Steelers Training Camp: Two Rookie Receivers Impress

Pittsburgh has a history of hitting on pass-catchers, and George Pickens and Calvin Austin III already look promising.

Stop No. 3 on my training camp tour, after hitting the Bills and Browns. Here are five takeaways from Steelers camp …

1) Former GM Kevin Colbert may be gone, but it sure looks like he left one last chapter to his legend for evaluating receivers—both second-rounder George Pickens and fourth-rounder Calvin Austin III have turned heads early on. Neither has been through a padded practice yet, but both have come as advertised and should give the team plenty of depth behind Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool.

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2) The quarterback competition is fluid, but Mitch Trubisky is pretty clearly a lead dog. He’s taking all the first-team reps, and looks comfortable and natural leading Pittsburgh’s offense. He told me before practice Thursday that playing behind Josh Allen last year in Buffalo made a big difference for him, in that it helped encourage him to play more instinctively, and less robotically, when things break down around him.

3) Natural improvement from second-year left tackle Dan Moore Jr., and the additions of veteran guard James Daniels and center Mason Cole, has made for a stronger, deeper group to play in front of whoever the quarterback winds up being. The next step will be figuring out how the pieces fit together. One thing that’s left on the table is the left guard spot, where Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green are battling to get on the field.

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4) DT Larry Ogunjobi looks like he’s got plenty left in the tank, and his acquisition should be an important one, given the loss of Stephon Tuitt, Cam Heyward’s longtime running mate on the interior of the defensive line.

5) LB Myles Jack is another third-contract vet—he’s still just 26, believe it or not—who looks poised to make a difference. Pittsburgh had a need at his position, and the belief is—after working with him through the spring and into the summer—that his presence should help the team get more out of former first-round pick Devin Bush, too, months after the Steelers declined the fifth-year option on Bush’s rookie contract.