Jalen Ramsey's new role takes shape, Aaron Rodgers sharp: Steelers training camp observations

New York Times

21 hours ago

LATROBE, Pa. — Ahead of the 2016 NFL Draft, coach Mike Tomlin was searching for impact players to upgrade a secondary in transition. The two safeties who anchored Super Bowl defenses, Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark, had retired. Same with cornerback Ike Taylor. Considering the need at both positions, what better place to start than with a versatile defensive back rated the No. 1 safety and the No. 1 cornerback on the Steelers' draft board: Florida State's Jalen Ramsey.
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'I remember at the time I was broke,' Ramsey said. 'I was taking any meal, any meeting I could have. I remember they took me to dinner, and it was a super cool meeting. I remember them saying something like, 'We're not going to be able to draft you, but we'll still get you a free meal.''
As predicted, Ramsey heard his name called early in the first round, going fifth overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. (The Steelers ultimately settled on cornerback Artie Burns at No. 25 overall, and followed it with another defensive back, Sean Davis, in the second round.) While Tomlin didn't have a chance to draft Ramsey, that meeting left an impression.
'His line of questioning was really impressive,' Tomlin said. 'Sometimes, just the nature of the questions are attractive. He had good, educated questions. He asked about things that are really pertinent to being successful in football and in this league. When they're in the right neighborhood from a question standpoint, that gives you a good insight into their mindset and definitely he's confirmed that over the course of his career.'
Nearly a decade later, that early relationship-building paid off. About a month ago, the Steelers pulled off a blockbuster trade, dealing safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in exchange for tight end Jonnu Smith and Ramsey.
Ramsey's résumé speak for itself. Seven Pro Bowls. Three first-team All-Pro accolades. A Super Bowl ring. But because the Steelers shipped off a safety in the trade, the addition also came with a question mark: Where would Ramsey play in a new-look Steelers secondary?
'I'm going to play football,' Ramsey said, sidestepping the question. 'We're going to figure that out together, huh?'
Through two unpadded practices at Saint Vincent College, that puzzle is starting to come together. The Steelers have been playing a heavy dose of nickel defense with Ramsey in the slot. Meanwhile, Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay have lined up outside. DeShon Elliott has played strong safety and Juan Thornhill has been in the post at free safety.
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Even when he's penciled into one position on the depth chart (nickel), Ramsey has the chance to impact the game in a variety of ways. On some plays, he's followed slot receivers or tight ends in motion. Other times, he's dropping into an underneath zone or he's blitzing off the edge. In addition to those traditional assignments, the Steelers use Ramsey's versatility to disguise coverages, as they've done in the past. As camp continues, sometimes Ramsey might be the middle runner in a non-traditional Tampa 2, the post safety in a disguised coverage, or a half-field safety.
Because Ramsey is a physical defensive back who has never been afraid to deliver a blow, the Steelers may be able to play nickel against a wider variety of offensive personnel groupings; it's a trend in the league to play nickel against 12 personnel (two tight ends). Pittsburgh should have no hesitations about having Ramsey be part of the run fit.
Tomlin calls Ramsey 'a football player first and a positional player second.' That's been true when the Steelers have gone to their base defense. He's often been the post safety patrolling the deep middle with Porter and Slay on the outside and Elliott in the box as the down safety. In this deployment, the Steelers are able to keep their four best defensive backs on the field together at the same time, as Tomlin promised on report day.
'Over the course of his career, you've seen him do a variety of things, play inside and play out,' Tomlin said. 'All the components of the game. Man-to-man coverage. Run support. He has an appetite for it all. I think that's why we were excited when he came out and that's why we continue to have that level of excitement about him.'
Schematically, Tomlin believes the strength of this new-look secondary should allow the Steelers to play more man coverage. Especially against a team like the Bengals, who have multiple dynamic receiving threats; the Steelers could be better positioned to handle Joe Burrow's many weapons.
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'This is a coverage league,' Tomlin said. 'You need unbelievable depth and talent at the cornerback position, because people have it in their receiver corps…. That's what is exciting to us, our ability to match up and play man to man against anyone in this game. I think it's going to do nothing but strengthen our schematics, the supplemental things, the zone pressures, the bogus pressure and things of that nature.'
While Ramsey's versatility gives the Steelers another high-level candidate to play free safety, the team still needs to figure out how the rest of the depth chart comes together. On Friday, they added more depth and competition when they signed Chuck Clark. The 30-year-old, seven-year veteran spent his first six season in Baltimore before playing last season with the New York Jets.
