Pittsburgh Steelers: Breaking down first official depth chart

The long awaited first official depth chart for the Pittsburgh Steelers has now been released, and we break down everything we can about the squad for 2017.

Finally jumping on the bandwagon, the Pittsburgh Steelers have released their first look at the 2017 depth chart. Just days before their first preseason action, the Steelers now have some form of infrastructure to work with when they travel to New York on Friday to take on the Giants. The creation of this depth chart means many things, for many different people outside and inside the organization.

For fans, they now have a glimpse of how well players are performing, good or bad. For coaches, they now have guidelines to work with in terms of making cuts on the roster, and identifying playing time within preseason games as well. As for the players, they now see where they are at and what is needed to make the team. Of course, with any news relating to the roster, there’s bound to be some surprises within the organization.

To understand where players are at and why, it is to be noted this is not a true/traditional depth chart. According to the Steelers official website, players who are not currently practicing as of 8/8/17 are not listed on the actual depth chart. This includes players such as Martavis Bryant, Le’Veon Bell, James Conner, Maurkice Pouncey and others. Rather than the actual depth chart, they are placed on a “not participating” list.

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This list leaves many position battles still cloudy, including second-string quarterback. Landry Jones is another name on the “not participating” list due to missing time with an abdominal injury. Since Jones isn’t on the depth chart, there are no indications on whether or not rookie Josh Dobbs has performed significantly well enough to earn the title of heir to the throne, or if Jones claims the No. 2 spot due to experience and knowledge of the offense. As the Steelers have learned over the years, a backup quarterback is almost as essential as a starting one.

Another position that remains cloudy is the running back spot, as Bell still refuses to show at camp and with Conner out nursing his shoulder injury. Fitzgerald Toussaint, a familiar name to many fans, is listed above newly signed Knile Davis, as expected. Davis was primarily brought in for special teams work, and has earned the starting job of returning kickoffs for the black and gold. Toussaint has been impressive thus far in training camp, and will look to battle for secondary carries behind Conner once the rookie is fully healthy.

The biggest story surrounding the Steelers depth chart potential rests at wide receiver. With a deeply stacked position group, it’s unsure who Pittsburgh will keep and will release. The depth chart goes as follows:

WR1: Antonio Brown, Eli Rogers, Marcus Tucker
WR2: Darrius Heyward-Bey (due to Martavis Bryant missing time), Justin Hunter, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cobi Hamilton

While this isn’t vastly surprising, it is interesting to see how Hunter has climbed his way up the chart after being labeled a question mark to make the 53-man roster. As one rises, another must fall, and that’s exactly what Hamilton finds himself doing. Coming off a promising season, he now appears to be in jeopardy of needing to find another team. Expect Rogers and Smith-Schuster to continue battling for slot reps.

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As expected, Jesse James headlines the tight end position as the team’s starter. James is followed by David Johnson and Xavier Grimble, respectively. There are no surprises to report on the offensive line, as each starter with the exception of Pouncey retain their roles. It is important to note that B.J. Finney currently holds backup roles at two spots on the line, and will likely be utilized as the team’s “plug” come game-day.

First-round pick T.J. Watt currently sits behind James Harrison at right outside linebacker, to no surprise. It will be extremely interesting to watch how defensive coordinator Keith Butler works Watt into his defense, especially behind the franchise’s sack-leader in Harrison. While Harrison is the starter for now, expect Watt to slowly build into the starting role throughout the season. With Harrison’s age and need for him to stay fresh, it’s only a matter of when, not if.

Moving inside, Vince Williams replaces long-time staple Lawrence Timmons alongside Ryan Shazier. L.J. Fort sits behind Shazier, as Steven Johnson is behind Williams. Bud Dupree makes his return as the starting left outside linebacker, with a bit of a surprise as Anthony Chickillo earns second-string honors over Arthur Moats. Both Moats and Chickillo were impressive in the little exposure they had, yet Moats was the favorite to sit at No. 2.

After an impressive rookie season, Javon Hargrave returns as the starting defensive tackle, with Daniel McCullers expected to take a lot of snaps at the position as well. Both Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt retain their roles at defensive end, with free agent signing Tyson Alualu headlining as Tuitt’s backup.

Artie Burns anchors the secondary a year after leading all rookie cornerbacks in interceptions. Starting opposite of Burns is Ross Cockrell, who looks to continue improvement after flashing his potential at times last year. William Gay and Coty Sensabaugh both mark behind Cockrell and Burns, respectively, as backups as Gay looks to continue to be the Steelers’ slot corner. With Mike Mitchell out, Robert Golden currently sits as the starting free safety along with strong safety Sean Davis, who is backed up by Jordan Dangerfield.

Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Preseason Week 1

The release of the Steelers first depth chart is exciting, and gives everybody a topic to discuss as we await Pittsburgh’s first glimpse of action since January. However, it is important to remember this is merely a loose (at best) look at how the team can look in the regular season. Nothing is set in concrete, as many factors can contribute to a rise/decline for anybody on these depth charts in the upcoming weeks.

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