Five Steelers You Never Heard of With Golden Opportunities at OTAs

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a number of players who can take full advantage of their opportunities throughout the rest of OTAs and thus put themselves in a position to place themselves on the right side of the roster bubble.

Training camp and the preseason will serve as the true test, but standing out now will only help those players who are on the fringes and battling it out for a 53-man spot.

With that, here are five Steelers who could help themselves out significantly in the final week of OTAs.

JJ Galbreath

Pittsburgh may ultimately decide not to carry a third true tight end behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington while instead shoehorning rookie fifth-rounder Riley Nowakowski into that role even if he's more of a fullback.

If the Steelers do roster another player outside of that trio at the position, however, Galbreath has a solid shot to win the job. The signing of Robert Tonyan does hurt his chances, but it shouldn't completely take him out of the conversation.

A UDFA signee out of South Dakota last year, Galbreath recorded 23 yards on three catches during the preseason for Pittsburgh before being let go ahead of final roster cuts.

He signed to the team's practice squad after going unclaimed off waivers, but they released him in mid-September.

Now, after inking a reserve/futures deal with the organization back in January, Galbreath is back in town.

A rather fluid athlete with some upside as a receiver who needs to improve as a blocker, Galbreath is an intriguing player who has a chance to stand out and put himself on the map next week.

Lake McRee

Much like his counterpart at tight end in Galbreath, McRee signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent, only he's entering his rookie season.

At USC, McRee finished his five-year career with 1,154 yards and seven touchdowns on 97 catches across 51 games.

His best campaign came as a senior in 2025, recording 450 yards and four scores across 30 receptions, all of which were single-season career highs.

McRee has a ways to go as a blocker, but he moves well for a tight end and has excellent hands, which could help propel him to a roster spot in an ideal situation.

Max Hurleman

Hurleman, a UDFA signee out of Notre Dame who began his collegiate career at Colgate, was a fan favorite in Pittsburgh last summer due to his versatility and background as a running back, wide receiver, cornerback and special teamer.

He posted 33 yards and a touchdown on three catches in the preseason, but it wasn't enough to lock up a roster spot. Instead, Hurleman spent his entire rookie year on the Steelers' practice squad.

The returns from OTAs thus far have been positive for Hurleman, and Roman Wilson recently stated that the pair is always out on the field after practice together alongside Brandon Johnson as they compete for a role.

Hurleman's a fun player who wears many hats, and perhaps he'll do himself a favor in the final run of practices at OTAs before training camp arrives.

Travis Homer

There will be a significant shortage of touches in Pittsburgh's backfield behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle this season, but that doesn't really matter in Homer's case.

Entering his eighth year in the NFL, Homer has logged just 32 yards from scrimmage over the past three seasons despite appearing in 36 games. The reason behind that is his prowess on special teams, where he played 582 snaps for the Chicago Bears over that span.

Though there's still some general excitement surrounding last year's third-round pick in Kaleb Johnson, his struggles on special teams and in the passing game limit his overall practicality for the Steelers.

The RB No. 3 role appears very much up for grabs, and Homer could end up snatching it.

A.T. Perry

Beyond DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard, there aren't a ton of certainties in Pittsburgh's wide receiver room. Perry, who signed a futures contract with the team, could take advantage of that.

A sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest by the New Orleans Saints in the 2023 NFL Draft, Perry has not appeared in a regular season game since his rookie year when he recorded 246 yards and four touchdowns on 12 receptions in 10 contents.

At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Perry is yet another big target for the Steelers who could thrive in contested catch situations, whether it be down the field or in the end zone.

Winning the fight for the final spot(s) at receiver won't be easy, but Perry could greatly improve his odds with a strong showing moving forward.

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