Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Players to watch vs. Chiefs in Preseason Week 2

With time running out to impress the coaching staff, expect a few Pittsburgh Steelers to put on a show in Week 2 of the preseason.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had several players seize the spotlight in the first week of the preseason. However, some players failed to answer the call and turned in pedestrian performances. For many of these young players, Week 1 was their first taste of professional play. Now, there will be extra focus on how these young men perform in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

For the purposes of trying to find players worth keeping an eye on in Week 2 of the preseason, I tried to pick players who disappointed in Week 1 or who lost ground in the depth chart race for some reason. It’s important to remember that while the preseason serves as a testing ground for coaches and schemes, it’s also a competition for reps and roster spots.

All three of the following players will make Pittsburgh’s active roster this season, but how often they’ll see the field has yet to be determined.

Justin Layne, CB

Justin Layne’s first action as a Steeler was uninspiring. He played too far off in coverage, allowing easy first down catches for opposing wide receivers. Layne tallied eight combined tackles in the Week 1 win, but that had more to do with giving up easy catches rather than seeking out ball carriers. Layne also whiffed on a tackle that allowed the Buccaneers to score a touchdown. Overall, it was a brutal first taste of NFL action for the rookie.

There are high hopes for Layne. Some mock drafts had him going in the first round, but many predicted he would be taken in the second or third round. Pittsburgh got him in the third and it was viewed as a great pick because the team has struggled to land a worthy cornerback in the draft recently.

Hopefully, now that Layne has gotten his feet wet, he’ll look much crisper in Pittsburgh’s Week 2 matchup against Kansas City. I would like to see him get a lot of reps in this upcoming game so we can see how quickly he’s picking up on how the professional game is played.