Pittsburgh Steelers: Midseason Rookie Progress Report
We're just past the halfway point in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2015 season, so it's time to take stock of a few things—namely, Pittsburgh's rookie class.
Let's see which rookies have been playing, what they have contributed to the team this year and what we should expect to see during the remainder of the season. Here's the Steelers' midseason rookie progress report.
LB Bud Dupree
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The Steelers used their 2015 first-round draft pick on linebacker Bud Dupree in an effort to improve a pass rush that totaled just 33 sacks last season and shore up the outside linebacker spot for seasons to come. So far, Dupree has been a quick study.
Dupree leads the Steelers with four sacks, and Pro Football Focus notes that only Lawrence Timmons and James Harrison have played more snaps at linebacker this year. He has 16 combined tackles on the season, including one for a loss, as well as a pass defensed.
Dupree needs to improve as a run defender. But as a rare Steelers rookie getting extensive playing time—53 percent of the team's defensive snaps—he's exceeded expectations. The goal moving forward is to develop Dupree into an all-around linebacker and not just a pass-rushing specialist. That will be achieved through continued playing time this year and into the team's offseason program.
WR Sammie Coates
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The Steelers drafted wide receiver Sammie Coates in the third round this year to add some youth to their receiving corps. Coates is expected to serve as a replacement for Markus Wheaton in the future or as insurance for Martavis Bryant, should he be suspended again by the NFL.
Coates saw most of his playing time this year during Bryant's four-game suspension to open the season. Pro Football Focus noted that he had three snaps in Week 3, 30 in Week 4 and four in Week 5, when Bryant had yet to be placed on the team's active roster.
In five games, though, he's seen just two passing targets and caught one for an 11-yard gain. Coates is not like Bryant a year ago in that he came onto the active roster midway through the 2014 season only to catch eight touchdown passes through Pittsburgh's final 10 games.
Because of Pittsburgh's receiver depth chart, which features Bryant, Antonio Brown, Wheaton and Darrius Heyward-Bey over Coates, Coates hasn't seen any significant playing time since Week 5. It's possible that could change toward the end of the season, but Coates' biggest contributions may have to wait until next year.
DB Doran Grant
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Defensive back Doran Grant has spent the majority of his rookie year on the Steelers' practice squad. He was called up to the active roster on Nov. 4 but has yet to be active for a game. The question is, when he is, will he play cornerback or safety?
Cornerback was Grant's position in college, but Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said the day after Grant was promoted that a move to safety could be in the cards: "There is nothing closed on him. This is the guy's first year and we need to take time, let him play in this system and see how he does before we make a decision on him."
That means Grant still has more to prove before he gets extended playing time, and that may not happen this year. But given that the Steelers have shouldered injuries at both the cornerback and safety positions this season, Grant may get a chance to play at some point before the year wraps.
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TE Jesse James
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Rookie tight end Jesse James has been on the 53-man roster all year, but it took until Week 9, when Matt Spaeth was ruled out with a knee injury, for him to take the field. And with Spaeth already ruled out for Week 10's meeting against the Cleveland Browns, James could see extended playing time again.
In James' NFL debut, he played 33 snaps and had not only his first catch but his first touchdown, totaling two receptions on two targets for 13 receiving yards and a score. While his on-field presence was a result of need at the tight end position, James' ability to catch passes could get him more playing time even when Spaeth is healthy.
James will be a player to watch on Sunday, given that much of his season has been spent working with quarterback Landry Jones, and Jones will likely start in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger. It could be a breakout game for James.
LB Anthony Chickillo
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Sixth-round draft pick Anthony Chickillo spent his summer making the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker. It's unclear how successful that transition has been, as Chickillo has yet to play a snap on defense while sitting behind James Harrison, Bud Dupree, Arthur Moats and Jarvis Jones on the depth chart.
But he has been contributing on special teams, particularly in Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders. Chickillo recovered a fumbled forced by fullback Roosevelt Nix on a Taiwan Jones kick return that set up Jesse James' first career touchdown.
Chickillo won't be seeing much playing time at linebacker this year, if any, as injuries may be the only way for him to get defensive snaps. In the meantime, he'll continue to work with the special teams unit.
DE L.T. Walton
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Defensive end L.T. Walton has actually seen playing time on defense this year, though it's been extremely limited. In the six games he's appeared in, he's totaled 29 snaps at defensive end, according to Pro Football Focus, with a lone tackle recorded in Week 4.
Walton has been spelling Pittsburgh's starters on a limited basis this year, and he hasn't been working with special teams. That he's getting playing time is a good sign that the Steelers have some level of comfort with his development at the professional level. The fact that it's so marginal, though, means that his biggest days still are ahead of him.
The Undrafted
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The four undrafted rookies on the Steelers' current roster are all presently on the practice squad. However, wide receiver Tyler Murphy—one of the four—has seen regular-season playing time.
Murphy played seven snaps in the Steelers' season opener against the New England Patriots and had one 16-yard catch. Since then, he's bounced back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster, though he hasn't appeared in a game since Week 1.
The other undrafted rookies on the practice squad are receiver Shakim Phillips, who looked sharp enough in the summer that he could be a factor next year; offensive lineman B.J. Finney, who could be in line for a starting job in the future; and defensive end Caushaud Lyons.
The Injured
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Three Pittsburgh rookies are currently on the team's injured reserve list, with only one being drafted by the team. That would be cornerback Senquez Golson, the team's second-round pick in 2015, who underwent shoulder surgery in early August and was placed on injured reserve in early September.
The 5'9" ball hawk was expected to be a quick contributor on the Steelers defense, but the shoulder injury means he'll have to wait until 2016 to get his chance.
The other two rookies on injured reserve are offensive lineman Micah Hatchie and receiver Eli Rogers. Hatchie tore his Achilles in June, and Rogers suffered a severe foot sprain in early August. Hatchie's future in Pittsburgh is likely as a reserve lineman, while Rogers, who showed promise before he went down, could make a case for himself on Pittsburgh's 2016 53-man roster.
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