\n \u2018Bleh\u2019 Award: WR Joaquin Davis<\/p>\n The award given to the guy who was there for most, if not all, of camp, but hardly registered in my notes. It\u2019s not a dig to a player\u2019s journey and simply getting here and sticking all camp is no small feat.<\/p>\n Start to finish, Davis had a quiet stretch. In our stats after seven practices,<\/a> Davis was just one of two players not to even have a target during team period. Tight end JJ Galbreath, who was soon waived, was the other.<\/p>\n Davis did have a couple of receptions the rest of the way, including a solid snare from Mason Rudolph during Saturday\u2019s session. But despite the team suffering multiple injuries at receiver, Davis couldn\u2019t find many reps or do much to stand out. He should get credit for lasting all camp. That\u2019s no small feat.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: TE Jaheim Bell, TE Lake McRee, S Jack Henderson<\/p>\n Camp Darling: WR Brandon Smith<\/p>\n Smith isn\u2019t a rookie and had logged NFL snaps prior to arriving in Pittsburgh. Still, he was an afterthought in the wide receiver conversation. Smith ran with the 1s throughout camp and really turned it on with a superb Saturday night practice that even drew plenty of praise from Aaron Rodgers.<\/a> In our seven practice check-in, Smith ranked second among all wide receivers with 10 receptions.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, a likely hamstring pull he sustained while covering a punt in the preseason opener cooled off the momentum he was building. He still could land on the practice squad, but it\u2019s an unfortunate end to a strong summer.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: RB Lew Nichols, CB Doneiko Slaughter, S Robert Spears-Jennings<\/p>\n Best Battle: Backup QBs<\/p>\n Injuries deflated some of the anticipated position battles, especially at right tackle. It was, and still is, watching the backup quarterbacks compete. Mason Rudolph is steady and had a fine summer while Howard and Allar made real strides during camp, and it showed in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear how the group will shake out. Will the team make a difficult cut? Will Rudolph be traded? Or will the team keep all four? Those are good problems to have, and all three pushed each other without toxicity.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Roman Wilson vs. Germie Bernard, No. 3 RB Spot, Backup DL Battle<\/p>\n Well-Rested Award: K Laith Marjan<\/p>\n Mike McCarthy didn\u2019t hand out many off days this year. Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt got a couple, but that was it. So I\u2019ll slant this conversation a different way to Marjan, the rookie kicker. Specialists always have an easy time in camp, often working off to the side and only needed for the lone special teams period of the day, but Marjan had a particularly restful time.<\/p>\n Chris Boswell handled the kicking for most of camp. There were days when Boswell attempted every kick with Marjan playing \u201cball boy,\u201d helping retrieve the balls Boswell booted into the crowd. Marjan was a little more active toward the end of camp and made all three extra points he attempted in the preseason opener, but his camp experience largely consisted of watching with the rest of us.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: DL Cam Heyward, EDGE T.J. Watt<\/p>\n Breakout Player: ILB Payton Wilson<\/p>\n Payton Wilson is a two-time winner of the award. Hopefully, his play finally ascends enough that he can stop being eligible for it. Wilson didn\u2019t leap forward last year but looks like a different guy this time around. He\u2019s far more aggressive, downhill, and playing with a swagger he simply hasn\u2019t shown before.<\/p>\n Wilson told reporters he\u2019s no longer in fear of failure<\/a>, and that\u2019s unlocking his game to match his physical ability. He still must prove it once the games matter, but this is a side of him I haven\u2019t seen before. Hopefully, it leads to a big year.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: NT Yahya Black, WR Roman Wilson, DL Derrick Harmon<\/p>\n Most Consistent: C Zach Frazier<\/p>\n Frazier\u2019s snapping \u201cyips\u201d that plagued him last year in Latrobe were non-existent this time around. He was clean and consistent across the board. Big nose tackles like Yahya Black might give him a little trouble, but it was rare to see Frazier have a bad snap, and he certainly did not have a bad day. He\u2019s grown into a smart and trusted player and one of the league\u2019s best centers.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also incredibly dependable and doesn\u2019t miss practice.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: QB Mason Rudolph, TE Pat Freiermuth, EDGE Alex Highsmith, OG Mason McCormick, S Rayshawn Jenkins<\/p>\n Mr. Versatile: FB\/TE Riley Nowakowski<\/p>\n Nowakowski wore every hat the team put on his head. It\u2019s tough for a rookie to do so much but Nowakowski embraced the versatility. Fullback, Y-off, tight end on the line of scrimmage, or split out in the slot, he was an offensive chess piece. On special teams, he\u2019s played multiple units and phases.<\/p>\n Nowakowski is taking on the Connor Heyward role but is a bigger and stronger body with the potential to become a better blocker.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: OL Doug Nester, WR Max Hurleman, RB Eli Heidenreich, DB Devan Boykin<\/p>\n Worst Moment: Defensive Back Injuries, Jalen Ramsey\/Joey Porter Jr. On Active PUP<\/p>\n I\u2019m stretching the definition of \u201cmoment\u201d for a full-length camp theme. Frankly, the defensive back injuries across the board were a buzzkill to a unit that looks talented and deep on paper. Ramsey was at full sprint by the end of camp and seems in no danger of missing Week 1. Porter\u2019s PUP stint is clearly contract-related, with his \u201cback\u201d injury magically healed if Pittsburgh throws $120 million at it.<\/p>\n Still, along with CB Brandin Echols and S Jaquan Brisker\u2019s mid-camp injuries, this secondary hasn\u2019t banked many reps together under a new coaching staff and remapped scheme. That rust runs the risk of carrying over into the regular season and dredging up the same communication problems that hurt the team to begin 2025. And 2024, and\u2026 you get the idea.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Rain-Cancelled Practices, 45-Minute Session On 12th Day, High Number Of False Starts<\/p>\n Biggest Takeaway\/What I\u2019ll Remember: How Different Camp Felt<\/p>\n Training camp is about serving the players first. Mike McCarthy is a veteran coach who has had plenty of trial and error throughout his career. He knows how a team needs to be prepared. A lighter camp might be a good thing for a veteran-laden team that needs to be fresh by the end of the year. Through one preseason game, the lack of tackling hasn\u2019t hurt the team.<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m no good at accepting change, but if this approach helps the team win, it\u2019s the right thing to do.<\/p>\n But from an evaluation standpoint, or even as a fan experiencing it, it wasn\u2019t the same. Not nearly as intense or physical. Not nearly as competitive. And for whatever reason, simply less attended. Morning practices are likely one reason for that, but even the night practice, which now takes place on a weekend, saw its attendance drop by over 5,100 fans compared to a year ago: 13,653 versus 8,499.<\/p>\n McCarthy\u2019s camp had many benefits. Drilling specific situations. Maximizing reps. But it was less interesting to watch, write, and talk about. McCarthy promised a \u201cphysical\u201d training camp? Was it? By modern NFL definitions, maybe. Compared to last year, though, it was breezy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a new era, and trying something new was needed. Still, I\u2019ll miss some of the brute way about the old camps. Those days are over. They aren\u2019t coming back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers training camp officially in the books, it\u2019s time to review what\u2019s taken place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74,1833,17864,995,7666],"class_list":["post-267372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-training-camp","tag-trending","tag-weekly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}