Predicting Roles for Each Steelers Rookie in 2021
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers went into the 2021 NFL Draft with a plan and came away with a pretty perfect group of players. From fixing the run game to finding depth on defense and allowing a smoother transition for guys like Cam Sutton were all on the agenda, and were all accomplished through seven rounds.
How big of an impact can the Steelers' nine new rookies have in 2021, though? It's never easy to say a seventh-round pick will see the field, but maybe they will. And when you add a punter to the mix, everything gets even more interesting.
So, let's talk about it. The Steelers have nine draft picks they'll hope to make the roster this season. From Najee Harris to Pressley Harvin III, all nine players will have an opportunity to contribute to this team. And all could see the field in 2021.
Najee Harris, RB
Najee Harris is as easy as they come to predict his role in 2021. The rookie running back will walk in as the starter for this offseason and should be considered an early contender for Rookie of the Year.
The Alabama star says he's equally as big of a contributor in the passing game as he is in the run game. The Steelers feel they fixed the run game - to some extent - through this NFL Draft, and starting with Harris was the best way to get things rolling.
Harris is a starter in 2021 with expectations to be a star in the NFL from year one.
Pat Freiermuth, TE
Freiermuth wasn't expected to land in Pittsburgh, but when he did it made total sense. The Steelers needed a tight end behind Eric Ebron, and they needed help in run blocking. Freiermuth provides both.
The rookie will walk in to play behind Ebron, but should see an expanded role throughout the season. Last year, Vance McDonald played 44% of the offensive snaps, and you should expect Freiermuth to see at least that number in his rookie year.
Expect the tight end to become a pretty important part of this offense as the season goes on. It'll be a lot of Ebron to start the season, but it should be a good mix of both by Week 18.
Steelers will run a decent amount of 12-personnel in 2021. Freiermuth's role will be behind Ebron, but he'll have a Chase Claypool impact in his first year.
Kendrick Green, C
Kendrick Green will walk into training camp having to compete with J.C. Hassenauer and B.J. Finney, but he won't need too much time to step into a starting role.
A third-round pick isn't usually the best bet to take on such a predominant role in his first season, but the Steelers don't have many options. And if Green is the future, he shouldn't be held back.
Finney and Hassenauer are signed to one-year deals. The expectation for them is to come into the summer and compete for work, but from the start, that expectation included a position battle with an incoming rookie.
Green earns the starting job by Week 1. He's a mean, physical blocker who has some holes to fill in his technique. If offensive line coach Adrian Klemm can get him fine-tuned (as much as he can) throughout camp, he'll be a step forward in fixing the offensive line.
Dan Moore, OT
Dan Moore will have the opportunity to compete with Chuks Okorafor this summer, but he's not a year-one starter. That could change in year two, but for right now, it's Okorafor's job on the left side of the line.
Moor is a big-bodied tackle with potential. He works out with Green, has the same 'nasty' mentality on the field, and should develop into a reliable part of this offensive line. But for right now, he's a backup.
He'll play a Zach Banner-type role this season. A lot of jumbo tight end, fills in for Okorafor and Banner throughout the season and sees development throughout the year.
Okorafor's job isn't secured all year. Too many slip-ups, and Moore get his opportunity. Week 1, he's the No. 2, though.
Buddy Johnson, ILB
Buddy Johnson provides a lot of upside, but in a very crowded position group. He's not beating out Devin Bush but could see more playing time than Vince Williams and Robert Spillane throughout the year.
Look at this pick as a T.J. Watt-James Harrison situation. Right now, the Steelers have Williams, who knows this defense like the back of his hand. He isn't on a decline in play and will still be the starting inside linebacker next to Bush this season.
Spillane is a wildcard. People love him, and he has some potential to contribute, but it's hard to say the belief is he's ever a full-time starter in Pittsburgh.
Johnson starts in the mix with both of them, but mostly off the bench. Still, expect the rookie to see as much, if not more, playing time than both Spillane and Williams this season. He provides more reliability in pass coverage, and already contains great run-stuffing skills.
He won't start, but he'll play a solid contributing role as a rookie.
Isaiahh Loudermilk, DL
The pick of Loudermilk shocked pretty much everyone. A big 280-pound defensive lineman that the Steelers traded into the fifth-round to draft, but seems to be pegged as a low-talent draft pick.
Right now, Loudermilk's scouting reports say he has limited finishing ability and doesn't contain the traits to be a major contributor in the NFL.
Yikes.
Year one will be a friend to Loudermilk. He'll enter a position group that contains Isaiah Buggs, Carlos Davis and Henry Mondeaux as backups to Stephon Tuitt, Cameron Heyward and Tyson Alualu. And honestly, he's got a pretty good chance to walk away as the primary backup across the line.
If the Steelers had better depth, it'd be easy to say Loudermilk is a fill-in behind the main role player. But right now, it looks like he'll get a fairly good opportunity to play a decent role in 2021.
Look for the rookie to outplay the other three backups and see the field as a relief lineman this season.
Quincy Roche, Edge
Unless you believe Cassius Marsh is the answer at depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, expect Roche to be the guy this season.
The Steelers had a late-third round grade on Roche in the draft. Somehow, they found him in the sixth round. So, instead of looking at him as a late-round pick, look at him as a steal.
That's what the Steelers are doing.
He'll contribute alongside Marsh off the bench, but we should see more Roche than Marsh. And if the rookie plays well, we'll see more and more of him as the season moves on.
Roche is Highsmith from last season. The Steelers will work him in as much as they can without affecting the starters, but guys like Watt go 110 miles per hour on every snap. They need breaks.
Roche is a guy you will see more than most sixth-round picks this season.
Tre Norwood, S
The Steelers waited, and waited, and waited to draft the cornerback/safety filler they needed. Tre Norwood isn't someone who brings too much excitement to the NFL, but when Mike Tomlin introduces you as a "Swiss army knife defensive back," you know they have big plans for you.
Norwood will have the chance to play safety and slot corner in this defense. While they give Cam Sutton the opportunity to play right outside corner, Norwood will try to step in as the utility piece Sutton has played over the last four years.
A seventh-round, needs development rookie won't be the answer to every problem the Steelers' have at depth at corner and safety. He'll get the shot, but so will undrafted rookies like Shakur Brown and second-year safety Antoine Brooks.
Nothing is guaranteed for Norwood this season. Right now, the best bet is he's on the cusp of making the active roster, but could easily find himself on the practice squad this season. Either way, he's not getting much, if any, playing time.
Pressley Harvin III, P
Goodbye, Jordan Berry? Maybe. Actually, yes.
The Steelers got everyone fired up by selecting a punter whose squatting videos get their teammates as amped as a defensive lineman's. After years of disappointment in Berry, and anyone they try to replace him with, they finally said it's time for a change.
Barring any unexpected drop-off by Harvin this summer, he's the punter in 2021. The Steelers have no reason to keep Berry around any longer, and with a player who has more potential - and years left for his skills to build - it doesn't make any sense to kick him to the curb.
Seventh-round picks don't get many people excited. Harvin has people excited. He's the starter.
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
