Everybody likes underdogs, overachievers, and sleepers, so who are the Steelers’ candidates for this year’s 53-man roster? At this stage, it’s hard to say how many legitimate candidates there are. So much has changed about the team this offseason, most importantly, the coaching staff.
Mike McCarthy will have different means of evaluating players from Mike Tomlin and different priorities. Nearly every position coach is new, too, and each of them will have a different eye. It takes collective data to suss out the sleepers in the crowd, and it’s a little more complicated for the Steelers’ roster this year without it.
But those who cover the team have some ideas. On the Steelers Collective podcast Tuesday, Mark Kaboly and Ray Fittipaldo both shared their sleepers for the 53-man roster. Kaboly sort of offered three answers, though, ultimately settling on one.
“I can’t say Sebastian Castro”, he claimed, but only because he has advertised the safety as one of the Steelers’ sleepers so much already. “I don’t want that one. It’s already in my portfolio”. He argued instead for fifth-round FB Riley Nowakowski, though Fittipaldo believed his roster spot was too secure. He also mentioned OL Ryan McCollum, but settled on the rookie.
I don’t know that Nowakowski should be counted among the Steelers’ sleepers, per se, and in fact I think most people would have him inside the roster bubble. But I agree with the sentiment that there is too much surety over the job security of a fifth-round pick.
Both Kaboly and Fittipaldo chose rookies as their Steelers’ sleepers, though the latter was less sure his would actually make the roster. The former is already firmly on the no side for the player in question, and not unfairly.
“There’s a little redundancy with Kaden Wetjen and Eli Heidenreich. I wonder if both of those guys are gonna make the team”, Fittipaldo contended. “Right now, I would say the fourth-round pick is gonna make the team. But listen, if Eli outplays him, I don’t know. Maybe they find a way to keep him. He’s a great story; I hope he plays well in training camp”.
Heidenreich and Wetjen are both rookie draft picks, the latter in the fourth round and the former in the seventh. The Steelers drafted Wetjen to be their return man, which, under different circumstances, is a job Heidenreich could have contended for.
Heidenreich is primarily a running back, though, so he would be competing with Kaleb Johnson and Travis Homer for a roster spot. It’s reasonable to assume he will be one of the top picks among fans as a Steelers sleeper entering training camp, though. His story is undeniably great, and he is an easy individual to root for. It helps that he has talent, too, but everyone has to earn their place. And there has to be a place for you, at the right place at the right time. How many “sleepers” will make the Steelers’ roster this year?