When the Pittsburgh Steelers report to Latrobe on July 25, there will be a few camp battles to pay close attention to.
I will highlight many of these camp battles as the days tick down until camp begins, but I will begin with what could be a very deep and talented group of wide receivers.
Many wanted the Steelers to look at drafting a wide receiver early on in the 2014 NFL Draft. That didn’t happen as they waited until the fourth round, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should have a nice compliment of weapons heading into the 2014 campaign.
Despite losing two of his top targets from a season ago to free agency in Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery, the Steelers have a chance to have one of their deepest wide receiving corps during the Big Ben era.
But a lot has to happen for that to come to fruition.
The question on most people’s mind is who will get the start opposite of Antonio Brown.
That alone could be the top camp battle on the offensive side of the ball.
Second-year pro Markus Wheaton is the leading candidate on paper to nab that job and there is a ton of pressure on Wheaton to perform this season. A third-round pick a season ago, Wheaton has to produce this season. He battled injuries during his rookie season and barely saw the field and caught only six passes for 64 yards. The Steelers believe in Wheaton and judging by his collegiate career there is good reason to do so. However as much as I wasn’t a fan of Sanders, his production needs to be replaced.
If Wheaton can do so then this offense could be special. If he can’t and the Steelers are stuck searching for answers, they could be in trouble.
Of course Wheaton will face some competition for the starting job.
Veteran Lance Moore was brought over from New Orleans to presumably fill Cotchery’s role in the slot. But if Wheaton underperforms, Moore could find himself lining up opposite Brown to start the season.
Then there is the dark horse in rookie Martavis Bryant.
Bryant might have more speed and athleticism than any of the Steelers wide receivers, but in a 6’4” frame. He not only could fill the role as a deep threat, but can be that red-zone target Roethlisberger desperately needed.
He has the opportunity to open some eyes in camp and if Wheaton underperforms, Bryant could sneak in and steal the starting spot.
But the questions don’t end there as there will be competition for the other spots.
Brown, Wheaton, Moore and Bryant are all locks to make the team, and newly signed Darius Heyward-Bey likely can be thrown into that category as well.
But guys like Justin Brown, who impressed during offseason workouts, and Derek Moye have also taken big strides. Throw in the fact that the team plans to use third-round pick Dri Archer at receiver some this season and the Steelers simply can’t keep everybody.
They aren’t going to start the season with seven wide outs plus Archer, so the competition will be fierce to see who makes the team out of camp.
At the end of the day quality depth is a good problem to have for Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley. But the bottom line is someone is going to have to step up and be a real threat in the pass catching game for this offense to be what many think it can become.
The Steelers lost 113 receptions and 16 touchdowns from a season ago.
It will be a very interesting situation to watch to see who steps up and replaces that production.
Fortunately we will start to get some of those answers beginning in nine days.
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