The Good and Bad From Steelers Training Camp: Here Comes Roman Wilson

PITTSBURGH -- Day 1 of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is in the books, with plenty of takeaways to look back on.

The team hit the field at Saint Vincent College for the first time under new head coach Mike McCarthy, who brought plenty of changes with him this summer.

The Steelers were in helmets and shorts to kick things off and will remain without pads throughout the week as they complete the NFL's ramp-up period. So, while there was no tackling (which there won't be throughout camp), there was still plenty of good to dive into.

And one bad note.

Let's get into it.

The Good

Roman Wilson

Roman Wilson caught the first pass of training camp and it kind of felt like there was something there. He came back a few plays later and caught a diving catch from Aaron Rodgers and you started thinking he might be taking a step forward. The rest of practice, it didn't change.

Wilson was the most involved wide receiver in practice and there was something about his route running and comfort level on the offense that looked drastically different from a year ago.

There's a long way to go for Wilson, but today was a strong start. One that gave all of the talk of his confidence growing something to stand on. Now, he must run with the opportunity to be WR3.

May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Brandon Smith (87) participates in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brandon Smith - First Camp Darling

The Steelers' first training camp darling has emerged. Brandon Smith somehow found himself working with the first-team offense early in practice, and certainly made the most of it. He caught a nice ball over the middle of the field from Rodgers and then on the next rep, caught a beautiful back-shoulder pass.

Smith looked good the rest of practice when running route and catching passes. Does it continue? We'll see. But you have to love an early candidate for training camp darling, and if Smith keeps this up, he'll be on the coaching staff's radar.

Darnell Savage Convinced Me

Coming into training camp, Darnell Savage was not a name I was interested in. In fact, I wrote him off before we even saw him take a rep. Too old, too banged up, too far into his career decline.

But like Savage, no one wants to hear what my opinion is, they want to know what happened. And well, Savage looked good, that's what happened.

#31 looks very fast and much bigger than I expected him to. His best came when Rodgers threw a pass toward the endzone and he came flying in to bat it down.

With DeShon Elliott not doing much as he continues to take things slow with his knee/hamstring injury, Savage and Jaquan Brisker are the starting safeties at camp. Savage looked good enough that you have to give him a blank slate. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

Keep an Eye on Jaheim Bell

The rookie to watch is Jaheim Bell. The undrafted tight end out of Florida State looks smooth in his routes, good with his hands and fast for a tight end. He and Robert Tonyan were the best backup tight ends on display for the first day, and you should keep an eye on him moving forward.

May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerbacks Daylen Everette (23) and Asante Samuel Jr. (22) participate in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Asante Samuel Jr. Looks A Lot Better

There's a real chance that Asante Samuel Jr. is very good this season. A full year removed from his neck injury, Samuel looks real quick and elusive on the field. His instincts were on full display as he had pass deflections against Rodgers and Mason Rudolph on several occassions.

His best play was a quick out to Michael Pittman Jr., where he jumped the route and got his hand on the ball. His speed and reaction time were eye-catching for sure.

Samuel Jr. will remain the starting outside cornerback while Jalen Ramsey (knee) and Joey Porter Jr. (back) are on the PUP list. Giving him plenty of time to put himself in position to be on the field more this season. He started off as strong as he could on Day 1.

The Bad

Quarterback Play Wasn't Great

There wasn't much bad during the Steelers' opening day of camp. But the only thing you had to take away from the first practice was the struggles at quarterback.

Drew Allar's last pass (which was the last pass of the day) was the best pass of the day. Let's start there. This came after he threw two nearly-intercepted balls and an actual interception, which he had to force into coverage because the drill was dead. It wasn't really his fault. He also threw a Hail Mary that fell about 10 yards short during a two-minute drill.

Aaron Rodgers never had a big play, though. Mason Rudolph didn't stand out at all, and Will Howard was quite as well. No one did anything real impressive, and it was clear that the defense had the upper-hand amongst the two sides.

That should change, and McCarthy has enough film on these guys to correct stuff. But the only bad of the day was that this group did nothing impressive when everyone was watching, waiting for them to.

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