5 Pittsburgh Steelers in Line for Increased Roles in 2015
As teams around the NFL spent millions of dollars on free agents, the Pittsburgh Steelers took a passive approach. General manager Kevin Colbert made several minor moves to improve depth on the roster and then turned his attention to the draft.
While the draft will provide the Steelers with multiple opportunities to add talent, they cannot depend on these players to provide significant contributions in 2015. If they cannot upgrade their roster through free agency or through the draft, where will the improvements come from?
Pittsburgh is a team that builds through the draft, but it takes more than just drafting players to build a contender. The coaching staff must develop their young players and get them ready to take on increased roles each year.
This year is no exception, as the Steelers have numerous young players on the roster ready to step out of the shadows and develop into key contributors this season. So who is ready to step up their roles this fall? Here are five players who will have an increased role for 2015.
CB Cortez Allen
1 of 5
Of all of the players on the Steelers roster expected to have an increased role in 2015, the one who signed a five-year, $26 million contract last season should not be one of them. Unfortunately, that is where the Steelers are with Allen after Mike Tomlin benched him during the middle of the 2014 season.
Allen was thought of as the future of Pittsburgh’s defensive backfield. He was supposed to lock down a starting position last season and take over for Ike Taylor this year as the Steelers’ No. 1 cornerback. Instead, the team will not even give him assurance that he will start next year.
“I think Cortez enters the season where he left off,” Colbert told Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We have to find out about Cortez and if he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL corner. He's showed signs of that in the past. He was productive in spurts with us in the past.”
Production in spurts is not good enough for a starting cornerback. The Steelers need consistency from their defensive backs, and until they see it from Allen, he will remain on the bench.
Despite a non-committal attitude from Pittsburgh’s brass, the fourth-year pro with 18 starts under his belt is in a good position to regain his spot in the starting lineup. Over a week into free agency, the Steelers haven’t signed a cornerback and allowed one of their top backups—Brice McCain, who signed with the Miami Dolphins—to get away.
Indirectly, the Steelers are sending a message that they still believe in him. He was awarded with a long-term contract because of his combination of size and athleticism. With six career interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, Allen has shown the ability to be a playmaker in the secondary.
It is not as simple as flipping a switch, but Allen has all of the physical tools necessary to be a successful starter in the NFL. He will be given every opportunity to lock down a starting spot, and assuming he does, will start all 16 games for the first time in his career.
WR Martavis Bryant
2 of 5
Watching him firsthand in training camp, I knew that the Steelers potentially had something special in rookie receiver Martavis Bryant.
At times, Bryant would find himself five yards behind the defender on deep balls and was virtually unstoppable in the red zone. It was only a matter of time before he carved himself out a role on the offense. However, the coaching staff wasn’t as impressed and wanted him watching from the sidelines early in the season.
Bryant had to sit on the bench for six weeks before he finally got his opportunity in Week 7 against the Houston Texans. Two receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown was enough to give him another chance. By the end of his fourth game, he already had six touchdowns.
Although he wasn’t able to keep up his torrid pace scoring touchdowns, Bryant was the most exciting rookie on the Steelers roster. He finished the year with 26 receptions for 549 yards (21.1 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns.
Bryant was able to achieve this while playing in only 26.6 percent of the offensive snaps, according to Football Outsiders. By comparison, Antonio Brown played in 95.5 percent of the snaps and Markus Wheaton in 67.1 percent of them.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly, Todd Haley expects that Bryant will compete with Wheaton for the No. 2 job. But do not expect him to earn a starting spot quite yet, as he must still refine his skills as a route-runner. But he will see an increased workload with the offense. A full offseason will aid his develop and help him build a rapport with Ben Roethlisberger.
Bryant won’t have to sit and watch the first games of this season. His development was enough to increase his snap counts for next season, as he plays a major role in the offense as a deep threat and red-zone receiver.
LB Ryan Shazier
3 of 5
After an entire offseason preparing to start at inside linebacker, Ryan Shazier was poised to have a big rookie season. Instead, numerous injuries limited Shazier to five starts and nine games played.
While Shazier was on the bench, backup inside linebackers Sean Spence and Vince Williams impressed enough that they shared defensive snaps throughout the season, even after Shazier returned to the lineup.
Spence led the way last season with 498 snaps, followed by Shazier with 258 and Williams with 248, per Football Outsiders.
In his limited snaps, Shazier did not stand out as many thought he would during the offseason. Whether the injuries took a toll on his body or if he was overwhelmed with too many responsibilities, he only managed 36 tackles and one pass defensed during the regular season.
One year of experience with the rigors of the NFL will have Shazier better prepared for 2015. Expect the coaching staff to make him compete with Spence and Williams, but Shazier’s talent should ultimately lead to him earning the starting job.
Shazier is a key component to the success of the defense next season where the Steelers will need him to be one of their top playmakers.
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RB Dri Archer
4 of 5
Dri Archer was the fastest player in the 2014 NFL draft, and he was one of the quickest to disappoint in Pittsburgh.
Kevin Colbert believed that Archer would be the primary return man—a starter in his book—and a specialty package player on offense. None of that materialized, as Archer was limited to a total of 10 combined punt and kick returns and only 17 touches on offense.
As he enters Year 2, Haley will look to devise ways to take advantage of Archer’s speed on offense. To maximize his big-play ability, Haley must look to get the ball to Archer in the open field where he can outrun defenders.
However, any touch that Archer gets is one less play for Brown or Bell—Pittsburgh’s two best playmakers. To make it worth their while, Archer must take advantage of his opportunities. If Haley has his way, he will carve out a role for his unique running back, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
"The important thing is that we do have a role for him if he is going to have a helmet on Sundays and he gets his five and six touches a game. Any one of those plays he has the chance to take it to the house with that speed. Let’s just have a little patience and let him continue to develop and we will definitely have a plan to get him touches throughout the season.
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It appears as though the Steelers will take a patient approach with Archer, but are willing to increase his role as he continues to adjust to the NFL.
S Shamarko Thomas
5 of 5
When it comes to the safety position in Pittsburgh, the talk starts and stops with Troy Polamalu.
For much of the past decade, the Steelers could count on Polamalu to wreak havoc on defense. That is no longer the case, as Polamalu did not have an interception for only the third time in his career—including his rookie season.
The Steelers have noticed his decline in play and are prepared to move on. Rather than make a clean break from Polamalu, they are maintaining communication as he makes a decision on his future. No matter what he decides, though, the Steelers will need one of their young safeties to step.
Former fourth-round draft pick Shamarko Thomas is the logical starter at strong safety next year. He has sat behind and learned behind Polamalu for two seasons, so he should have an understanding of the defensive system. Although experienced in terms of years, he has yet to make an impact on the field and only played three defensive snaps last season, per Football Outsiders.
"I'm looking for any opportunity I can seize," Thomas told Scott Brown of ESPN.com. "I know that I am capable. I work hard, I prepare like a professional. It's just when they call my name I have to be ready."
Thomas has a terrific work ethic when it comes to training, but will it translate to his performance on the field? Another concern is his height. At 5’9”, can he overcome his lack of height when matched up against taller tight ends and receivers in coverage?
With an entire offseason ahead of him, Thomas will have plenty of chances to impress the coaching staff and not only earn an increased role with the defense, but also a starting job.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, all combine results are courtesy of the NFL.com Combine Tracker, all draft rankings are courtesy of Matt Miller of Bleacher Report and all roster information is courtesy of Steelers.com.
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