It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a weekly Steelers links roundup at BTSC. But first, let’s take a look around the AFC North:
Now, onto some Steelers news and discussion:
(From WTAE’s Ashley Liotus): “It means a lot, man, for us being rookies. We come around the city, really get to know the city and see what’s going on, then just give back to our community at the end of the day, because this is our community now and we’re going to be here for a minute,” said defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, a first-round draft pick from Oregon.
The Steelers rookie class took part in a week of community activities, including meeting local kids at Urban Impact in Pittsburgh.
(From Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper): A reader of PFT sent us a screenshot showing that there were more than 639,000 prospective buyers ahead of them in a virtual queue to purchase tickets for the September 28 game between the Steelers and Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin. The message from Ticketmaster says to expect a wait of more than an hour before a chance to buy tickets will be available.
Bots and resellers cramming queues are drawing complaints from NFL fans hoping to catch a Steeler game across the pond — the first NFL regular season game in Ireland. Per The Irish Times, tickets are starting at just under $100 USD.
(From PFF’s Ben Linsey): The Steelers’ offense may also be molded to Rodgers’ strength with quick passes to the flat. That has consistently been an area where Rodgers has been among the league leaders, and Pittsburgh will likely call more such plays in 2025.
Rodgers led the NFL in the combination of screen and bubble passes both in the stretch from 2019 to 2022 with LaFleur (155) and last season with the Jets (50). As a team, Pittsburgh had just 27 such attempts last season (22nd in NFL).
PFF isn’t always the most popular name around NFL circles, but this article offers some solid stats and insights into how the Steelers’ new quarterback fits with the team. Quick passing and play action are key points, which BTSC also highlighted in our own film-supported breakdown of what Rodgers will bring to the Steel City.
(From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko): The Steelers have several draft picks that they’re expecting a lot out of in 2025, but there’s another rookie class with a major milestone to celebrate Sunday.
That would be the six Steelers defensive players who all became first-time dads since last June, and they’ll all get to celebrate their first Father’s Day this weekend. In less than a year, life changed for inside linebacker Cole Holcomb, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive tackle Logan Lee, defensive end Dean Lowry, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and cornerback D’Shawn Jamison.
A fun, Father’s Day adjacent read from the PG — it’s interesting to see how Steelers players deal with non-football challenges.
(From Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders): After three days of minicamp at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, it’s easy to see that the old man still has it. [Aaron Rodgers’] delivery still looks as effortless as ever. The amount of velocity he gets on throws, even from odd foot placements, is incredible.
Even at 41, he throws the ball as hard as any quarterback I’ve ever covered and he does it with a degree of nonchalance that makes you think he could probably put a little bit more on it, if he really wanted to.
As is obvious (and as the article does state), Rodgers is obviously no longer in his prime. But his arm talent hasn’t completely disappeared with age.
What did we learn from Steelers OTAs/minicamp?
Going off of just reports about football in shorts, it’s difficult to draw any sort of conclusions. But with over a month left until training camp, it’s the last real bit of football to talk about for a while.
A few things that stood out to me from the last few weeks of reporting:
…And that’s not everything. What are your thoughts from Steelers OTAs/minicamp? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!
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