'He's a veteran player, a guy that's experienced in the NFL, a guy that we're familiar with from competing against (Baltimore),' Tomlin said. '(We're) excited about getting him in the fold and giving him an opportunity.'
As it stands now, veteran Miles Killebrew and undrafted rookie Sebastian Castro have been taking the majority of the second-team reps at safety. While Killebrew is more of a strong safety by body type, the safety positions are somewhat interchangeable in the Steelers' scheme, so both he and Castro have played in the box and in the post.
Clark now enters the fold as another option, especially at free safety. He was sprinkled into action before a thunderstorm cut practice short, playing mostly with the third-team defense for now. Throughout the course of camp, we'll get a better idea of which safety fits where behind the top candidates.
No drill gets more attention during Steelers training camp than Seven Shots — Tomlin's signature period during which the offense has seven chances from the 2-yard line. After skipping the drill on Day 1, the Steelers unveiled it for the first time on Friday. On the first play, center Zach Frazier's errant snap flew past Aaron Rodgers. After that rough start, the Steelers gave the offense a mulligan and Rodgers' unit recovered to win the day, 4-3.
1. Rodgers completed a quick out to DK Metcalf with Slay in coverage. (1-0 offense)
2. Rodgers attempted a back-shoulder fade for Metcalf that fell incomplete. Joey Porter Jr. was in good position in coverage. (1-1)
3. Mason Rudolph looked for Ke'Shawn Williams on a crossing route. The QB put the pass high, where only the receiver could get it, but Williams was unable to make the catch. (2-1 defense)
4. Rudolph connected with Scotty Miller on a quick slant. (2-2)
5. Will Howard's fade to Brandon Johnson fell incomplete with Cory Trice Jr. in coverage. (3-2 defense)
6. Howard connected with undrafted free agent tight end JJ Galbreath, who did an excellent job of high-pointing the football at the goal line. (3-3)
7. With the score tied, Rodgers came back in. The QB found Pat Freiermuth for the score. (4-3 offense)
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After beginning Thursday's team period with an interception, the 41-year-old quarterback's performance during Seven Shots was part of a much sharper day. Rodgers went 2-for-3 in Seven Shots then, unofficially, went 6-for-7 during two 11-on-11 periods. The biggest completion of the day was a deep out to Calvin Austin III.
The Steelers aren't wasting any time getting first-round pick Derrick Harmon into action. The former Oregon Duck has stepped right into the starting lineup as the 4i technique (inside shoulder of the tackle) on the defensive left, where he's often alongside T.J. Watt.
Maybe more notably, when the Steelers go to their four-man front in sub packages Harmon has been one of the two interior defensive linemen. Odds are, the Steelers will rotate Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Harmon on the interior when they're in nickel or dime, as they have through two days of camp. It will be interesting to watch which of these players gets the most playing time as the season unfolds. Because Harmon brings pass-rush upside (he led all FBS interior defensive linemen in pressures with 55 last year, according to PFF), he has the requisite skillset to be a three-down contributor.
While the Steelers carried four tight ends last year, Galbreath has his work cut out for him to make the team. So far, the undrafted tight end capitalized on his chances and has begun to form early chemistry with Howard, who has been taking the fourth-team snaps. On Day 1, Galbreath was Howard's favorite target. During Seven Shots on Day 2, the tight end's reaching grab was one of the highlights.
Galbreath, who played a variety of roles at South Dakota, brings an intriguing athletic profile at 6-3 and 231 pounds. At his Pro Day, Galbreath's 4.61 40-yard dash and 4.20 shuttle time would have been the fastest among tight ends who tested at the combine. He also would have been tied for the second-best vertical (38 inches) and third in the broad jump (10-3). However, he also posted just 12 bench press reps, which suggests he's more of a receiving threat than an in-line blocker. Connor Heyward still is the favorite to claim the fourth tight end spot, but Galbreath could make things interesting.
Cory Trice Jr., who will play a variety of roles in the secondary, has been taking second-team reps at outside corner, along with offseason addition Brandin Echols. Trice had a strong day on Friday. He was in good position when targeted during Seven Shots and later played through a receiver's hands for a pass breakup during a team period.
Meanwhile, seventh-round pick Donte Kent, an undersized DB in a competition at nickel, also put a nice rep on film. He followed a receiver in motion, communicated a push alert and then closed quickly to break up a pass.
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Jonnu Smith remains sidelined with an injury; Tomlin is calling him day-to-day. Smith took part in stretching and caught some passes off the JUGs machines but didn't do any individual or team drills. Punt returner/running back/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and left guard Isaac Seumalo also have yet to participate in any team drills.